Bill Snyder and Mark Mangino met near midfield late Saturday afternoon after the most lopsided game in the history of the Kansas University-Kansas State football series.

A mass of media huddled near the rival coaches, trying to pick up what words of wisdom veteran Kansas State coach Snyder offered to first-year KU coach Mangino after the 64-0 Wildcat victory at Memorial Stadium.

“I said, ‘Hang in there. Things are going to be fine,'” Snyder said. “I said, ‘You are a better football team when your other quarterback is in there.’ I really meant that.”

But Bill Whittemore was on the sidelines because of a knee injury, and the Jonas Weatherbie/Brian Luke-led Jayhawks committed seven turnovers and were outgained 494 yards to 115.

“It’s not easy. A loss is a loss. I don’t think Mark or his program need to define it any differently than a five-point ballgame,” Snyder said.

“Get it behind you and move on,” he added, referring to advice he might give his former assistant if asked. “Find some things you may have done in the ballgame, whatever that might be. Their defense stopped our offense and forced us to kick some (two) field goals late in the second quarter. That’s a plus.

“They’ve got to have the personnel.”

KSU’s superior athletes held their 64-0 lead with 2:53 left in the third quarter. The Wildcats might have scored the most points in school history KSU put 76 on Ball State in 2000 had they decided to throw the ball or run outside in the fourth quarter. Snyder was merciful, playing all 65 players. He used three quarterbacks and 10 different ballcarriers.

“I’m thinking, ‘I’m hoping they don’t turn it the ball over,’ and they did,” Snyder said, asked of his thoughts with such a big lead. “You can’t tell your youngsters not to play. There’s too much time to put a knee on the ground. There’s not a whole lot you can do. Run the clock.”

The Wildcats’ margin of victory was nine points more than the previous worst blowout in the series KU’s 55-0 win in 1947.

“It’s very big to get a shutout,” said left end Andrew Shull, one of a pile of Wildcats who tackled Clark Green in the end zone for a game-opening safety with 11:06 left in the first quarter. “That was real big. I think it set the tempo for the game. It’s hard to overcome so many turnovers.”

The favored Wildcats didn’t take the Jayhawks lightly. Perhaps more than half of the crowd was made of Kansas State fans.

“It was a great day. Our fans always come to support us,” defensive tackle Tank Reese said. “I wanted to thank all of them for coming to support us.”

The fans helped motivate KSU, as did one other thing.

“On the ride here we watched games in the previous nine years,” said fullback Travis Wilson, who bolted for 40 yards on two carries.

“We saw we could possibly do that,” he added, referring to bagging the biggest victory in series history. “We came out with great emotion and I think it’s one of the reasons we were able to do what we did.”

Quarterback Ell Roberson was sharp. He rushed for 60 yards on 13 carries and scored a career-best three TDs. He also hit nine of 14 passes for 167 yards and one TD.

“Consistency is something we’ve been striving for. Our offensive line played well and we moved the ball,” Roberson said. “Our defense was outstanding in getting us field position. Whenever you get the ball at the 50 like we did today, it motivates you to get the ball in the end zone.”

Roberson and many other Wildcats refused to rub it in when asked how easy it was to paste the rival Jayhawks in their own stadium.

“We just went out there and played football,” he said. “We were just clicking on offense. When you are clicking like that you can make any team look bad.”