1968 Kansas State Wildcats football team

The 1968 Kansas State Wildcats football team represented Kansas State University in the 1968 NCAA University Division football season.^[1] The team's head football coach was Vince Gibson. The Wildcats played their home games in KSU Stadium.

1968 Kansas State Wildcats football
Conference	Big Eight Conference
Record	4–6 (2–5 Big 8)
Head coach	Vince Gibson (2nd season)
Home stadium	KSU Stadium
Seasons ← 1967 1969 →

1968 Big Eight Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 7 Kansas +	6	–	1	–	0			9	–	2	–	0
No. 11 Oklahoma +	6	–	1	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
No. 9 Missouri	5	–	2	–	0			8	–	3	–	0
Nebraska	3	–	4	–	0			6	–	4	–	0
Colorado	3	–	4	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
Kansas State	2	–	5	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
Oklahoma State	2	–	5	–	0			3	–	7	–	0
Iowa State	1	–	6	–	0			3	–	7	–	0
+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

1968 was a significant year in Wildcat football history. KSU Stadium debuted as the new home for the football team, which moved from Memorial Stadium. The team was led by sophomore quarterback Lynn Dickey and finished the season as the best passing offense in the Big Eight.

1968 was also significant for the fact that the Wildcats were ranked for only the second time in school history (the first since 1953), and for the first time in the AP Poll. The team was ranked #20 going in its game against #4 Penn State. Wildcats went on to lose the game, 25–9, and would not be ranked the rest of the season, although they would return to the rankings in the 1969 season.

1968 was also the last time the Wildcats beat Nebraska until the 1998 season, and the last time K-State beat Nebraska in Lincoln until 2003.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 21	Colorado State*	KSU Stadium Manhattan, KS		W 21–0	22,641
September 28	at No. 4 Penn State*	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		L 9–25	45,024
October 5	at VPI*	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA		W 34–19	19,000	^[2]
October 12	Iowa State	KSU Stadium Manhattan, KS (rivalry)		L 14–23	31,507
October 19	at Colorado	Folsom Field Boulder, CO (rivalry)		L 14–37	32,500
October 26	No. 14 Missouri	KSU Stadium Manhattan, KS		L 20–56	26,449
November 2	at Oklahoma	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK		L 20–35	43,782
November 9	at Nebraska	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE (rivalry)		W 12–0	67,466
November 16	No. 7 Kansas	KSU Stadium Manhattan, KS (rivalry)	ABC	L 29–38	35,937
November 23	Oklahoma State	KSU Stadium Manhattan, KS		W 21–14	17,645
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1968 Kansas State Wildcats football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class RB 36 Larry Brown Sr WR 40 Charlie Collins Jr QB 11 Lynn Dickey So G 76 Ira Gordon Jr RB 42 Mack Herron Sr WR 81 Dave Jones Sr G 65 Mike Kuhn So OT 75 Lynn Larson Sr WR 44 Bob Long So RB 23 Mike Montgomery So QB 10 Bill Nossek Sr G 79 Dean Shaternick So TE 80 Forrest Wells So WR 88 Sonny Yarnell So	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB 20 Ron Dickerson So LB 54 Jim Dukelow So DE 82 Bill Kennedy Sr LB 57 Randy Ross Jr DB 26 Clarence Scott So	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Vince Gibson Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible   Injured   Redshirt

References

1. "1968 Kansas State Wildcats Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
2. Young, Ed (October 6, 1968). "Inspired K-State Team Devours Virginia Tech's Football Gobblers, 34-19". The Danville Register. Danville, Virginia. Associated Press. p. 1D. Retrieved January 22, 2024 – via Newspapers.com  .