COPPER BOWL : Kansas State Romps Over Wyoming

Kansas State won its first bowl game in the 97-year history of the school, routing Wyoming, 52-17, in the Copper Bowl on Wednesday night behind an offensive blitz led by Chad May and Andre Coleman.

“Nothing surprises me, but I can’t tell you that we thought we would win like we did,” Kansas State Coach Bill Snyder said.

May, a transfer from Cal State Fullerton, scored on a short run and passed for two touchdowns, one a 61-yard pass play to Coleman. Coleman, a wide receiver and return specialist, also scored on a 68-yard punt return.

The 20th-ranked Wildcats (9-2-1), appearing in only their second bowl game, handed Wyoming (8-4) its sixth consecutive postseason loss dating to 1968. The Cowboys fell to 4-6 in bowl play. The victory gave Kansas State its most victories since 1910.

Wyoming’s last bowl appearance was a loss in the 1990 Copper Bowl to California. Kansas State’s only other postseason game was a 14-3 loss to Wisconsin in the 1982 Independence Bowl.

J.J. Smith ran for a bowl-record 133 yards, May completed 19 of 28 passes for 275 yards and Coleman caught eight passes for 144 yards as Kansas State accumulated 502 yards in total offense.

The Wildcats held Wyoming to 36 yards rushing and 302 total yards, with cornerback Kenny McEntyre, who had 11 tackles, ending the scoring on a 37-yard interception return for a touchdown with 6:09 to play.

Wyoming made three costly mistakes early that enabled the Wildcats to jump to a 16-3 lead early in the second quarter.

Penalties nullified touchdown by the Cowboys in their first possession and canceled a fumble recovery that would have snuffed a Kansas State touchdown drive. The Wildcats also picked off a pass in their end zone.

Kansas State, which finished third in the Big Eight, set a Copper Bowl scoring record, surpassing Washington State’s output in a 31-28 victory over Utah in last year’s fourth Copper Bowl. The game was the highest scoring in the bowl’s history.