Kansas State @ Kansas preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 7, 2009 ) Kansas 10, Kansas State 17

Kansas State had its wind knocked out last week by a faster opponent. A victory over its biggest rival would ease that pain.

Kansas State (4-1,1-1) will be looking to jump back into the win column when it faces in-state rival Kansas (1-3, 0-1) Thursday night.

The Wildcats looked like they had the potential to make some noise in the Big 12 this season. They started out 4-0, with wins over UCLA and Iowa State. But even with an energized home crowd in its corner, Kansas State could not live up to the promise against Nebraska. The Cornhuskers ran over the Wildcats in a 48-13 rout.

The loss exposed some major weaknesses in the Wildcats, especially a lack of speed in the secondary. Nebraska quarterback Taylor Martinez had absolutely no trouble breaking through the line and ripped off chunks of yardage. Martinez finished with 242 rushing yards and four total touchdowns for the Cornhuskers.

Nebraska’s rushing edge was made more apparent by Kansas State’s inability to get its own ground game going. Doak Walker Award finalist Daniel Thomas entered the contest averaging 157 yards per game but was held to 63 on 22 carries.

The Wildcats will not have to worry about the Cornhuskers in the future, as Nebraska moves to the Big Ten next season. But there is little chance that their rivalry with Kansas is going anywhere.

Thursday’s game will mark the 100th consecutive meeting between the Jayhawks and Wildcats - ranking as the fourth-longest uninterrupted series in the nation. The schools have met 108 times overall, with Kansas leading 65-37-5 and 37-15-2 in Lawrence.

But things have not been going well for Kansas recently. The Jayhawks enter Saturday's matchup having lost eight straight Big 12 games, including a 55-7 drubbing at Baylor on October 2. The Jayhawks managed only 271 total yards while allowing 678 to the Bears. Kansas had some trouble hanging on to the ball as well, turning it over four times in their Big 12 opener.

First-year head coach Turner Gill was a running quarterback and Heisman finalist as a player at Nebraska. He was on the Cornhuskers staff for legendary running quarterbacks like Eric Crouch and Tommie Frazier. His current quarterback - redshirt freshman Jordan Webb - is not nearly the running threat that Crouch or Frazier were, but he has shown flashes of being a strong passer with six touchdowns and 6 yards in five games.

The Jayhawks’ best chance to inflict the kind of damage that Nebraska did with speed against the Wildcats would be with freshman running back James Sims, who has gained 329 yards despite sitting out the first game of the season.

The Wildcats won the meeting last season, 17-10, as Thomas ran for 185 yards on 24 carries. Kansas State has not won in Lawrence since a 64-0 victory in 2002.