Kansas University’s best start in eight years will be put to the test today at KSU Stadium.

Kansas (5-2 overall, 2-1 Big 12) enters its matchup with Kansas State (5-3, 1-2) tied for the Big 12 North lead with Nebraska. To stay atop the standings, the Jayhawks will have to do something they haven’t done since 1992 — beat K-State.

“They’re a better football team this year,” said Kansas State offensive lineman Jeromey Clary. “So we’ll prepare as hard as we usually do, but it might be a little more fun to watch this year.”

Kansas State has won 10 straight games in the series and hasn’t lost to Kansas in Manhattan since 1989, Bill Snyder’s first year as the Wildcats coach.

KU’s surprising start under second-year coach Mark Mangino, combined with the fact that K-State has lost three of its last four, has added some drama to a series that hasn’t seen a competitive game since 1994.

“We are in a position that any game means a great deal to us, considering we have two conference losses right now,” Snyder said. “Every single one of them is important.”

The Wildcats had lost three straight — including league games at Texas and Oklahoma State — before hammering Colorado, 49-20, last week at Manhattan.

“It was a good win for us,” said Snyder, “and a needed win for our football team.”

It helped that senior quarterback Ell Roberson is healthy again and starting to put up the kind of numbers K-State fans have grown accustomed to.

Kansas State running back Darren Sproles runs away from Colorado's defense. Sproles rushed for 90 yards and a touchdown in last Saturday's 49-20 victory at Manhattan.

Roberson missed two games because of an injured hand, including the Wildcats’ stunning loss to Marshall Sept. 20 at KSU Stadium. He was still rusty the following week at Texas and completed just 5-of-18 passes for 89 yards with two interceptions in a 27-20 loss.

Roberson came back with four touchdowns and 332 yards a week later at Oklahoma State but threw three interceptions in a 38-34 loss.

He was nearly flawless, however, last week against Colorado, completing 20-of-28 passes for 242 yards with three TDs and no interceptions. He also rushed for two touchdowns.

“I don’t know if I’ve played better than that,” said, Roberson, who ranks sixth in the conference in passing and 11th in rushing. “I’m just trying to go out there and just get better and focus and play around my team a lot more. I’m trying to let them make a lot of plays and hopefully the plays will come to me.”

Running back Darren Sproles has made his share of plays. The Olathe North product has rushed for more than 100 yards four times this season and ranks second in the conference with an average of 105.8 yards per game. The junior needs just 17 yards to break the school’s career rushing record.

“Darren Sproles, with one carry he can take it to the end zone,” Mangino said. “Ell Roberson can beat you throwing the ball, and he can beat you running. They are a dangerous threat together. They have proven that over time. Our defense has to be sharp.”

K-State’s offense averages 418.2 yards per game, while KU’s defense allows an average of 386.9. The Jayhawks have been tough at times. They held Missouri and Baylor to two offensive touchdowns in a pair of home victories, but in between Colorado gained nearly 600 yards in a 50-47 overtime victory Oct. 11 at Boulder, Colo.

Kansas is 4-25 all-time in Big 12 road games, while KSU is 24-5 in Big 12 home games.

“We have another opportunity to go out, play well and try to get a victory on the road in the Big 12 Conference,” Mangino said. “It is something that our program has set their sights on doing and doing it rather quickly. This presents an opportunity for that, and we are looking forward to it.”

So will Mangino, who was a Snyder assistant from 1991-98, have any special insight for his players?

“I will tell them there are goal post at each end zone, and the field is 100 yards,” he said. “There will be more purple then blue, but I think they already have that figured out. I think Manhattan is a fun place for college football.”

Other key matchups to watch include:

• KU’s offense ranks 10th in the nation with an average of 469.6 yards per game, while K-State’s defense ranks 18th with an average of 305.1.
• In KU’s first six games, quarterback Bill Whittemore was sacked just four times, but Baylor got him five times last week. Kansas State ranks fourth in the nation with an average of 3.6 sacks per game.
• Kansas State has blocked six punts this season. KU has had a punt blocked in each of the last two games.

Kansas State is a three-touchdown favorite, but the Wildcats expect a better game than last year’s 64-0 rout in Lawrence.

“We both have the same records and they’re a vastly improved team, so this a is a step for us and we have to go out there and play,” Roberson said. “I don’t think the emphasis is on the Governors Cup right now. It’s more of a team thing and going out there and handling our business and staying on track.”