Kansas State quarterback Ell Roberson started Friday night's Fiesta Bowl game against Ohio State, but he looked a bit spent, his lackluster first-half play contributing to the Wildcats' incomplete effort in their 35-28 loss to the Buckeyes.
The Buckeyes, who won the national championship on this same Sun Devil Stadium field 364 days ago, won their second Bowl Championship Series game in a row in front of a sellout crowd of 73,425.
Roberson's status for the game had been in question after he was accused of sexual assault at the Scottsdale Plaza Resort, the Wildcats' team headquarters, early Thursday morning by a 22-year old female Kansas State alumna and acquaintance.
Both Paradise Valley police and Kansas State officials concluded that, barring any new information, they did not have enough evidence to indicate criminal activity in the he-said, she-said incident_Roberson said that the sex was consensual, she claimed it was forced.
Roberson apparently was in violation of the team's curfew, which was set for 11 p.m. on New Year's Eve. But that infraction, apparently, was not serious enough to cause coach Bill Snyder to punish his star quarterback for one of the biggest games in the program's history.
Roberson's presence, however, hardly mattered in the early going.
He completed only 3-of-9 first quarter passes and finished the first half 5-of-20 with one interception. By then, the Wildcats already were in a 21-7 hole.
In fact, Kansas State started so slowly that it didn't pick up a first down until the start of the second quarter, at which point Ohio State was already on top 14-0.
Ohio State opened up the scoring halfway through the first quarter when Harlen Jacobs blocked Jared Brite's punt at the Kansas State 17-yard line.
John Hollins picked up the ball at the 7 and ran it into the end zone to stake the Buckeyes to a 7-0 lead.
Less than four minutes later, the Buckeyes extended the lead to 14-0 when quarterback Craig Krenzel capped a six-play, 43-yard drive with a 6-yard scoring strike to Santonio Holmes.
The defense set up the Buckeyes third touchdown when, on the first play of a Kansas State possession, cornerback Chris Gamble picked off Roberson.
On the next play, Krenzel connected with wide receiver Michael Jenkins for a 17-yard touchdown pass, pumping the lead up to 21-0.
Jenkins, who came into the game needing 54 receiving yards to become the Buckeyes's all-time leader, claimed the record with a 37-yard reception in the third quarter.
That catch, which gave Ohio State first-and-goal at the 8-yard line, gave Jenkins 2,889 career receiving yards, 34 more than former Buckeye and current San Diego Charger David Boston's record of 2,855.
Jenkins added eight yards to the total two plays later, hauling in an 8-yard touchdown pass from Krenzel that increased Ohio State's lead to 28-14.
Tailback Darren Sproles put Kansas State on the board with 3:01 left in the second quarter, finishing off an 11-play, 70-yard drive with a 6-yard touchdown run that made the score 21-7.
After the Wildcats' defense held Ohio State's offense to three-and-out on the opening possession of the second half, Kansas State's offense took advantage, ending a 70-yard, 10-play drive with a 14-yard touchdown run by Roberson.
Ohio State added a touchdown with 37 seconds left in the third quarter, when Holmes hauled in his second score of the game to increase the lead to 35-14.
But Kansas State refused to disappear, again cutting the lead to 14 just a 1{ minutes into the fourth quarter, on Ayo Saba's 3-yard touchdown run.
But the Wildcats' comeback suffered a serious setback when kicker Joe Rheem missed a 45-yard field goal attempt with 7:59 left in the game, and the Buckeyes up 35-21.
©2004, Chicago Tribune.
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