SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Kansas State and Oregon were in perfect position at the start of Nov. 17, Nos. 1 and 2 in the BCS standings, seemingly on a crash course toward the national championship game.
By day’s end, the Wildcats had been run over by Baylor, the Ducks lost a heartbreaker to Stanford and both of their national title hopes were all but gone.
Unlike many teams, Kansas State and Oregon ended up with a nice consolation prize: a trip to the Valley of the Sun to square off in the Fiesta Bowl.
“This game could have been for the national championship,” Oregon linebacker Boseko Lokombo said. “A couple weeks ago, that’s where we were both headed.”
They’re headed to the desert instead, setting up one of the most anticipated games this bowl season Thursday night at University of Phoenix Stadium.
A year ago, the Fiesta Bowl hit it big with Oklahoma State and Stanford, two high-profile programs that didn’t disappoint, putting on an offensive show won by the Cowboys 41-38 in overtime.
This year’s game, Thursday night at University of Phoenix Stadium, has the potential to be better.
Oregon (11-1) is in its fourth straight BCS bowl game under coach Chip Kelly, following a trip to the 2011 BCS championship game and two Rose Bowls, including the program’s first win in the Granddaddy of Them All in 95 years last season.
The Ducks fly fast, overwhelming opponents with where-did-they-all-come-from speed, their touchdown drives measured not in minutes but seconds. Oregon has one of the nation’s most explosive running back tandems in Kenjon Barner and DeAnthony Thomas, threats to score on every touch, and redshirt freshman quarterback Marcus Mariota played well beyond his years while proving to be a dynamic force in his own right.
The Ducks were second nationally with 50.83 points and 323.25 yards rushing per game and fourth in total offense at 550.08.
“Basically, only one team stopped them the entire year and that was Stanford,” Kansas State defensive coordinator Tom Hayes said. “It’s a challenge. We need to meet the challenge if we have any wishes for a victory.”
It doesn’t figure to be any easier for Oregon going against Kansas State (11-1) in its second resurrection under coach Bill Snyder.
After a three-year retirement, Snyder, 73, again lifted the Wildcats out of the doldrums, leading them to a bowl game his second season, 10 wins a year ago and all the way back to national prominence this season.
Kansas State doesn’t play nearly as fast as the Ducks, but can put up points in a hurry — ninth nationally with 40.67 per game — and is led by a Heisman Trophy finalist, do-everything senior quarterback Collin Klein.
Lightly recruited and switched to receiver early in his college career, Klein had a superb first season as Kansas State’s starter, throwing for 1,918 yards, rushing for 1,141 more and accounting for 40 touchdowns as a junior.
He became a bona fide star his final season in Manhattan.
A fifth-year senior, Klein earned the moniker Optimus Klein for his grittiness and ability to grind out victories any way he could, seemingly topping himself every game.
A sturdy 6-foot-5 and 226 pounds, Klein became the first quarterback in the BCS era to run for at least 20 TDs and throw for 10 in consecutive seasons, and broke the FBS record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback in two seasons with 49.
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