Kansas St. blasts N. Illinois 73-7
Bishop scores 4 TDs; Gramatica boots 65-yard FG
Posted: Saturday September 12, 1998 10:20 PM
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Allen's touchdown run and punt return for another score helped Kansas State score 73 points, the most in school history for a game AP |
MANHATTAN, Kansas (AP) -- Bill Snyder wasn't apologizing for
scoring a 73 points against yet another outclassed opponent.
Kansas State has never apologized for the soft nonconference
schedule that has become a source of controversy to fans and
detractors alike.
And he definitely wasn't sorry for calling a timeout with two
seconds left in the first half and No. 5 Kansas State already
leading Northern Illinois by 49 points on its way to a 73-7
victory.
Martin Gramatica had a chance to make Big 12 history, and Snyder
wanted him to take it.
Gramatica did, kicking a 65-yard field goal that touched off the
biggest crowd celebration of Saturday's game -- far bigger than for
any of Michael Bishop's two touchdown runs and two scoring passes.
"Now I'm going to be mad if I miss anything under that, because
I know I can make it," said Gramatica, whose previous best was 55
yards -- and whose kick Saturday was the longest ever without a
kicking tee.
Snyder insisted he wasn't trying to needlessly pad the score by
letting Gramatica take the kick.
"That was an opportunity for a young man to do something very
special," Snyder said. "He had an opportunity to put his name in
the record book, and in the first half of a ballgame -- no matter
what the score -- you ought to let him have that opportunity."
Huskies coach Joe Novak, whose team's 20-game losing streak is
the longest in the major-college ranks, also had no complaints
about Snyder's decision.
"That didn't bother me," Novak said. "Our job is to stop
them. He's [Snyder] got to do his thing, and that kid made a great
kick."
Gramatica's kick cleared with room to spare, leading some to
speculate how far it could have gone.
Boomer: Gramatica's previous career best was 55 yards AP | |
"I think we should have backed him up a little bit," Bishop
said. "I think it could have gone 70 yards."
If Snyder came away feeling badly about anything, it was because
his team committed 14 penalties for 107 yards.
"Some of it is lack of focus. Some of it is maybe not paying
attention," Snyder said. "That may be exactly the same thing.
Part of it might be stupidity -- but I hope that's not the case."
Kansas State (2-0), which has outscored its opponents 139-7 this
year, set school records for touchdowns (nine) and points in a
game, and also for points (59) in a half. Kansas State beat Akron
67-0 in 1995 and twice scored 42 points in a half, the last in a
47-7 victory over Northern Illinois last year.
Northern Illinois (0-2) gave up the most points the Huskies have
yielded since a 96-0 loss to St. Viator's in 1915.
Bishop scored twice on 2-yard runs and threw touchdown passes of
36 yards to Eric Hickson and 27 yards to Darnell McDonald, and
David Allen scored twice for the Wildcats.
Allen's 1-yard scoring run and his 69-yard punt return, along
with a 2-point conversion pass, gave Kansas State a 15-0 lead. Two
flags for personal fouls and one for pass interference helped the
Huskies make it 15-7 on Bill Andrews' 1-yard run with 2:43 left in
the quarter.
Gramatica kicked a 46-yard field goal 50 seconds later, and two
plays after that Gerald Neasman intercepted Frisman Jackson's pass
and lateraled to Jarrod Cooper, who scored from 15 yards.
Kansas State also got a 37-yard field goal from Gramatica and a
4-yard touchdown run from Marlon Charles in the second quarter. A
fumble recovery by Jeff Kelly and interceptions by Jerametrius
Butler and Milton Proctor set up three of the Wildcats'
second-quarter scores.
Northern Illinois also let Monty Beisel recover Gramatica's
squibbed kickoff after Cooper's score. Beisel's play led to
Bishop's first score.
"We made so many mistakes -- the interceptions, the punt return,
the kickoff they recovered," Novak said. "Those things just
aren't good football. I'd hoped to make it more competitive than
that."
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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