2003 Kansas State Wildcats football team

2003 Kansas State Wildcats football
Big 12 champion
Big 12 North champion
Fiesta Bowl, L 28–35 vs. Ohio State
ConferenceBig 12 Conference
DivisionNorth
Ranking
CoachesNo. 13
APNo. 14
Record11–4 (6–2 Big 12)
Head coach
Co-offensive coordinatorDel Miller (7th season)
Co-offensive coordinatorGreg Peterson (1st season)
Offensive schemeSpread
Co-defensive coordinatorBret Bielema (2nd season)
Co-defensive coordinatorBob Elliott (2nd season)
Base defense4–3
Home stadiumKSU Stadium
Seasons
← 2002
2004 →
2003 Big 12 Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
North Division
No. 14 Kansas State x$   6 2     11 4  
No. 19 Nebraska   5 3     10 3  
Missouri   4 4     8 5  
Kansas   3 5     6 7  
Colorado   3 5     5 7  
Iowa State   0 8     2 10  
South Division
No. 3 Oklahoma x%   8 0     12 2  
No. 12 Texas   7 1     10 3  
Oklahoma State   5 3     9 4  
Texas Tech   4 4     8 5  
Texas A&M   2 6     4 8  
Baylor   1 7     3 9  
Championship: Kansas State 35, Oklahoma 7
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
  • % – BCS at-large representative
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2003 Kansas State Wildcats football team represented Kansas State University in the 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team's head coach was Bill Snyder. The Wildcats played their home games in KSU Stadium. The team finished the season with a win–loss record of 11 wins and 4 losses, and a Big 12 Conference record of 6 wins and 2 losses. They notched a stunning 35–7 victory over the #1 ranked Oklahoma Sooners in the Big 12 Championship Game. With their 1st conference championship since 1934, they earned a berth in one of the Bowl Championship Series bowl games, the 2004 Fiesta Bowl, where they were defeated by the Ohio State Buckeyes, 35–28. The Wildcats played 15 games, most in school history.

During the 2002 and 2003 seasons teams were allowed to schedule 12 games as well as a kickoff game. As a result, Kansas State became only the second team in the modern era to play a 15-game schedule. The first was the 1996 BYU Cougars.

Running back Darren Sproles led the nation in rushing, and the Wildcats scored 549 points, good for third all-time at Kansas State.[1]

Until 2022, this was the only season in college football history in which Kansas State, Kansas, and Missouri all played in a bowl game in the same season.