10 31 gd 14

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OKLAHOMA STATE @ NO. 11 K-STATE

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seven down, five to go

George Walker | the collegian Wide receiver Deante Burton brings the ball downfield during the game against Texas on Oct. 25, 2014 in Bill Snyder Family Stadium.

PAGE 2

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2014

e Wildcat defense’s second line works through season adversity as family

By Emilio Rivera the collegian “Family” is a word that is always used to describe K-State football. On the field, there is one unit that epitimizes this relationship unlike any other: the linebackers.

The improvements they have made this year have become evident down the road.

From the struggle at Iowa State to the shutout against Texas, the linebackers have come to be a dominant and complete position.

The family structure starts with seniors Dakorey Johnson and Jonathan Truman as the two big brothers, who organize and push their younger sibling into doing exactly what needs to be done.

At the bottom of the structure is freshman Elijah Lee as the little brother, who is in the process of being molded into the type of player the lynch mob needs at linebacker.

“We’re all pretty close, we joke around, we all hang out together outside of football,” Lee said. “So its just not an on the field thing, because we’re really close as a family. If your teammates aren’t that close to you, you’ll never learn the ropes or how to play at the position.”

Lee understands how his age plays a role in the complex of the position, and knows that he can rely on any of his teammates.

“Everybody is really experienced and no one is really close to my age,” Lee said.

“But whenever I get out there, I feel like they take care of me and make sure I’m in the right position.”

With the help of his teammates, Lee has put himself in the position to be known as

Emily DeShazer | the collegian K-State linebacker Will Davis tackles Texas runningback Johnathan Gray last Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. The Wildcats held Gray to 24 yards on 10 attempts in the 23-0 win.

one of the best linebackers off the edge on the team. Lee leads the team with 3.5 sacks on the season, also forcing a fumble with his hard-nosed style.

Improvement isn’t something that happens without work, just like building a relationship with teammates.

For this group, it started after last season, through the winter and spring where the workouts forced them to improve together.

“We’ve grown together, it started all the way back in winter conditioning, and it has moved us forward,” sophomore Will Davis said. “We’ve watched film together, we’ve hung out together – I think it has really helped us jell as a group, and we’ve become really cohesive that way. I think it is just that we spending so much time together, we’re all best friends, so I think that’s really helped us.”

The preparation and hardship that this group has went through has caused the group to become a more crisp unit.

They have progressively made less mistakes and have been able to become one of the best second-levels against the rush in the nation.

“The biggest jump for us is just understanding the game better, it’s probably evident (to everyone else), and we think it’s evident when we watch

film,” Davis said. “We’re getting our reads better, we’re getting to places faster because we know where we’re going and what we’re supposed to do.”

For Truman, one of the defensive captains and leading tackler for the team, confidence isn’t something that has run short for the group. He knows everyone in the group can step up when they need to, and that it all stems from the

relationship that they’ve built.

“We have a lot of talent at our position, I’m just very fortunate to have Will Davis and (Johnson) beside me, and (Lee) and those guys coming in and out of the game,” Truman said.

“I just have a lot of confidence in those guys and their preparation, they prepare well each week, they care about their teammates. They want to do absolutely everything they can to help the team.”

After 23 seasons, it’s time to buy into K-State’s idea of daily improvement

By Tate Steinlage the collegian Jonathan Truman heard the reporter’s question clear as day as he looked down at his hands thinking of how he would phrase his response. After a few seconds, he glanced back up and answered.

“As a team, we talk about getting better every day, and to this point I think we’ve done that,” he said. “We want to continue doing that.”

Straightforward, check.

Predictable, check. True? You better believe it.

Ten weeks into the season, K-State (6-1, 4-0) is the only team in the Big 12 that can say it controls its own destiny when it comes to the conference title and College Football Playoff race.

They can say that because they beat Stephen F. Austin and Iowa State despite everyone asking about their clash with SEC powerhouse Auburn.

They can say that because they trampled over one of the nation’s top running backs in UTEP’s Aaron Jones and out-performed a dangerous Texas Tech offense before ever turning their attention over to Oklahoma.

They can say that because they just endured two grueling

Parker Robb | the collegian Senior defensive end Ryan Mueller (44) leads the Wildcats up the ramp and into the locker room following their 23-0 shutout of the Texas Longhorns last Saturday in Bill Snyder Family Stadium.

games in a span of two weeks and came out on top in both, earning their first conference shutout since the peak of the Darren Sproles and Ell Roberson era in 2003 along the way.

“Every game is a different challenge, and I think we kind of like that,” Truman said. “We like to have new challenges each week.”

K-State players and coach-

es speak about the value of daily improvement like it’s the only thing hanging in the balance between them winning or losing — and, in a way, it is.

The cornerstone of this

program isn’t a big football cathedral in the form of a stadium.

It’s not jersey combinations or high-profile recruits. Rather, it’s a roster of hard-working, often blue-collar-type players,

who recognize the importance of every day on the calendar as it relates to football.

“Nothing changes for us,” head coach Bill Snyder said.

“We still take it a day at a time and a snap at a time. They all mean a significant amount.

Like I said before, this will be the most important game they will play.”

It’s easy to talk about the importance of every practice and every game, but Snyder and his staff have done an excellent job at getting their players to buy into the value of actually believing it — and it’s easy to see that they do.

“We are trying to get better every day and go out there and improve,” senior offensive lineman Drew Liddle said earlier this season. “We are trying to make it about ourselves and not our opponent.”

So when Jonathan Truman stands up in front of a dozen recorders and cameras and proclaims that his teammates are focused on the daily grind, there’s no reason to doubt him. When Bill Snyder says Oklahoma State is the most important game on their schedule right now, you best believe him.

K-State has given us every reason to believe in their idea of daily improvement. If you haven’t yet bought into it, now’s the time.

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PAGE 3

Numbers never lie: Lee makes impact on K-State defense

By Adam Suderman the collegian As a two-time recipient of the Buck Buchanan award, which is annually given to the top defensive lineman in the Kansas City-metro area, Lee is showing his skills at record pace.

After sacking Stephen F. Austin quarterback Zach Conque in his very first play in a K-State uniform, linebacker Elijah Lee opened the eyes of all 52,830 fans in attendance for the 2014-15 season opener.

The freshman didn't stop there as he tallied one more sack in that game and he's added 1.5 sacks since. He now sits in a second-place tie with former K-State linebacker Mark Simoneau for the most sacks (3.5) as a true freshman.

As he stepped into Manhattan this past summer, it didn't take long for his teammates to take notice of his physical and football attributes.

"He has just been a great student of the game," junior defensive back Morgan Burns said. "He has spent a lot of time with older guys that have been though the system, asking questions and trying to learn the defense. I think that shows a lot of maturity on his part. I think a lot of freshmen come in and expect that they are going to redshirt and wait a year to play. He just shows a lot of poise on the field.”

Head coach Bill Snyder acknowledged that the sea-

son-ending injury to linebacker Charmeachealle Moore played a role in Lee's presence on the field, but he was more than happy to give the Blue Springs, Missouri native an opportunity to play as a freshman.

“Elijah has done well," Snyder said. "He is making improvements. He is going to be a very fine player. He was good enough as a freshman to move up to the backup role at the onset of the season. The more playing time he gets, the better he gets. I think it is an accumulation of a lot of things. He is a talented guy and he runs around and makes plays. He is a bright young fellow."

Regardless of how the depth chart set up, Lee was motivated to make his coaches aware of his ability even if he was only an 18-year-old pass rusher.

“I came in thinking I was going to redshirt," the freshman linebacker said. "Then throughout the summer and camp, I decided that if I worked hard, there would be no way they could keep me off of the field.”

Playing time became even more realistic for the pass-rushing specialist when linebackers coach Mike Cox asked Lee to step into the first-team defense in a practice before the season started.

"Toward the end (of preseason camp), coach Cox was like, 'Ellijah, go in,'" Lee said.

"I said, 'me?' Because I thought Mike (Moore) and I were just sharing reps and he told me

Emily DeShazer | the collegian K-State linebacker Elijah Lee sacks Texas quarterback Tyrone Swoopes on Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. K-State sacked Swoopes twice as they shut out the Longhorns.

Parker Robb | the collegian Freshman linebacker Elijah Lee (9), assisted by sophomore defensive end Jordan Willis, tackles Texas quarterback Tyrone Swoopes for a ten yard loss on third down during the second quarter of the Wildcats’ 23-0 shutout of the Texas Longhorns Oct. 25, 2014, at home.

to get out there and it was my turn."

As soon as word came that he would be able to play as a true freshman and not redshirt, he was able to make a phone call he'll never forget.

"That was the first thing (that happened)," Lee said.

"Coach Cox said, 'Elijah, I want you to call your parents and make sure it's okay.' I called my mom because that's who I'm really close to and I told her. She was hooping and hollering through the phone. I called my dad and he told me that he knew I could do it."

Life at home has traveled with Lee to the Little Apple as he said he fields roughly 30 texts and five or six missed calls after each game. With a smile, he said Twitter notifications provide plenty of support from the purple-clad faithful at K-State.

With the positivity came a few negative comments as

well, but it has only added fuel to his fire.

"You see all this stuff on social media about how I had this very little chance (to come and play right away," Lee said.

"I took that in and told myself that I can't let them guess as to what I was going to be able to do or predict what I was going to be able to do. I try to come

“I decided that if I worked hard, there would be no way they could keep me off of the field.”

ELIJAH LEE LINEBACKER, KANSAS STATE

out and give my all to show anything is possible."

As one of three products from Blue Springs High School

this year (joined by safety Kaleb Prewett and running back Dalvin Warmack), the trio upholds a strong reputation of football from the Blue Springs version of the Wildcats.

The school has two players currently in the NFL in Kansas City Chiefs offensive tackle Donald Stephenson and San Francisco 49ers' wide receiver Brandon Lloyd. They also have seven players who are currently playing at the NCAA D-I or D-IAA level.

Lee gave credit to high school head coach Kelly Donohoe as a guiding force behind his high school's program success and carries advice from him to this day.

"He said, 'keep your motor going,'" Lee said. "Because when your motor's going, it's hard to stop you."

Sophomore linebacker Will Davis said Lee makes daily impressions with the strength and speed of the

above-mentioned motor.

"He definitely does not act like a true freshman walking around the complex or at practice," Davis said. "He brings the same mindset that a junior or senior would. I feel like his biggest upside is his maturity that he brings every day. He is never down or out like a normal freshman might be some days after a bad practice or a bad play."

With years of successful linebackers lining the K-State history books, Lee is ready to build upon an already successful first year in Manhattan. If he keeps up at his current pace, Snyder is excited to see what his freshman phenom can offer the rest of this season and beyond.

"Right now, it is at the level of needing experience," Snyder said. "Every repetition he gets in practice, every repetition he gets in a game, just adds to his strength.”

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PAGE 4

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2014

Big 12 midyear awards: Petty knocked out of offensive player of the year

Taylor Alderman | the collegian Then junior wide receiver Tyler Lockett gets tripped up by TCU former cornerback Jason Verrett on Nov. 16, 2013 at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.

Austin Earl the collegian Offensive player of the year: TCU QB Trevone Boykin TCU’s offense was dreadful in 2013, but Boykin has taken over as full-time quarterback and performed quite nicely. He is second in the Big 12 in passing touchdowns and yards per game.

Boykin was mistake prone in his freshman and sophomore seasons, but now in his junior year, he seems to have put the pieces together. He has 21 touchdowns with just three interceptions through seven games.

His new throwing ability makes him incredibly dangerous

because last season his biggest asset was his legs. Now, he has both options at his disposal.

He has chosen to move the ball through the air most often this season, but opponents cannot forget about his ground game.

The Horned Frogs have two stout defenses left on their schedule in K-State and Texas. If Boykin continues to put up big numbers against those two, as well as in the other three games, he could find himself on the Heisman ballot at the end of the season.

Honorable mentions: West Virginia QB Clint Trickett, Baylor RB Shock Linwood

Defensive player of the year: Kansas LB Ben Heeney Heeney has been a solid player for his entire career. He’s led his team in tackles in his sophomore and junior seasons and leads his team in tackles this season as well.

Heeney has taken his play to a new level in 2014. In just seven games, he has racked up 84 tack-

les and 10 tackles for loss. His 12 tackles per game are the most in the power five conferences.

He also has 1.5 sacks and an interception on the season.

Heeney has great instincts that take him to the ball on nearly every play. He does not have elite athletic attributes, but he plays hard and makes every play that comes at him.

What is unfortunate for Heeney is that he’s the best player on a bad defense. His production gets overshadowed by the overall failures of the team.

If he keeps up the level of play he has shown so far this season, it will be a shame if he does not earn numerous accolades.

Honorable mentions: TCU LB Paul Dawson, Baylor DE Shawn Oakman, Oklahoma DB Zack Sanchez

Coach of the year: West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen What Holgorsen has done this season is nothing short of incredible. Last season, West Virginia was the second worst team

in the Big 12. They only won four games the entire season.

This year, the Mountaineers have won six of their first eight games.

One of those games was an upset of previously undefeated Baylor.

Under Holgorsen’s leadership, senior quarterback Clint Trickett is having the best season of his career. In an injury riddled 2013 season, he had just one game that he threw more touchdowns than interceptions. This season, Trickett has just five interceptions and 17 touchdowns.

It is easy to point to Holgorsen’s offensive mind as the reason for the turnaround.

West Virginia still controls their own destiny in the Big 12.

They have just one conference loss and play the only undefeated conference team, K-State, on Nov. 20. The Mountaineers also have TCU on their schedule.

Their other two games look like they could be fairly easy victories with Texas and Kansas.

Honorable mentions: TCU head coach Gary Patterson, K-State head coach Bill Snyder

Newcomer of the year: Baylor WR KD Cannon If you look up explosive in the Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, chances are you will see a picture of KD Cannon. He was a top recruit coming out of high school and has already shown why this season. The freshman leads Baylor in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns.

The Bears’ offense is elite, so Cannon is not the only talented player on the team. He’s just one part of a very good whole.

It’s no small feat to lead Baylor in those categories. Cannon’s senior teammate Antwan Goodley was an All-American last season and led the Big 12 in receiving touchdowns.

Cannon is all about speed.

He can burn any cornerback in the conference. He’s a dangerous player that should continue to make noise throughout conference play.

Honorable mention: Oklahoma State WR Tyreek Hill

Most intriguing storyline: K-State and TCU’s race for the Big 12 title Most people expected that the Big 12 would be a two-team race in Oklahoma and Baylor.

They also thought that the conference would be decided when the two teams face off on Nov. 8.

Where those people were wrong was their prediction on what two teams would be playing in that game on that date. Instead of Baylor and Oklahoma, all eyes will be on K-State when it travels to Fort Worth to face TCU. Both the Wildcats and Horned Frogs have huge games left on their schedule and if either of them run the table, the Big 12 should have a representative in the first College Football Playoff.

Austin Earl is a sophomore in fishing, wildlife and conservation biology. Please send comments to sports @ kstatecollegian.com.

Week 10 games to watch: Two nationally televised games highlight conference slate

By Tate Steinlage the collegian It was a wild week 9 around the Big 12 despite the lack of any major upset.

K-State shutout a Big 12 foe for the first time in 11 years and Oklahoma State continued to shoot itself in the foot in a spiral down the standings.

Oh, and TCU put up 82 points against Texas Tech, more than what their men’s basketball team scored in all but one game during the 2013-14 season.

It’s unlikely we’ll see any other team flirt with the century mark again this season, but it’s almost certain we’ll get some more exciting matchups as we head down the final stretch of the conference season.

While you wait for No. 11 K-State and Oklahoma State to kickoff at 7 p.m. from Bill Snyder Family Stadium Saturday, here’s what to know before the 10th week of the season.

vs.

No. 10 TCU vs.

No. 20 West Virginia 2:30 p.m., ABC/ESPN2 (Line: TCU -6) All things considered, this season has been the Trevone Boykin show.

The junior quarterback for TCU has been nothing short of phenomenal, passing for 2,306 yards and 21 touchdowns to just three interceptions through seven games. He’s a Heisman contender and the leader behind this surprisingly lethal Horned Frogs offense.

Boykin will lead TCU into Morgantown, West Virginia to take on the Mountaineers Saturday. Liked their opponent, West Virginia has enjoyed the services of their signal caller, senior Clint Trickett.

Trickett has thrown for 2,763 yards and 17 touchdowns to just five picks. He’ll need to add to those numbers significantly if the Mountaineers hope to remain in the Big 12 title hunt. TCU’s defense hasn’t been up to par recently,

but they’ll challenge Trickett and his outstanding senior wide receiver Kevin White.

If you’re looking for two of the country’s best quarterbacks, you won’t want to miss this one.

vs.

No. 19 Oklahoma vs.

Iowa State 11 a.m., FOX Sports 1 (Line: Oklahoma -16) This wasn’t where the Sooners expected to be prior to the season. This was supposed to be Oklahoma’s year to run the table, capture a Big 12 title and trot off into the sunset with a potential College Football Playoff trophy in hand.

However, the reality is that the Sooners are 5-2 and all-but eliminated from playoff contention and outside shots to be in the Big 12 title mix come seasons’ end.

Still, Bob Stoops’ squad isn’t one to lay down. After a heartbreaking 31-30 home loss to No. 11 K-State almost two week ago, Oklahoma is like-

ly rearing to go Saturday in Ames, Iowa, where the season narrative is much of the same.

Iowa State hasn’t been able to establish an identity.

They’re 2-5 on the year and winless in conference play.

Junior quarterback Sam Richardson has been a solid contributor, but has had little help around him.

Richardson and company will be tasked with keeping up with Oklahoma sophomore quarterback Trevor Knight, freshman running back Samaje Perine and junior wide receiver Sterling Shepard, who have led the Sooners all season in their respective categories.

Oklahoma is the heavy favorite, but as K-State fans know, Jack Trice Stadium is never an easy place to play at.

vs.

Texas vs. Texas Tech, 6:30 p.m., FOX Sports 1 It’s been a rough year for head coaches Kliff Kingsbury and Charlie Strong.

Kingsbury has dealt with mistakes on the field at Texas Tech in the form of penalties.

Charlie Strong, on the other hand, has dealt with mistakes off the field at Texas in the form of team violations.

Either way, both situations have resulted in a 3-5 start in 2014 for the Red Raiders and Longhorns.

Texas Tech’s defense isn’t good, but no one expected that it was 785-yards-in-the-formof-82-points not good. Even with a quality quarterback in sophomore Davis Webb, the Red Raiders stood no chance against TCU. Texas didn’t allow anywhere near those numbers last weekend against K-State, but then again, they couldn’t even come away with points.

It was the first time since 2004 that the Longhorns were held scoreless.

With so many uncertainties surrounding these two teams, one thing is for sure: this is a must win for both teams if they have any hope of making a bowl game this season.

vs.

Kansas vs. No. 12 Baylor 3 p.m., FOX Sports 1 (Line: Baylor -36) Kansas is not a good football team right now and the last thing it needs is a game against a motivated Baylor team.

The Bears left Morgantown, West Virginia two weeks ago scratching their heads just a week after celebrating a stunning, come-from-behind victory against TCU. The Bears were defeated by the Mountaineers 41-27, tainting their spotless record and position in the Playoff.

Meanwhile, Kansas is just simply trying to win football games under interim head coach Clint Bowen. The Jayhawks have been outscored 117-55 in conference play, and Saturday likely isn’t going to help improve that mark.

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PAGE 5

College football playoff picture getting crafted through nine weeks Timothy Everson the collegian We have entered a new age.

Gone are the days of faceless, nameless computers making the definitive decisions on the future of your favorite team.

This past Tuesday, the inaugural College Football Playoff rankings were released to the awaiting masses.

Ever since it was announced two years ago that the new playoff system was being introduced, the anticipation has been tangible and rampant in the college football world. No matter where you went, what you watched or who you talked to, the looming playoff was hovering above like some alien craft ready to abduct us and take us into this new era.

As ESPN rolled through the rankings, gasps that were uttered were sparse. Most were waiting on some earth-shattering moment that would rock the college football world to it’s core.

People were ready with torch and pitchfork in hand, daring the selection committee to disrupt the balance.

Luckily for those brave souls on the committee, the world remained (at least for now) in equilibrium.

Really though, the first real rankings were pretty uneventful.

Sure, little discrepancies here or there popped up. But nothing so far has incited the rage of the rash (and slightly entitled) college football fan.

Just looking at the top 10, there is a pretty decent sample size of teams.

The mighty SEC West has four, the Big 12 has two, the ACC, Pac-12 and Big Ten have one and Notre Dame closes it out.

Let’s start with the Irish.

Coach Brian Kelly’s bunch are off to a nice start with senior quarterback Everett Golson leading the team.

Notre Dame’s biggest criticism so far is their schedule.

They’ve only played one team who is currently ranked and they lost to them.

We don’t know how good the Irish are because we have little

reference. However, that will change with a game at No. 15 Arizona State and a home matchup against No. 25 Louisville in South Bend.

If Notre Dame can survive, they will definitely be in the running, but if one spot is available and it’s between the Irish and a one loss conference champion from the Big 12 or Pac 12, Notre Dame will, deservedly, be left out in the rain.

Almost equally as unlikely to land a spot in the playoff is any team from the Big Ten. Michigan State, Ohio State and Nebraska are all floating around the top 16 with the Spartans in the best position to get some action at No. 8.

The Big Ten, however, is really bad beyond these top teams.

The middle and bottom of their conference is worse than any other power five conference and the top is average at best.

Michigan State does have one of the best losses in the country with a head-to-head against Oregon, but don’t count on the Spartans to make any charge into the playoff without some serious help from the other conferences.

Joining the Big Ten near the bottom of the heap is the ACC. The only reason why the ACC is better then the Big Ten and has a better shot to be represented in the playoff is simple.

They have the defending national champion in Florida State, whose quarterback is the defending Heisman winner.

Still, Florida State isn’t really that impressive.

They barely walked away from a mid- to low-level Big 12 team in Oklahoma State, they had to have overtime to escape a Clemson team who has no real business being in the top 25 and they struggled with a Notre Dame team which, as I’ve mentioned, is still kind of a mystery.

However, if they can get past Louisville, they will have a gentle stroll through their last four games.

In the Pac-12 however, things get a little better with a little sand, surf, sunshine and (most importantly) good football.

Pac-12 North deity Oregon is still sitting atop of their thrown.

There really is no real competition for the boys from Eugene in their division.

However, the south is a different, more fun animal.

Arizona, who gave Oregon it’s only loss, Arizona State and Utah are all contending for a shot to take on Oregon and possibly

Parker Robb | the collegian Senior wide receiver Tyler Lockett (16) celebrates with sophomore wide receiver Dante Burton (6) and junior left tackle Cody Whitehair (55) following his 9-yard touchdown reception to put the Wildcats up 21-14 in the second quarter of the No. 14-ranked Wildcats’ 31-30 upset of the No. 11-ranked Sooners on Oct. 18 at Gaylord Family Memorial Stadium in Norman, Oklahoma.

ride that one-loss train all the way to playoff town.

The Utes and Sun Devils play on Saturday which will clear that picture a little bit and Arizona plays both schools near the end of the season.

Continuing on the trend of good football being played from multiple schools, the Big 12 has planted it’s flag as a serious contender for a playoff spot.

TCU has the easiest road, having already played Oklahoma and Baylor but, the Frogs have West Virginia, a contender in their own right, and K-State to beat if they want a shot at not only a playoff spot, but their first Big 12 title.

K-State, while undefeated, has a murder’s row of opponents comparable to the lineup of New York Yankees in the late 1920s.

The Wildcats still have to play No. 7 TCU in Fort Worth, Texas; No. 22 West Virginia in Morgantown, West Virginia; and No. 13 Baylor in Waco, Texas.

If the Wildcats get through all of that and are still able to walk, they deserve some oxygen, a Big 12 title and a shot at their first national championship.

Finally, we have the big daddy of the college football world: the SEC. Three of the top four teams in the rankings are SEC teams and are all west division teams to be precise. For now, there should be little argument as to why they are there.

One is undefeated Mississippi State and the other two are Ole Miss and Auburn. Alabama, however, is knocking on the door right behind them.

Here’s the dirty little secret of having all of those great teams in one division, though: eventually, they cannibalize each other.

Like the great years of the Big 12 South in the mid-2000s, the upper crust of the SEC will equalize with everyone else.

Only two of those teams have played each other so far.

There is little to no way that you will see three SEC teams in the playoff. Seasons would have to swing terribly off course to make that a serious reality.

Controversy will show itself soon enough, no matter what postseason system is in place.

With all of the memories of the defunct BCS behind us, we are living history.

The four teams chosen to represent the collegiate world in the first College Football Playoff will be etched in stone and forever be remembered for being first in a world that where being truly first in anything is extremely rare.

The players have been chosen and the stage has been set.

The four spots are there for the taking, just waiting for someone to make history happen.

Timothy Everson is a sophomore in mass communications.

Please send all comments to sports@kstatecollegian.com.

Q-and-A with O’Colly sports editor Kieran Steckley

By Adam Suderman the collegian Q: Youth was the story for this team heading into 2014-15, but an impressive showing against Florida State changed perspective rather quickly. Where is this team compared to what was witnessed in Dallas?

A: The simple answer is back down to Earth. I didn’t think Oklahoma State would come remotely close to beating Florida State, but it did. That game raised a lot of expectations. In many fans’ eyes, caution turned to hype. This team went from mediocre Big 12 team to conference contender instantly.

But we have seen in recent weeks that this team is just not ready to compete at the

top of the conference. The Cowboys are too young and too inexperienced at key positions. It is talented enough to make a bowl game, but it won’t be easy with the schedule coming up (at K-State, versus Texas, at Baylor and at Oklahoma).

Q: Have you ever seen someone as fast and as explosive as Tyreek Hill?

What do you know about his journey to Stillwater, Oklahoma and when did you first get to see him in action?

A: There is no one in college football as fast and explosive as Tyreek Hill. He can hit the corner and get around the edge better than anyone I have ever seen. He is a junior college transfer from Garden City Community College. He has always been more of a track athlete

than a football player and it seems this season he has taken a big step in learning proper techniques and becoming more of a football player, as opposed to a track athlete in pads.

Q: QB injuries are obviously a significant blow and it’s true for Mike Gundy and his staff.

What’s the outlook for J.W. Walsh and what has been the biggest surprise with how Daxx Garman has adjusted to the starting job?

Walsh is likely out for the season with a leg injury (anything more specific than that would be speculation because Gundy doesn’t discuss injuries). Now, Walsh has been ruled out for the season before and come back (2012), so I wouldn’t rule anything out.

As far as Garman goes,

I don’t know if surprise is the right word, but we had heard stories about how good his arm is, but had never seen it. Well, he finally put it on display this season and it’s a cannon. He throws the deep ball better than any other throw on the route tree.

What’s surprising is that he has not shown the ability to throw the intermediate and short balls with consistency.

Q: Oklahoma State wins on Saturday if _______ ?

The offensive line opens lanes for Hill and protects Garman better than it has all year. Also, the defense will have to force a few turnovers, possibly return one for a touchdown.

Q: Score prediction?

K-State 31 Oklahoma State 13

Courtesy of The O’Colly Oklahoma State’s O’Colly sports editor, Kieran Steckley.

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PAGE 6

Gundy, his Cowboys will be looking to rebound offensively in Manhattan

By Adam Suderman the collegian With only 19 points in its last two games, Oklahoma State is still searching for a way to rebound offensively.

For K-State head coach Bill Snyder, he hopes the Cowboys’ breakout performance waits until the second Saturday of November.

“They have had some injuries that have impacted their offensive line and running back,” Snyder said. “I do not know if they feel like they have been playing as well on offense, but when I look at them they look pretty good.”

After losing 11 starters with at least 15 career starts, Oklahoma State was picked to finish in the middle of the pack in Big 12 preseason polls.

Due to a season-opening, closer-than-expected performance against Florida State, expectations for the 201415 Cowboys have been far from steady. They’ve ranged anywhere from a rebuilding project to a top-15 team nationally.

The team achieved the latter expectation when it rattled off five-straight wins after losing to Florida State, but all three conference wins came against the bottom three teams in Texas Tech, Iowa State and Kansas.

Now, after losing backto-back games to No. 7 TCU and No. 22 West Virginia by a combined 57 points, the Cowboys will be greeted by No. 11 K-State at 7 p.m. Saturday night in Bill Snyder Family Stadium.

“Essentially, if you go back a couple of weeks all the way through the schedule, you’re either playing a top-20 team or a team that’s developing and has really good players,” head coach Mike Gundy said at his local weekly press

Parker Robb | the collegian K-State wide receiver Kyle Klein attempts to break the tackle of an Oklahoma State player at the end of the second quarter of the Wildcats’ game against Oklahoma State in Stillwater, Oklahoma, Saturday afternoon. The Wildcats went on to score a touchdown and increased their lead to 29-23.

conference. “Each week is going to be a real challenge for us.”

Defensive coordinator Glenn Spencer and his unit were the first to hold West Virginia quarterback Clint Trickett under 300 yards this season in a 34-10 loss last Saturday, but they’ll be challenged in a new way with K-State senior quarterback

Jake Waters.

As one of the better dual-threat quarterbacks in the conference, he’s an animal of a different breed and Spencer said his defense understands the upcoming challenges.

“He knows where seams and alleys are and has the runpass option about every play and the one time your eyes are wrong, he is going to get

you,” Oklahoma State defensive coordinator Glenn Spencer said. “It’s option football.

It’s just a different way to run it. Sometimes he has the ball in his hand as the runner, as opposed to the option when he is pitching it backwards. He’s running it and has the option to pitch it forward and throw the ball. It’s a big challenge for us as it has been to every-

body that has played him.”

As a third-year contributor, cornerback Kevin Peterson has gained plenty of perspective as to what K-State will offer offensively. Even though a different quarterback was under center for the Wildcats two years ago, the Oklahoma State junior doesn’t expect much change from the first opportunity he

had to see Snyder’s pro-style offense.

“They’re going to do the same thing they (always) do,” cornerback Kevin Peterson said. “They’re going to give the tight end the ball, and the quarterback is really smart.

They’re really physical and they have a lot of speed so we’ll try to do the best we can to slow them down.”

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PAGE 7

Big 12 offensive power rankings: TCU quarterback Trevone Boykin rockets up list Along with Cannon, Petty needs to work closer with sophomore running back Shock Linwood.

No. 4: K-State QB Jake Waters

Emilio Rivera the collegian No. 1: West Virginia QB Clint Trickett (Last week: 1) Consistency is the key for the senior signal-caller for the Mountaineers. Trickett resembles a custom-made quarterback that you would make on a video game due to the incredible numbers he’s posting this season. He has only thrown for under, yes under, 300 yards once and that was last week against Oklahoma State.

While he may not have the speed and mobility of other quarterbacks in the league, his arm is what separates him from the rest of the list. Lucky for Trickett, he has a big-play specialist in Kevin White at wide receiver. Trickett makes this offense dangerous on every play, which will be key as the season winds down.

No. 2: TCU QB Trevone Boykin (Last week: 5) If Trickett is how you make a pure-passing quarterback on a video game, Boykin is what would happen if you slid all of the skills to 99.

He is just that good. The junior has deceptive speed and footwork for a quarterback and he is the leading Big 12 quarterback in rushing yards with 374. He also leads the conference in total offense,

Big 12 sports editor picks

Emily DeShazer | the collegian K-State quarterback Jake Waters looks to pass last Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Waters was 19-23 and had 224 passing yards.

averaging 382.9 yards per game.

Boykin, who has constantly been overlooked in his career, is making the conference take notice of his skill, throwing for 433 yards and seven touchdowns against Texas Tech. He has also broken the school record for touchdowns and points scored in a game. If he continues at this pace, the Horned Frogs are on pace for a potential playoff berth and maybe a chance to bring a Heisman to Fort Worth, Texas.

No. 3: Baylor QB Bryce Petty (Last week: 2)

Austin Earl the collegian

No. 1: Kansas LB Ben Heeney

TCU No. 2

K-STATE No. 3

WEST VIRGINIA No. 4

O KLAHOMA No. 5

O KLAHOMA S TATE No. 6

BAYLOR No. 7

TEXAS No. 8

IOWA STATE No. 9

TEXAS TECH No. 10

KANSAS

(Last week: 1) Kansas will face Baylor this weekend and Heeney has the opportunity for a lot of tackles because the Bears run the ball more than anyone else in the conference. The chances that his team pulls the upset are infinitesimal, but Heeney could have a great individual performance on Saturday.

No. 2: TCU LB Paul Dawson (Last week: 2) TCU’s offense grabbed the headlines on against Texas Tech, but Dawson had a very impressive game too. He had 11 total tackles and two tackles for loss in the contest.

Dawson’s game last week moved him into first in the conference in tackles for loss per game. He is also tied for seventh in the nation in the same category.

He has stayed steady in second in the conference in tackles behind Heeney, but averages the most tackles in conference matchups.

The Horned Frogs face

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a tough road test when they visit Morgantown, West Virginia on Saturday. The Mountaineers have a solid offense and have already upset Baylor at home this season. Dawson’s play is crucial for his team and if he isn’t at the top of his game, TCU could be on upset alert.

No. 3: Baylor DE Shawn Oakman (Last week: 3) Both teams will be coming off a bye week when Kansas travels to Waco, Texas on Saturday and Oakman could have a field day. The Jayhawks are last in the conference in scoring, total offense, passing offense, and they are eighth in rushing offense.

No. 4: Oklahoma CB Zack Sanchez (Last week: 4) The Sooners will be back in action this week and face Iowa State in Ames, Iowa. The Cyclones have their fair share of offensive problems and are eighth in the conference in scoring.

Junior quarterback Sam B. Richardson has thrown an interception in all but one of Iowa State’s conference games this season.

Oklahoma has won every game in which Zack Sanchez has had a takeaway. It may not be crucial that he gets one on Saturday, but it definitely would not hurt his team’s cause.

Emilio Rivera is a sophomore in mass communications. Please send comments to sports@ kstatecollegian.com.

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(Last week: 5) Truman did not have an individually spectacular game last week against Texas, but he did lead the team with eight tackles. He didn’t accumulate any other statistics. What Truman was apart of against the Longhorns was special, though.

The Wildcats’ defense had a shutout and they also held Texas to just 90 yards on the ground and 106 yards through the air.

He is the heart and soul of the defense that put up that impressive performance.

The team would not be the same without him.

Truman and K-State face Oklahoma State this week and while the Cowboys have been ranked this season, they are not a great team. They have lost their last two games by a combined 57 points and their offense has scored a combined 19 points in the contests.

Oklahoma State is 71st in the nation in running the ball, which is what the Wildcats specialize in stopping. If Truman and his team keep playing at a high level, it could make their opponent one dimensional very quickly.

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By Austin Earl the collegian

0

Interceptions thrown by senior Jake Waters in conference games While Waters has thrown three interceptions this season, none of them have been in games against other Big 12 teams. The last time he threw one was against Auburn on Sept. 18. The Cowboys have intercepted eight passes this season, which is ranked 40th in the nation.

8 Sacks by defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah The Cowboys’ sophomore pass rusher has been a disruptive force on defense. His eight sacks are tied for the most in the Big 12. K-State’s offensive line will have their hands full with him.

22.4 Average yards gained by K-State on each punt return The Wildcats’ punt return unit is the second-best in the nation behind Auburn. They have just one touchdown on a punt return, but are often able to get better field possession because of the unit. Oklahoma State averages 8.1 yards per punt return, which is 62nd in the nation.

24 Sacks by Oklahoma State this season The Cowboys are the Big 12’s second best team at getting to the quarterback. The team has got to the quarterback 24 times in their eight games. The Wildcats are the worst at rushing the passer in the Big 12. They have just nine sacks this year.

25 Penalties committed by K-State in 2014 The Wildcats 25 penalties are the fewest of any power conference team. They have been penalized for just 207 yards, which is the fewest of any FBS team. Oklahoma State has been penalized 49 times for 426 yards this season.

28 Minutes per game the Cowboys controls the ball Oklahoma State controls the ball for the second fewest minutes per game in the Big 12. K-State averages 33:12 with the ball per game, which is the most in the conference.

41.3 Average net yardage of each Oklahoma State punt Flipping the field on punts is an important part of the game, and the Cowboys are the best at it in the conference.

K-State averages just 34.0 net yards per punt, worst in the Big 12.

50.5 Percent of the time the Wildcats convert on third down K-State has converted on 47 of their 93 third downs this season. The 50.5 percent conversion rate is the seventh best in the nation. Oklahoma State converts on just 36.2 percent of their third downs, 101st in the country.

99.3 Rushing yards per game allowed by K-State The Wildcats statistically have the best rushing defense in the Big 12. In fact, they allow the eighth fewest rushing yards per game in the country. Oklahoma State averages 156.3 yards per game which is 71st in the nation.

150.25 All-purpose yards per game averaged by junior Tyreek Hill Oklahoma State’s Tyreek Hill is one of the most versatile players in the country. He leads the Big 12 in all-purpose yards and is 14th in the nation in the same category.

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(Last week: 4) In shutting down White, Oklahoma State did something that no one has been able to do this season. White looked nearly unstoppable going into the game, having over 100 yards in every game and 1,047 total yards and eight touchdowns. Against the Cowboys, he could only reel in three receptions for 27 yards, but extended his touchdown streak to six games.

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No. 5: West Virginia WR Kevin White

Big 12 defensive power rankings: Heeney maintains hold of No. 1 spot

The campus sports editors of the conference release the week 10 edition of their power rankings

No. 1

This is the second week in a row where Petty has slipped in the rankings. He looked unstoppable at the beginning of the season, but has shown signs of inconsistency through the last several games. The problem started with his back injury and the pain that it caused him afterwards.

Petty has the issue of not being able to sustain his performances from week to week. He can throw for over 500 yards one week, only to answer with 200 yards the next. There certainly is no lack of weapons due to the presence of KD Cannon, who appears to be the front-runner for Big 12 rookie of the year.

(Last week: 3) While Waters’ health may raise a question or two, it shouldn’t be too concerning when realizing that nearly every player on the field is dealing with different ailments at this point of the season. Waters still has an ample amount of zoom to the ball when he throws it and he is making the right passes as he is yet to throw a Big 12 interception.

However, he does have the tendency to try to force the ball into spaces that he shouldn’t. Some balls are thrown right to defenders and he probably should have more interceptions than he currently does, but he does have top notch wide receivers who can play some keep away.

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Pick ‘Em

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2014

Week 10

Our football writers and celebrity guests make their picks Follow us at @sportscollegian

Adam Suderman @adamsuderman Sports Editor

Tate Steinlage @SteinlageT Beat Writer

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Emilio Rivera @lwslk_emilioooo

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VOL. 120 NO. 49

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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2014

Late night runners go the distance at Chester E. Peters Recreation Complex

Snyder endorses Sen. Pat Roberts

By Shelton Burch the collegian

Hannah Hunsinger | the collegian Late night exercisers run the indoor track at the Chester E. Peters Recreation Complex on Thursday night.

Riley County food insecurity worse than Kansas average

By Mikhayla Demott the collegian The food insecurity rate is significantly higher in Riley County compared to the rest of the state of Kansas. This is measured on a rating scale of how bad food insecurity is from 1-10, with ten being the the highest rate of food security. Riley County at 5.3 while the Kansas averages at 7.5. The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines food insecurity as meaning “consistent access to adequate food is limited by a lack of money and other resources at times during the year.”

So, to address the questions why the rate of food insecurity is so high and what can be done to fix this problem, we find many answers close to home. The Staley School of Leadership Studies has gone to great lengths working to help food insecurity in the county.

The school partners with the Flint Hills Breadbasket. This partnership has been established for almost 13 years, with the school working to raise money and collect cans from the community, according to Kerry Priest, assistant professor in the school.

LEAD 212, the introductory class in the school, takes on the responsibility of Cats 4 Cans, a project that allows students the opportunity to collect cans in the community for the Flint Hills Bread Basket. Last year the LEAD 212 students collected 15,978 pounds and $1,635.30 for the Flint Hills Breadbasket and it continues to grow every year, according to

the K-State website.

“This is a great project to teach our students about service learning and, specifically, that can collection is minor piece to the puzzle, but really does make a huge difference,” Priest said.

Lynda Bachelor, project coordinator in the school, gave answers to fixing the problem as well as why food insecurity is so high here.

“The way we address this problem is to increase food pantries/banks as well as mobile food pantries and that will lead to regular meals for the impoverished and finally, food policies need to be put

important because the Breadbasket “doesn’t receive any federal, state, county or city funding.”

“We’re totally funded by the graciousness of people that live in Manhattan,” Kieffer said. “That’s why I can’t say thank you to them enough because they’re the ones that make all this work.”

Students have also become passionate about the issue of food insecurity and have taken initiative to help outside of just class requirements. Shandell Gallardo, senior in public relations with a minor in leadership studies, is currently a class leader for a LEAD 212 class and is also interning at

“We are helping over 25 thousand people and we could never do it without the volunteers that come in here and make everything happen,”” MARIBETH KIEFFER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, FLINT HILLS BREADBASKET

in place,” Bachelor said.

Surrounding regions have already developed food policies to further treat this problem. Riley County is part of a region that has yet to develop any policies.

“There has been a food policy council put in place and (they) are working diligently on coming up policies,” Bachelor said.

According to Maribeth Kieffer, executive director for the Flint Hills Breadbasket, donations are

The Flint Hills Breadbasket.

“In order to treat this problem effectively, other organizations are involved,” Gallardo said. “The Flint Hills Breadbasket partners with five churches and Harvesters; it is totally a collaborative effort.”

Kieffer said that the help from the entire community is what helps to fix this issue.

“There are so many different departments at K-State that make this happen, and then there’s the

businesses downtown, there’s the private individual donors,” Kieffer said. “All those pieces make the puzzle complete. So we couldn’t do it without any one of those areas.”

In addition to donors and contributors, volunteers are also a large part of the process at the Flint Hills Breadbasket. Kieffer said she wants to emphasize how helpful and necessary the volunteers are, and how many people the Breadbasket has grown to help in the past few years.

“I think for anyone that comes down here and volunteers, they see that the need is truly here and we couldn’t do it without the volunteers that come here because, again, when I came in May of (2011), we were helping around 11,000 people and now we are helping over 25,000 people and we could never do it without the volunteers that come in here and make everything happen,” Kieffer said.

So while food insecurity is lower than the state average, K-State, the Flint Hills Breadbasket and the Manhattan community are working to make that less of a problem.

“I just want to say thank you to the Manhattan community,” Kieffer said. “I’m always so humbled by how gracious they are to help us here at the Breadbasket.

We do have accountability for our clients that use the Breadbasket and, again, Manhattan is just phenomenal. I don’t know that there’s any other town in the state, in Kansas, that is as phenomenal as the people that live here in Manhattan and take care of their own.”

Head football coach Bill Snyder, has endorsed Republican Sen. Pat Roberts in the race for the U.S. Senate in this year’s election, according to an article by the Topeka Capital Journal.

A political advertisement that began airing Thursday, includes a clip in which Snyder is asked who he will vote for in the coming election, according to the article.

“My good friend, Pat Roberts, of course,” Snyder said in the endorsement.

Snyder has remained distant from politics in the past. In 2006, former Gov. Kathleen Sebelius asked him if he was interested in running for lieutenant governor. If Snyder had ran, he would have taken over as governor when Sebelius became the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services in 2009. Instead, he stayed away from political office.

According to a Real Clear Politics poll, Roberts trails democratic challenger Greg Orman by .9 points as of Oct.26.

SGA chooses new election commissioner

By Catherine Caffera the collegian Sarah Haley was the obvious choice for the election commissioner position. In fact, she was the only choice. Even after the application deadline was extended by two weeks, Haley was the only applicant for the position, which she was announced as winning at Thursday’s Student Governing Association meeting. Haley’s colleagues said that did not diminish the confidence they had in her as she was sworn in Thursday.

“The thing about the electoral commissioner is that you need to be someone who can get students excited about voting and who cares about voting enough that they’re willing to remove themselves from supporting a particular candidate,” said Hope Faflick, senior in political science and Student Senator for Arts and Sciences, who said she has known Haley for four years.

“Sarah is so driven about SGA and so passionate about students and student government at K-State that she’ll do a good job,” Faflick said.

Haley said she wants to break down some of the barriers between the SGA and the K-State student body.

“What I really want to do with this position is extend it to people who haven’t had that much experience in SGA,”

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THE BLOTTER ARREST REPORTS Wednesday, Oct. 29 Amanda Marie McConnaughey, of St. George, was booked for obstructing apprehension or prosecution. Bond was set at $2,500.

Christopher Bernard Williams, of the 500 block of Moro Street, was booked for felony theft. Bond was set at $2,000.

Justin Peter Hunt, of the 600 block of Moro Street, was booked for the sale, distribution or cultivation of opiates; two counts for the sale or dis-

tribution of hallucinogens or marijuana; two counts for the sale or purchase of a communications facility for drugs, criminal use of weapons, possession of paraphernalia to grow and distribute marijuana and the use or possession of paraphernalia with intent for use in the human body.

Thursday, Oct. 30 Jason John Clifford, of the 3000 block of Bellingham Drive, was booked for driving under the influence. Bond was set at $750.

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2400 Casement Rd. manhattanvineyard.com (785) 539-0542

1001 South Scenic Dr. Manhattan, KS 66503

Sunday Services Sunday School 9:30 a.m.

Morning Service 10:45 a.m.

Evening Service 6:00 p.m.

Wednesday Service 6:30 p.m.

Reading Room: Tues.-Thurs. 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

St. Isidore’s Catholic Student Center

Vineyard Community Church

Young Adult Bible Study:

110 S. 4th St.

Come Join Us Contemporary Worship: 8:35 Fellowship Time: 9:30 Sunday School: 9:45 Traditional Worship: 11:00 Supporters of K-State Wesley

www.FirstLutheranManhattan.org 930 Poyntz • 785 537 8532

Worship Service:

Sunday 10:00 a.m.

Wednesday 7:00 p.m. in the Reading Room

612 Poyntz Ave. fumcmanhattan.com @fumcmhk 776-8821

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Sundays at 10:30 am

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Come as you are, you will be loved.

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Worship Service at 8:30 & 11:00 a.m.

Adult and Children Bible Hour Classes Offered at 10:00 a.m.

785.776.0424 www.gracebchurch.org 2901 Dickens Ave. (2 blks. E. of Seth Child)

MASS SCHEDULE Tuesday-Thursday 10 p.m.

Friday 12:10 p.m.

Saturday 5 p.m.

Sunday 9:30 a.m., 11 a.m., 4:30 p.m., 6 p.m.

Father Jarett Konrade, Chaplain

711 Denison

539-7496

check out the religion directory EVERY FRIDAY

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2014

PAGE 3

Purebred Beef Unit offers experience opportunities

By Taylor Isley the collegian Students and faculty alike enjoy working and learning at the Purebred Beef Teaching Unit.

The Purebred Beef Teaching Unit located off Kimball Avenue allows students to experience the cattle industry through hands-on work experience and different teaching experience offered at the unit.

The teaching unit runs around 300 breeding age purebred Angus, Hereford, and Simmental cows on 4,000 acres of native bluestem grass outside of town each year. 180 spring calves are currently being raised there, according to Tyler Leonhard, a 2013 K-State alumnus with a degree in animal science.

The unit’s mission is “to provide undergraduate students with practical experience in breeding, feeding, management and marketing of purebred seedstock as well as give livestock selection and general animal science cours-

es the opportunity to evaluate quality cattle,” according to K-State’s animal sciences and industry Web page.

Leonhard said he has been the manager and herdsman at the unit for just over a year. He grew up on a small cow-calf operation and backgrounding yard. Backgrounding is putting cattle on a high roughage diet such as wheat pasture to allow them a chance to grow and acclimate before being put in a higher intensity feed yard where they will be finished out for beef.

During his time at K-State, Leonhard said he has worked at the Beef Cattle Research Center and the Purebred Beef Teaching Unit, as well as having an internship at a large-scale feed yard.

After he graduated he was in feed sales and consulting until he came back to manage the teaching unit.

Jesse Page, senior in agricultural economics, works at the unit as a student worker.

He has been there two years and said he thoroughly enjoys his work.

“The unit has a good rep-

utation for being centered on students,” Page said.

Page said although he is taking 22 credit hours, he can still work at the teaching unit gaining real world cattle experience because of the flexible scheduling.

“I have great students employed here, but we continually strategize how to best accomplish jobs and objectives with the schedules my students have,” Leonhard said.

According to Page, working at the teaching unit is like taking an animal science class and being paid for it. He said he has really enjoyed and benefited from meeting many faculties as they teach or work on things such as reproductive technologies.

“The most rewarding part for me is the student interaction we have,” Leonhard said.

“Whether it is visiting judging teams, (K-State) students, or FFA and 4-H kids, our cattle help hundreds of young people further their knowledge throughout the year.”

One of the classes cattle are utilized in is Livestock Sales Management. Nicole

Armbrister, senior in animal science and industry, said she took this class last year.

“The class is a yearlong, we work the last half of the first semester and the first half of the second semester learning about how sales are put on successfully and then helping with the the Legacy Sale,” Armbrister said.

Armbrister said many students that take this class also work at the unit, so they are involved in clipping the cattle to get them sale ready. On sale day everyone is involved by working at the buyers’ table setting buyers up with a bidder number and with settling the bill after the sale, pushing bulls up to the sale ring or helping move cattle.

There are 10 students employed at the unit currently, according to Leonhard and Page.

“It is great to get other perspectives from around the country through working with my fellow K-Staters and coworkers,” Page said. “It is a fun atmosphere working with other young people who are passionate about cattle.”

Haunted house features Face Off competitor

By Janelle Feldmann the collegian For three years, Zombie Toxin Haunted House in Junction City has been providing its customers with a scare for Halloween. Though this time of the year is always busy for the attraction, this Halloween is different for Zombie Toxin.

According to Damien Zimmerman, art director for Zombie Toxin, this year’s production is projected to be “much bigger than previous years.”

This expectation is partially due to Zimmerman’s newfound fame. Zimmerman is currently a contestant on the seventh season of Syfy’s competition show “Face Off.” This completely selftaught, Kansas native competes in Los Angeles against fellow prosthetic make-up artists from across the country. According to the Syfy website, Zimmerman learned these make-up talents through watching videos.

The contestants must display their creativity and skill in constructing quality characters within the specific requirements of each task. Each contestant hopes to be the last one standing to receive prizes, including $100,000.

Zombie Toxin is underway with potentially their busiest Halloween yet, according to Rob Blanken of Junction City.

“Being on “Face Off” has brought (Zimmerman) an immeasurable amount of attention to us; it has brought a significant amount of attention to what we do,” Blanken said. “I anticipate that we’ll get people from very long distances coming out to see his work in action.”

This year, Zimmerman will be displaying his nationally recognized talents for Junction City visitors. He will be giving make-up demonstrations outside Zombie Toxin, a way of entertaining the customers while they wait in line.

(Zimmerman is) a very kind and caring person, and also very determined and ad-

amant about his efforts of his labor,” Blanken said. “He wants them to be perfect.”

This Halloween season, Zimmerman encourages people to check out what Zombie Toxin has to offer. He denounces the reputation of the “rinky dink” haunted houses typically associated with small towns. Zimmerman promises that Zombie Toxin prides itself in quality attractions, which he described as Disney World worthy. “(We) spend a lot of time making sure our sets are movie quality and our props are movie quality,” Zimmerman said.

Sara Whalen, instructor of communication studies and avid Halloween enthusiast, visited Zombie Toxin this October for the third year in a row. She described her time there as “a wonderful experience overall, exciting from the start.”

“The amount of effort really shows,” Whalen said.

“The scenery and the sets are like no other haunted house I’ve ever been in.”

The haunted house also sets itself apart from others because of its workers. Many of the members of the staff are not the usual haunted house workers. The volunteer staff comes from Fort Riley.

Zombie Toxin partners with the Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers, or BOSS, to promote interaction between the soldiers of Fort Riley and the surrounding communities.

Whalen said she noticed the unique volunteers and how involved they were.

“It seems like the actors he hires too really love what they’re doing and they give it 110 percent every time,” Whalen said.

The soldiers work to put on the Zombie Toxin and in turn, the business helps support Fort Riley and its soldiers.

Zombie Toxin takes customers on an tour through the home of Dr. Von Monschture.

According to legend, the doctor’s goal was to discover the secret to immortality. The house is full of the doctor’s experiments, equipment and victims.

Willie reads ,

you should too!

C heck out the R elig ion D irec tor y

ever y Fr id ay

Dietitian said kids can have a little candy on Halloween

Sandy Procter, assistant professor of human nutrition, said kids should be allowed to have some candy on Halloween, but she also emphasized that parents should still make sure their children are not eating too much. “(Parents should) prioritize so that candy is not the main focus of Halloween,” Procter said.

Halloween is a time for costumes and running around with glow-sticks, Procter said. Kids would be just as happy with a limit on candy that should be discussed not only around Halloween, but also all year. By parents talking with their children about moderation and healthy choices, kids are learning to self-moderate, according to Procter. With a healthy diet all year long, kids should be able to indulge in a few pieces of candy on Halloween.

Riley County holds forum on Ebola safety, education commissioner candidates announced

Tuesday and Wednesday, Riley County and other health officials gathered to host a forum to educate on Ebola prevention and spotting it early. Jason Orr, public health emergency preparedness coordinator, spoke to educate Riley County about the steps being taken to prevent an Ebola outbreak in the area.

Symptoms, according to the Little Apple Post, take about eight to ten days to appear. Orr suggested avoiding contact with anyone or anything who may have Ebola, which is spread through bodily fluid contact, such as blood, vomit or contact with an animal or object that was exposed to the virus.

Orr also mentioned precautionary measures put in place in case of an outbreak. Hazardous materials have been distributed to hospitals, according to the Little Apple Post. Also if a person has a 100.4 degree temperature and had recently traveled to an area that has an Ebola problem should be reported to the Kansas Department of Health and the Center for Disease Control immediately.

Ten graduate students win annual research forum

According to News and Communications Services, Tuesday, K-State hosted the Research and the State forum, in which ten graduate students were selected to present their Kansas-related research at the 12th Capitol Graduate Research Summit in 2015.

Thirty-seven graduate students from five colleges represented 15 departments in the Research and the State. All the winners received $250 scholarships and the chance to present their research to Kansas legislators. Two students will be selected from each college to receive a $500 scholarship.

According to News and Communications Services, the research being presented are diverse in topic but all focus on important issues to Kansas such as animal health, nutritional quality of grain products, food safety and more. compiled by Kelsey Kendall

OPINION FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2014

PAGE 4

Halloween is the best holiday for college students

Logan Falletti the collegian College students should be like a reverse Jack Skellington from “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” Instead of abandoning the scary stories in favor of Christmas carols, we should be embracing the fall holiday. Although it doesn’t come with a break from school or presents, it comes with freedom and lightheartedness that is hard to find when students have final exams, travel, gift buying and dangerous weather during later holidays.

Unlike Christmas or Easter, Halloween is divorced from its original religious meaning. It’s like Saint Patrick’s Day with costumes, or April Fool’s with jack-o-lanterns. There’s no ceremony, no rules and only one tradition: trick-or-treat. Whatever that means for you as an adult, you should do it. Who decides what is childlike, anyway? Adults do. Which means we can take a little time to ourselves in this age between going door-to-door for candy and taking our own children out. Whoever said holidays belong strictly in the realm of children did not get enough candy in their plastic pumpkin as a child.

Forbes estimated that two out of three adults feel that the holiday is not just for children anymore. I don’t either – Halloween is one of the few holidays where you don’t have to make elaborate plans to

visit all your relatives. There’s no list of every cousin that needs a present. Everyone just gets candy.

You don’t even have the pressure to get belligerently drunk if that’s not your style. Fall staples like cider, hot chocolate and the reigning king of fall – pumpkin spice lattes – dominate the usually saturated weekends.

There’s little to no debate over Halloween beliefs. It doesn’t have the “Happy Holidays vs.

Merry Christmas” debate that later holidays have. Even if you are part of the 18 percent of people reported by Pew Research to believe in ghosts, no

one is likely to fight you over your views. The Christian faith doesn’t exactly endorse Halloween, but usually allows followers to participate in the festivities if they attend the All Saint’s Day service on Nov. 1. The original pagan and Celtic views that turned harvest festival Samhain into modern Halloween are not widely practiced. Unless you actually do resurrect an ancient person at your seance, there’s no one to offend.

The most controversial facet of adult Halloween is the slutty cos-

tume. The sexualization of younger girls around this time of year is a hugely apparent problem, but we aren’t talking about the little ones.

College students are full-fledged, consenting adults. If you can brave the icy howling winds of late October, you wear those fishnet tights with pride. Although you should stay away from racist caricatures like the recent crop of blackface Ray Rice couples and Dia de los Muertos sugar skull appropriation, showing some skin won’t kill you.

Ladies in tutus and corsets, you deserve applause.

Shirtless dudes, flex a little. You made (or paid money that you made) for those costumes. There’s no shame in dressing up for a weekend.

The average person spent $28.65 on a Halloween costume in 2012. Some pre-packaged costumes from popular lingerie and costume vendor Yandy can range from $30 to multiple hundreds of dollars. Candy for trick-or-treaters (and ourselves, in between those visits) will run us $22 more. Festive drink mixers like Fulton’s Harvest Pumpkin Pie Cream Liqueur and Hiram Walker Pumpkin Spice Liqueur will cost $12.99 each, according to the Fridge Wholesale Liquor. Some have said it’s excessive, but I’ve spent hundreds more on Christmas presents. How dare we as paying adults contribute to a $8 billion dollar industry?

I’ve bought six rolls of tulle from Hobby Lobby this year. No vendor has ever complained to me.

The economic benefit is obvious in retail, but it also promotes agriculture. Seasonal workers that staff haunted houses number around 100,000 each year. According to the Haunted Houses Association, there are around 2,000 of these attractions operating annually in the U.S. Especially here in the wheat state, we know the importance of agri- and eco-tourism.

Halloween is a no strings attached holiday. We need more of those in our stressful lives. Take advantage of the night and let your freak flag fly.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of The Collegian.

Photo Illustration by Hannah Hunsinger

Logan Falletti is a senior in public relations. Please send comments to opinion@kstatecollegian.com.

Take high road: Just walk away from inflammatory comments, instigators

Emily DeShazer the collegian At Bosco Student Plaza Tuesday, I thought I was seeing something out of a movie. An odd looking man was surrounded by a crowd yelling obscenities, trying their hardest to provoke him. “This can’t be happening at K-State,” I thought. “No way a group that preaches ‘family’ and prides themselves in accepting others would act like this.”

The sad truth was that they were.

In the 30 minutes I was there, I was continually baffled by the crowd of about a hundred people’s antics. As a photographer and editor of The Collegian I am not new to these kinds of crowds. It began with groups of people going up and taking selfies with the man.

People thought they were being funny. They weren’t. Making fun of others may not harm anyone physically, but it’s still a form of bullying. K-State’s

official discrimination policy defines harassment as “conduct toward a person or persons based on race, color, ethnic or national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, age, ancestry, disability, genetic information, military status or veteran status that: has the purpose or effect of creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive work (or educational) environment.” While the actions of the crowd do not violate the policy since it was not a work, housing or academic environment – the K-State Student Union is a separate entity from the university itself – it probably would if it happened in one of those environments. The harassment didn’t stop there though.

Next, two women entered the ring of protestors and kissed in front of the preacher. I am in favor of same-sex marriage and have a sister that identifies as gay, so by no means was I offended by the action. No, what really bothered me was the evidence that these women thought it was okay to go up and provoke a man that was not doing anything to them but sharing his beliefs. Does no one follow the golden rule anymore? To be fair, the man did yell “burn!” after witnessing the kiss. It was closely followed by laughs and cheers from the crowd. The women were look-

ing to antagonize the man and the crowd thought it was okay to yet again make fun of those who do not share their beliefs.

Emotions peaked when a man decided to steal the preacher’s hat. His action was met with more positive screaming.

The police were quick to react and eventually made the man return the hat with an apology. That situation could have escalated frighteningly easily.

Yet again I was left wondering, “Why do people think this is okay? Would they act this way

if he was talking about civil rights, or more current Christian ideas?” Probably not.

Our society lately seems to think people can’t have differing views than them. The man sharing his religious views is just the tip of the iceberg. What happened to respecting the fact people have different views than you, however strange or radical? What happened to ignoring something that isn’t harming you? It’s a sad society we live in that we can’t all agree to disagree.

But not all hope is lost. I did hear about one man who was the bigger person and walked away.

A friend of Middle Eastern descent shared his experience with me from that day. He said he was walking through Bosco Plaza when the man called him over.

“No thanks, I’m already deep in the Muslim faith,” he said.

The preacher proceeded to call him a terrorist as he walked away. Out of all the people I

saw that day, he is the only one I heard that was actually attacked without provocation.

He did the most grown-up thing: ignored the comment and walked away.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of The Collegian.

Emily DeShazer is a senior in mass communications. Please send comments to opinion@kstatecollegian. com.

Hannah Hunsinger | the collegian Fundamentalist Christian preacher, Jed Smock, preaches in Bosco Student Plaza as students listen, protest and argue on Tuesday afternoon. Smock comes to K-State every year to preach and also travels to other universities around the country.

Street Talk Compiled by Cassandra Nguyen

Q: “If you could switch lives with a celebrity for one day, who would it be and why?”

Laura Brown

MacKenzie Mapes

Sarwar Hossain

Andrew Wehner junior, civil engineering

graduate student, architecture

“I would be either Michelle Obama or Beyoncé because it would be awesome to experience the lives of one of the most powerful women in our country.”

“Amy Poehler because she’s hilarious and it would be interesting to see what her life is all about.”

“Will Smith because he’s a great and funny guy and he seems to have his life together.”

“Matthew McConaughey because he gets all of the ladies.”

“Russell Brand only because he’s musical, charming, witty and British.”

graduate student, architecture

sophomore, sociology

junior, special english

Ben Oas

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2014

PAGE 5

Dead Men’s Drive A scary story by Steven Miller, graduate student in English

I

have this recurring dream where I get sent to hell, which is weird because I don’t even believe in hell.

It must be something primordial, must come from the same place all myths come from deep down inside. In the dream I’m torn apart by demons or what-haveyou, but it isn’t all in a rush. They don’t devour me or tear my body to shreds. What they do is methodical. They clip my eyelids off, pluck out all of my hairs, and then start with the tough stuff—pulling out my teeth. Next they take off my skin, but they don’t skin me like you might skin a deer.

They take away my skin the way you’d take apart an old dish rag: One. Thread at a time. They make it last for days. And the pain is very real.

I know that I had this nightmare this morning because I woke up in a panic. My shirt was soaked with a cold sweat and my heart was beating so hard the veins in my neck felt tight. But that’s all over now because tonight is Casino Night.

After I dropped out of college, I got a job at the phone company. It’s good money.

Especially for someone who majored in binge-drinking with a minor in occasionally going to class hung over. That’s where I met Frank, a bearded, jolly guy who could be a young Saint Nicholas. The first Friday of the month is our pay day. So on those nights we go straight from work to the casino in Topeka. I drive us there in my truck, then drive him home to Blue Rapids, and then finally drive myself back to Manhattan. It isn’t a short trip, and it’s only made longer by the fact that we both like our alcohol and so take back roads whenever we can.

Frank always pays for his share of the gas the same way—with a fifth of something strong. Tonight it’s a bottle of Captain Morgan rum. Sweet but potent. We finish half the bottle off on the drive into Topeka. I tuck the rest of the bottle behind my seat for the week to come. Then it’s

complimentary cocktails all night while we burn through a few hundred bucks at Texas Hold’em and Pai Gow. These Fridays are the feast after the famine—that alcohol-free stretch that comes right before payday. We feast so much that I need a large coffee just to stay awake for the drive home. That and the scary stories.

The stories started a year ago. Frank is always nervous about me passing out behind the wheel. Kansas back roads are known for pot holes and deer crossings and fallen tree branches nobody has come across yet. Plus, around four in the morning, they’re totally abandoned. They’re the kind of road that when someone pulls up behind you, you think you’re being stalked.

So one night he started describing the plot to “Rosemary’s Baby,” shot by shot. It kept me spooked, which also meant it kept me awake. Now it’s a tradition.

We’ve barely pulled out of the gas station parking lot, when I ask, “So what ya got for me? I think I’m going to need something real gruesome tonight.” The way I get Frank is pretending to be drunker than I am.

“I thought we could do it a little different,” Frank replies. “And tell only true stories.”

Mostly when we go back and forth like this, a remarkable amount of our stories are torn right out of the pages of Stephen King novels and “Twilight Zone” episodes. We tell the same urban legends we’ve been telling since middle school camp fires. We rely on the memory of past fears more than anything. When that doesn’t work, one of us will scream, “Why’s that lady covered in blood!” Or ask breathlessly, “What’s that behind you?

I’m not kidding…” But tonight is all fact, no fiction.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 8 commons.wikimedia.org

Next season will be equestrian’s last

Next season will be equestrian’s last

SPORTS FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2014

PAGE 6

Cross country heads east for Big 12 Championships

By Emilio Rivera the collegian hroughout the season, the K-State cross country team has been preparing for racing when it matters most and that time has come for coach Ryun Godfrey’s squad.

Both the men’s and women’s teams travel to Lawrence this weekend to take part in the Big 12 Championships.

The women’s team come into the competition being ranked No. 7 in the Midwest region. However, K-State is not the only women’s team that falls in the USTFCCCA Top 30. Iowa State falls at No. 6 and West Virginia is at No. 9 while Oklahoma State and Baylor are ranked No. 21 and No. 28, respectively.

“The Midwest region is a difficult region, to move up to seventh is pretty great,” Godfrey said. “It’s a good thing to be recognized like that.”

Being ranked gives the Wildcat runners confidence in their training and performance and helps to alleviate stress that they face going into such an important meet. “(Being ranked) takes the pressure off, no one expects anything from you,” sophomore Morgan Wedekind, said. “I think as a team, our team runs better when there is not as much pressure, we just perform better when we’re not stressed out.”

The Big 12 competition will be the first time the Wildcats will compete against all of the conference teams. It will serve as somewhat of a measuring stick against some of the best competition to date.

“The Big 12 is obviously a pretty tough conference too,” Godfrey said. “We’re probably about the fifth

T

Taylor Alderman | the collegian Mady Nestor, freshman, and Morgan Wedekind, sophomore, run during a morning cross country practice on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2014.

best team, but that’s on paper. Hopefully we can show up and move into fourth or third.”

With most of the runners either coming from Kansas or running in

the race before, the race being in Lawrence will help give K-State an edge due to their experience. Rim Rock is a course most Kansas high school cross country runners run on

at least once.

“I like the fact that we’re in Lawrence,” Wedekind said. “We’re close to home so we don’t have to worry about having to travel for

hours. We’ve all seen the course, so we know what to expect. Even the high school girls have run Rim Rock, so our new freshmen have it as well.”

K-State women’s tennis travels to Houston to close out fall competition

By Stephen Brunson the collegian After less than a week of preparation, K-State head coach Danielle Steinberg will send eight women to compete in the Jason’s Deli Collegiate Invitational in Houston, Texas.

The trip will be the last for the Wildcats this fall as they prepare for a break until Jan. 17.

K-State will stick with the same squad of six as they did in Des Moines, Iowa last week with the addition of two sophomores, Parker Robb | the collegian Freshman Maria Panaite returns a low shot from Oklahoma’s Morgan Chumney in K-State’s loss to the Sooners at the Mike Goss Tennis Stadium March 28, 2014.

every day on page 2

Sara Castellano and Palma Juhasz.

After picking up 15 singles wins last week in Des Moines, the Wildcats are led in their singles play by sophomore Iva Bago, who has coined a five-game win streak dating back to the first tournament of the season in September. She carries a mark this season of 7-2.

In addition, K-State will need singles help from their sophomore pair Castellano and Juhasz. Castellano brings a 6-3 record to the table after making it to the semifinals in Stillwater, Oklahoma two weeks ago at the ITA Regional Championships. Juhasz brings in a mark at 5-3.

Leading in doubles for the Wildcats is sophomore Riley Nizzi. She went 4-0 last weekend at the Drake Jamboree and will be complimented by the duo of Castellano and Juhasz, who carry a overall 4-1 mark this fall.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2014

PAGE 7

Tricks, treats abound during Halloween festivities for Manhattan residents

By Ariel Crockett the collegian Downtown trick-or-treating on Halloween has been a long standing tradition celebrated throughout the Manhattan community. Gone are the days of simple door to door trick-or-treating around your neighborhood. Downtown Manhattan hosts a couple different Halloween festivities to get families in the spooky spirit.

Gina Scroggs, Executive Director of downtown Manhattan, said All Treats Day has been a trick-or-treating tradition in Manhattan for many years that has become even more popular as a result of the new developments around town.

"All Treats Day will be held in downtown Manhattan from 4 to 6 p.m. where families can go walk around to different stores and get treats,” Scroggs said.

Unlike last year's event, friends and families will be able to gain the full All Treats Day experience, void of the clutter of construction cones and yellow tape everywhere.

“This year we finished up construction of the Poyntz Avenue Improvement project, so it will be the first time in a while that friends are able to come out and see all of the new renovations and decorations without all the construction going on,” Scroggs said.

Scroggs said the event initially started out with about 100 kids showing up but the attendance in recent years has been around 700 to 900 kids coming out to participate.

If participants donate cash or canned goods they also have a chance to get their photo taken for free by J&C Imaging. All donations will go to the Manhattan Emergency Shelter.

Scroggs said participants can hit the shops and restaurants from 4 to 6 p.m. before heading into Manhattan Town Center Mall’s

Boo Party.

"Boo Party is our annual indoor trick-or-treating event held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. And what happens is a large line forms at the inner perimeter of the mall and you can go door to door to the stores and go trick-or-treating,” Jocelyn Guilfoyle, Manhattan Town Center Mall Marketing Manager, said.

Guilfoyle said downtown’s

All Treats Day event and their Boo Party gives families several different trick-or-treating experiences.

The Boo Party event is for children ages 12 and under and will also feature a free coloring station in the center court.

In addition to these events, Parks and Recreation will also be holding a trick-or-treat event on Halloween night.

All Treats Day Downtown Manhattan 4-6 p.m.

Boo Party Manhattan Town Center Mall 5:30-7:30 p.m.

PAGE 8

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2014

Dead Men’s Drive continued from page 5

I say, “Okay,” and then we sit in silence. The dark empty road before us is slick with the first ice of October. A full yellow moon sinks behind us. It’s the kind of moon that grows larger as it sets, and it’s getting closer to the horizon every minute.

“Blood!” Frank hollers. My heart leaps.

I’m about to say, “I thought we weren’t going to do that,” when I see it.

Someone has hit a deer. Its blood and body parts are strewn across the concrete in a long streak. “I’ll start,” I say.

I tell him the story of a murder that happened right there in Manhattan when I was a freshman. “Two girls were coming back to their dorm from Aggieville, very late.”

“Drunk?” Frank offers.

“Totally. One of them had brought back a guy, a senior. He’s drunk, too, and handsy. Aggressive. The girls stop at the stairwell and start fighting. The couple wants to go up to the dorm room, but this girl’s roommate wants to pass out. So they compromise: The roommate will put on her noise-canceling headphones and the couple can keep at it. The roommate puts on her headphones and passes out.

“Next morning the guy is gone. He got his and then split, she thinks, but then she tries to wake up her roommate. The girl won’t budge. Then she sees it: Fingermarks all over the girl’s throat. While she had her headphones on, her roommate was being strangled to death.

“She describes the boy to the police, gives them all these details about his major and hometown—things he told them at the bar. But none of it matches. It turns out he isn’t a student at all. The cops never found him.”

Frank shutters, looks behind him, and then says, “Okay, I’ve got one. You ever hear of Stull Cemetery?”

“The ‘Gateway’ to hell?” I ask, using air quotes at the word gateway.

“I’m the youngest in my family. Back in 2002 my oldest brother was at KU, and Lawrence is right next to Stull. One night he O.D.’s on pain killers. He had a real drug problem back then. They rush him to Lawrence Memorial and pump his stomach. They even have to get out the

defibrillator to shock him back to life.”

“Oh man. I had no idea.”

“It’s okay. It was all a long time ago.

I was like twelve. The weird part, though, is that while he was flat-lined or whatever, he had this out of body experience. He found himself in that cemetery, the one in Stull. He’s there with this big stone church and all these headstones and this blood red moon. He leans down to read one of the headstones, but he can’t make it out.

Then he gets a little closer, a little closer, and he realizes that it says his name.

“He hears this crash and looks up to see the church crumbling like a sinkhole.

Red smoke pours out of the ground and he realizes he’s surrounded by these frail, ghost-white creatures. Their fingernails are jagged and dirty. Their teeth razor sharp. And instead of eyes they only have sockets. They grab his arms and legs and start dragging him toward the hole the church has left in the ground. He claws at the earth, digging his hands into the grass and the dirt, but they just keep dragging him. He can see the long claw marks he’s left as they pull him down toward the hole. They’re about to throw him in when he comes to in a hospital bed.

“So just a nightmare, right? But then he unclenches his fists and dirt falls out.

There’s dirt and grass shoved under his fingernails. Some of them have even broken off.”

“Bull,” I say when he’s done.

“No, it’s true. You can ask him. The nail never grew back on his pinky. It’s just…finger.”

“So he clawed up the ground while he was high?” I ask.

“He O.D.’ed in his dorm room,” Frank says. “He could’ve been outside earlier. I don’t know. But what I do know is he went back to school and sobered up.

Now he does Alcoholics Anonymous or Pills Anonymous, one of those.”

“That’s a bit of an overreaction,” I say. Frank doesn’t respond. “Anyway, I don’t believe in hell or that sort of thing.

So that one doesn’t really scare me.”

I’m about to launch into my next tale when Frank shouts again. This time it’s “Deer!”

I do next what I absolutely shouldn’t: I swerve. My F-150 flies onto the gravel

shoulder and my heart flies back into my throat. We fishtail and keep going down the road sideways. We nearly roll over on the passenger side but come to a rough stop. The lights flicker off and then back on.

Behind us the deer clomps back into the wheat field from where it came. Inside the cabin we shake and catch our breath.

Visions of severed body parts—arms and stumps of leg, arteries squirting fresh blood—flash through my mind. Gore like a ‘70s slasher flick. I pull the rum from behind my seat and take a swig.

“We could’ve died!” I laugh.

Frank laughs too but then adds, “Maybe we did,” before making a haunted house “OOooOOoo.” “Cut it out, Frank,” I say.

“No really, what if we died and now we’re ghosts?”

I kick the truck into drive. “Okay, you win. You win. Let’s just drive.”

And we do for a while. Almost all the way to Blue Rapids. Not talking. Just staring ahead through the dusty windshield.

“Oh, I almost forgot, 77 has a detour.

Take a left up there,” he says, pointing.

“Did you hear the one about the two guys who crashed their truck on this road?”

“Really, I don’t want to play anymore.”

Behind us the full moon drops into the horizon. It has turned a faint red.

Ahead of us the new road is nearly pitch black except for our headlights. Luckily it’s paved. The next one he has me turn onto is not.

“Where are you taking me?”

“The back way,” is all he says. Then a few minutes later he continues: “They were coming back from Topeka. Real late.

The two of them still pretty drunk.”

“Haha,” I say.

“He had no business being behind the wheel, but he did anyway. Slick roads, poor visibility, a deer. Legend is they still drive this very road every Saturday morning, before the sun rises. Forgetting what has happened to them… until they remember.”

“Really, where are we? I’ve got stuff I’d like to do tomorrow. What way are you taking me?”

“The same way I always do,” he says

and points to a green road sign. It reads: “Dead Men’s Drive.”

You’re okay, I think. It’s all a joke. I turn onto Dead Men’s Drive and follow along in the dark. Then, like so few dirt roads in Kansas do, it starts to curve. It curves to the left—more and more. I turn the wheel so much that we make two or three full circles. Finally it dead ends at the entrance of a small country cemetery.

“A cemetery? Okay, you’ve really outdone yourself this time,” I say.

“Outdone myself?” he asks flatly.

“But this is how it always goes. See?” he says and holds up a mangled right hand.

The fingers are disjointed so bad that a surgeon wouldn’t even know where to begin. His face is disfigured too. An eyeball dangles from its socket, his mouth full of broken teeth and dark black blood. Part of his neck juts out, broken clean through.

A strange feeling passes over me, a kind of déjà vu, like when you return to your childhood home after moving a dozen times. The strange becomes familiar and I put on this new skin, this skin of someone who has been here a thousand times before.

I look down and see that my own body is maimed. A shard of metal has cut through my torso and exposed my intestines, which flop out of my abdomen. The right arm that has been changing gears all night is completely missing, a frayed stump in its place. I’m almost too afraid to look in the rear-view mirror, but then I do.

My face is scratched too but not as bad. Behind me, though, is the real horror.

Crouched in the back seat of the cabin is a spindly, white creature with no eyes and pointed teeth, its mouth gaping open. It pokes out its red tongue, in and out, in and out. Then it growls—a low, primordial, and guttural sound.

“It’s here for us,” I tell Frank.

“Not for me,” he says. “I was just the passenger.” And then his ghostly body disappears.

I take one last look at the demon before he comes at me. Then I remember everything about the last hundred years. I remember that these drives are not the bad part. They are my weekly reprieve. The bad part is about to begin.

SGA | Association allocates

funding for organizations’ trips CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Haley said. “I want … to have a diverse body in this room.”

Haley added that she plans to work with other student organizations to connect with new students.

“I feel people need to come (to SGA meetings) more, because there’s so much that goes on here but I think (SGA) is kind of distant,” Haley said.

Haley said that even when students have an interest in SGA, many do not know how to become part of it.

“They’re not sure how to be a part of it so my goal is to bridge that gap,” Haley said.

“What we do here is so impactful to them.”

Additionally, Haley said she wants students to know they can apply for funding through the Student Governing

Association.

“If they’re aware of what they can gain from (SGA) I think … they’ll get connected,” Haley said.

Finally, Haley said she plans to simplify the SGA application process “so it’s not some complex thing” but something everyone can understand.

“I’m really excited … but there’s always room for improvement,” Haley said.

In addition to swearing Haley in, the SGA voted to allocate funds to K-State’s Model UN, which will help send 34 member students to an international Model UN conference.

According to Michael Emley, junior in accounting, attending the conference will not only be beneficial for the students involved but help improve K-State’s image on national collegiate levels.

“They asked for $1,000 and we recommended $1,000,” Emley said.

SGA is supporting the National Art Education Association with an allocation of $700. The money will allow seven members to attend a national convention in New Orleans from March 25-29 in 2015.

The association originally requested $1,000 for their travel, but since only seven members and not the original ten will be attending the convention, the SGA is recommending $700.

“We did three things tonight,” Jordan Korb, SGA secretary and sophomore in business administration, said.

“We got a new election commissioner, we gave money to Model United Nations and we gave money to the National Art Education.”

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