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| Kansas State quarterback Ell Roberson would throw for 215 yards and a touchdown while running for 63 yards and two touchdowns. |
On December 27,2002 the #6 ranked Kansas State Wildcats traveled to San Diego, California to take on the Arizona State Sun Devils in the 25th edition of the Holiday Bowl.
The Wildcats came into the game with a 10-2 record under head coach Bill Snyder, who had turned the Kansas State football program from one of the worst in college football to one of the best as the Wildcats, who had just three winning seasons from 1935 through 1988, had won at least nine games for the ninth time in 10 years.
The 2002 Wildcats roster featured quarterback Ell Roberson, who had become the Wildcats' starting quarterback after coming off the bench to lead Kansas State to a 27-20 win over USC in the fourth game of the season and sophomore running back Darren Sproles, who had run for 1,347 yards during the regular season.
Kansas State also had the nation's #1 scoring defense as the Wildcats allowed an average of just 11.8 points per game on a squad that was led by cornerback Terrance Newman, who won the Jim Thorpe Award which goes to the best defensive back in the country.
With the firepower on offense and their stingy defense, the Wildcats hoped to finish off the 2002 season on a high note as they prepared to face the Sun Devils for the sixth time in school history.
The Sun Devils came into the Holiday Bowl unranked with an 8-5 record under second year head coach Dirk Koetter, who had taken over from Bruce Snyder after his nine-year run in Tempe.
The Sun Devils got off to a 7-2 start in 2002 but a three-game losing streak in November would cause them to fall from #16 in the rankings to unranked as they would defeat arch rival Arizona in the regular season finale to earn an invitation in the Holiday Bowl.
The Arizona State offense was predicated on the passing game led by quarterback Andrew Walter who threw for 3,584 yards during the regular season with his leading receiver being Shaun McDonald, who caught 77 passes for 1,309 yards and scored 13 touchdowns while the defense was led by all-American defensive end Terrell Suggs who had accounted for 22 quarterback sacks, a NCAA record.
The Sun Devils hoped that a upset over the Wildcats could be the turning point for their football program which was hoping for their first nine-win season since 1997.
After a scoreless first quarter which saw both teams combine for six punts, the Sun Devils got the ball in Kansas State territory at the Wildcats' 38-yard-line as Walter would overcome a quarterback sack on the first play of the drive, to complete passes of nine yards to Daryl Lightfoot and 11 yards to Derek Hagen to give Arizona State a 1st down at the Kansas State 23-yard-line.
Following two straight incomplete passes, Walter would find Mike Williams for 15 yards to pick up another 1st down as Williams would then run for two yards to set up 2nd & goal where Walter found Justin Taplin for a six-yard touchdown to give the Sun Devils a 7-0 lead with 11:36 left in the second quarter.
The Wildcats would begin their next possession at their 20-yard-line only to give it right back to the Sun Devils as Roberson lost the football after he was hit by Arizona State linebacker Mason Unck as defensive tackle Brian Montesanto made the recovery to give Walter and the ASU offense the ball at the Kansas State 16-yard-line.
However, the Wildcat defense would not allow a 1st down as the Sun Devils were forced to settle for a 26-yard field goal by Mike Barth which increased Arizona State's lead to 10-0.
Having been held to just six yards of total offense, the Wildcat offense needed to get on track which is exactly what they accomplished on their next drive as Snyder inserted Newman into the game on offense as he would catch a 36-yard pass from Roberson to give Kansas State a 1st down at the Arizona State 41-yard-line.
On the very next play, Roberson gave the ball to Sproles who run it in for the 41-yard touchdown to put the Wildcats on the scoreboard and cut the Sun Devils' lead to 10-7.
Arizona State would start its next possession at the Wildcats' 48-yard-line thanks to a 42-yard return by Josh Golden, but would be forced to punt the ball back to the Wildcats, who would go on three-and-out to give the ball back to the Sun Devils at the Kansas State 42-yard-line.
From there, Walter would complete a 24-yard pass to McDonald, then hand the ball off to Williams on the next two plays as he gained nine yards to set up 3rd & 1 when Hakim Hill was able to run it in for the nine-yard touchdown to push the Sun Devils back to ten points at 17-7.
Things would go from bad to worse for the Wildcats on their next possession as Sproles fumbled the football at the end of a 19-yard run as Sun Devils cornerback Brett Hudson made the recovery to give the Arizona State offense the ball at the Kansas State 26-yard-line.
But like they did earlier in the second quarter, the Kansas State defense would hold the Sun Devils to a field goal after a turnover as Barth would come on to kick a 39-yard field goal to increase the Arizona State lead to 20-7 with 1:25 left before halftime.
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| Arizona State quarterback Andrew Walter would complete 28 of 51 passes for 293 yards and throw two touchdown passes. |
Hoping to get a score before the end of the half, the Wildcats would drive 78 yards in three plays as Roberson completed a 41-yard pass to Taco Wallace to set up the junior quarterback's 32-yard touchdown run to trim the Arizona State lead to 20-14 with 54 seconds left in the first half.
The Sun Devils would get the ball back at their 34-yard-line but would be unable to mount a scoring threat as the first half came to an end with Arizona State on top 20-14.
The start of the third quarter resembled the first quarter as both teams traded punts until the 5:33 mark of the quarter when Walter completed a 19-yard pass to McDonald to put the Sun Devils at the Kansas State 36-yard-line.
Two runs by Hill which netted just one yard and an incomplete pass would lead the Sun Devils to call on Barth to attempt a 51-yard field goal, which would fall short of the uprights to keep the score at 20-14 and give the ball to the Wildcats at their 35-yard-line.
From there, the Wildcats would put together the most impressive drive of the game as they travel 65 yards in 16 plays on a drive that took over seven minutes to complete and did not end until Roberson punched it in from three yards out to tie the game at 20.
However, the Wildcats could not take the lead as the snap on the ensuing extra point was too low for holder Travis Brown to handle as kicker Joe Rheem would not get an opportunity to kick the ball as the score remained deadlocked at 20 with 12:10 left in the fourth quarter.
The Sun Devils would begin their next possession at their 22-yard-line as Walter would hit Bobby Pinkard for a 33-yard completion on the first play of the drive to put Arizona State at the Wildcats' 45-yard-line.
After an incomplete pass, Walter would complete his next three passes for 29 yards to move Arizona State to the Kansas State 16-yard-line as the sophomore quarterback would throw another incomplete pass to bring up 2nd & 10 where he would find McDonald for six yards to set up 3rd & 4 at the Kansas State 10-yard-line.
That is when Walter rolled to his right only to spin back to his left and loft a screen pass for Williams who was able to run it for the 10-yard touchdown to give Arizona State a 27-20 lead with 10:30 left in the fourth quarter.
The Wildcats would get the ball back at their 20-yard-line as the drive began with a three-yard run by Sproles, which was followed by a 32-yard pass from Roberson to James Terry and then a 11-yard pass from Roberson to Terry to put Kansas State at the Sun Devils' 34-yard-line.
Sproles would then carry for 12 yards to give Kansas State another 1st down at the Arizona State 22-yard-line as the next three plays netted zero yards to set up 4th & 10.
Instead of opting for a field goal that would cut the Sun Devils' lead to four points, Snyder had the offense lined up to go for the 1st down as the Wildcats would then spend two timeouts before ultimately going for it.
The gamble would pay off as Roberson hit Terry for 21 yards to set up the quarterback's one-yard touchdown run that with the extra point tied the game at 27 with 6:41 to go in regulation.
The Wildcat defense would force an Arizona State punt to give their offense the ball back at their 41-yard-line with 4:24 remaining and a chance to drive for the go-ahead score.
Following two runs by Roberson that totaled eight yards, fullback Travis Wilson would get the ball on 3rd & 2 as he ran for five yards to give the Wildcats a 1st down at the Arizona State 46-yard-line.
Roberson would then keep it for 16 yards on the next play from scrimmage to give Kansas State a 1st down at the Arizona State 30-yard-line as Sproles would then carry it for five yards to set up 2nd & 5 when Roberson completed a 15-yard pass to Terry to set up 1st & goal at the Sun Devils' 10-yard-line.
That is when Roberson hit Derrick Evans on a slant pattern for the 10-yard touchdown that with the extra point gave the Wildcats their first lead of the game at 34-27 with 75 seconds to go in regulation.
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| Kansas State running back Darren Sproles would run for 118 yards on 21 carries and scored one touchdown. |
Taking over at his 22-yard-line, Walter would complete a 20-yard pass to Taplin to begin the Sun Devils' ensuing possession as the two would connect again for eight yards to put Arizona State at the 50-yard-line as Walter would throw two straight incomplete passes to bring up 4th & 2.
The Sun Devils would convert as Walter found Lightfoot for only four yards but enough for a 1st down at the Kansas State 46-yard-line.
After three straight incomplete passes, Walter would fire a desperation Hail Mary pass on the final play of the game that the Wildcats would knock away to preserve the 34-27 victory, the 11th for Kansas State during the 2002 season.
The loss dropped the Sun Devils to 8-5 as they would not qualify for a bowl in 2003 but would rebound in 2004 with a 9-3 record which included a 27-23 victory over Purdue in the Sun Bowl as the Sun Devils would finish #19 in the final AP poll and #20 in the final coaches poll that year.
That would be the highpoint of the Dirk Koetter era which ended after the 2006 season as he was fired after a six-year tenure where the Sun Devils went 40-34.
As for the Wildcats, their win over Arizona State gave them their fifth 11-win season in six years which as Kansas State would retain its #6 ranking in the final AP poll but fell one spot in the coaches poll to #7.
Roberson and Sproles would return the following year to lead the Wildcats to the Big 12 Championship Game where Kansas State would stun #1 Oklahoma 35-7 to give the Wildcats their first conference championship since 1934.
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