Page 1
Page 1
Started By
Message

1998 Kansas State vs 2025 Indiana

Posted on 1/20/26 at 10:33 am
Posted by karmew32
Scott, LA (born & raised in Ponchy)
Member since Jan 2017
1820 posts
Posted on 1/20/26 at 10:33 am
Safe to say that if Bishop hadn't had the worst fumble in the history of football, Kansas State beats A&M and soundly beats Tennessee for the national championship. They would've been the Indiana of their time. 10-year turnaround vs. 2, but KSU had NOTHING. Their facilities were worse than many high schools. Plus the transfer portal wasn't a thing, but they found a way to acquire talent through the JUCO system.

Which team wins in a head-to-head? My gut tells me KSU is better on paper. Bishop was Cam Newton before Cam Newton, their run defense completely held Ricky Williams in check, Snyder-Cignetti is basically a wash, and the rest of KSU's staff was a CFB brain trust (Venables, Mangino, Mike Stoops). I will say that Mendoza is definitely better in the pocket than Bishop and didn't fumble on the biggest scramble of his career.

I think KSU has a better chance of a blowout but I'd favor Indiana if the game was close.
This post was edited on 1/20/26 at 10:37 am
Posted by The Torch
DFW The Dub
Member since Aug 2014
28503 posts
Posted on 1/20/26 at 10:35 am to
quote:

Same to say that if


My aunt had nuts she'd be my uncle
Posted by WaltTeevens
Santa Barbara, CA
Member since Dec 2013
11633 posts
Posted on 1/20/26 at 11:25 am to
Boy, you sure do come out of the woodwork with some great posts.

Just kidding, they're shite.
Posted by ShaneTheLegLechler
Member since Dec 2011
63166 posts
Posted on 1/20/26 at 11:27 am to
What an absurd topic
Posted by TheWalrus
Land of the Hogs
Member since Dec 2012
46392 posts
Posted on 1/20/26 at 11:41 am to
98 Kansas State and COVID Dayton are your favorite topics
Posted by WuShock
Metairie
Member since Aug 2018
1391 posts
Posted on 1/20/26 at 12:39 pm to
K-State also lost in their bowl game that year when teams still tried and cared about them. They were a really good team, but this isn’t a good comparison.
Posted by Rrrrroger
Member since Mar 2021
1180 posts
Posted on 1/20/26 at 2:11 pm to
quote:

soundly beats Tennessee for the national championship.

Posted by StansberryRules
Member since Aug 2024
4797 posts
Posted on 1/20/26 at 2:13 pm to
Kansas State had a much more narrow path.

You pretty much had to be perfect back then so one bad game and you were eliminated.

Indiana for example this year had they lost to Penn State still would have got into the playoffs

Posted by Marlboro Smooth
Member since Dec 2025
46 posts
Posted on 1/20/26 at 2:24 pm to
quote:

Kansas State had a much more narrow path.

You pretty much had to be perfect back then so one bad game and you were eliminated.

Indiana for example this year had they lost to Penn State still would have got into the playoffs


If Kansas State didn't lose or Indiana did lose they are the same.

So they are the same except for the part where they are wildly different
This post was edited on 1/20/26 at 2:25 pm
Posted by mizzoubuckeyeiowa
Member since Nov 2015
39182 posts
Posted on 1/20/26 at 2:25 pm to
Go learn K-State's schedule (everyone was rooting for them, so nobody cared back then)...their big win was 40-30 against Nebraska when they still had Cache and Big Red finished #20 in the Polls losing to Arizona in the Holidays Bowl.

And yes K-State lost in the Alamo Bowl to Purdue.

And Aggie who infamously beat them (for us fans) lost to Ohio State in the Sugar.

Big12 wasn't all that hot in 1998...ergo, K-State's rise...while Indiana ran through the best Conference in football.
Posted by Dr RC
The Money Pit
Member since Aug 2011
61418 posts
Posted on 1/20/26 at 2:35 pm to
quote:

K-State also lost in their bowl game that year when teams still tried and cared about them. They were a really good team, but this isn’t a good comparison.


That's true but, and I hate to use this Bama style excuse, KSU really didn't seem to have their hearts in that game.

They went minutes away from playing for a national title to ending the year #3 and getting passed over by all the BCS bowls all the way down to the Alamo Bowl b/c of TV eyeball BS. At that point in time the Alamo Bowl was much lower in the Big 12 bowl pecking order as it was only a few years old.

#20 Texas got to go to the Cotton vs SECW winner #25 Miss St while #14 Nebraska got to go to the Holiday vs #5 Arizona even though KSU beat both of them convincingly.

Also, their Alamo Bowl opponent Purdue happened to have a QB by the name of Drew Brees that year.
This post was edited on 1/20/26 at 2:37 pm
Posted by cubsfan5150
NWA
Member since Nov 2007
18193 posts
Posted on 1/20/26 at 2:38 pm to
quote:

Boy, you sure do come out of the woodwork with some great posts. Just kidding, they're shite.


This might be the only time in history that I upvoted you.

Just kidding, still downvoted even though you earned the upvote.
Posted by SPEEDY
2005 Tiger Smack Poster of the Year
Member since Dec 2003
87653 posts
Posted on 1/20/26 at 3:01 pm to
quote:

and soundly beats Tennessee for the national championship


Posted by Indiangensing
Member since Nov 2017
2250 posts
Posted on 1/20/26 at 3:01 pm to
I think it's definitely comparable except that Indiana win all their games...

I am pretty sure K State was thinking about dropping Football altogether back before Bill Snyder got hired, that's some dire stuff and to compete for a NCAA title in the next decade is remarkable as well.
Posted by karmew32
Scott, LA (born & raised in Ponchy)
Member since Jan 2017
1820 posts
Posted on 1/20/26 at 3:45 pm to
They were one play away, several times in fact. If Bishop doesn't fumble, KSU at worst is able to run the clock down to ~15 seconds and A&M has that amount of time to go 80 yards for a TD. They also had a Hail Mary completed at the 1. Bishop ran into his own RB in OT when he had an easy 1st & goal and a probable TD. The Sirr Parker play was designed to just get A&M in range for a more makeable FG.

It was eerily reminiscent of Game 7 of the 2025 World Series. Like KSU, the Jays had multiple times late in the game where they pretty much had it won.
This post was edited on 1/20/26 at 3:46 pm
Posted by RolltidePA
North Carolina
Member since Dec 2010
5290 posts
Posted on 1/20/26 at 3:51 pm to
quote:

Safe to say that if Bishop hadn't had the worst fumble in the history of football, Kansas State beats A&M and soundly beats Tennessee for the national championship.


A hypothetical situation vs. Reality.

It is in fact not safe to say, because it didn't happen. Indiana did just go 16-0 with their last four games consisting of Ohio State, Alabama, Oregon and Miami. KSU would never had run a similar gauntlet.


quote:

My gut tells me KSU is better on paper.


That just might be gas.
Posted by cramps
Member since Oct 2012
2524 posts
Posted on 1/20/26 at 7:42 pm to
Odd how the revisionist history goes with that game and how seemingly no one really gives A&M credit for the win. Aggies had a really good team, one certainly worthy of its BCS bowl status.

Among several other ranked opponents, A&M played top 3 teams FSU, KSU, and OSU, with the Buckeyes being the best team it faced all year and probably the best in CFB.

Nick Saban and Co. spoiled the party for the Buckeyes that season.
This post was edited on 1/20/26 at 7:44 pm
Posted by SCLibertarian
Conway, South Carolina
Member since Aug 2013
41333 posts
Posted on 1/20/26 at 8:48 pm to
I think what Snyder did at KSU is perhaps the greatest coaching job in college football history. He took a program that was winless in its previous 27 games, had won only 137 games in the past 53 years and completely transformed that program in less than a decade. And he did it without NIL and the transfer portal, and at a place with zero facilities or tradition to attract good talent.
first pageprev pagePage 1 of 1Next pagelast page
refresh

Back to top
logoFollow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News
Follow us on X, Facebook and Instagram to get the latest updates on LSU Football and Recruiting.

FacebookXInstagram