Senior quarterback
Lynn Dickey led the team to a third straight season as the top-rated passing offense in the
Big Eight Conference. Kansas State also led the conference in total defense, and posted its first win against a top-ten team, beating #8
Colorado. The Wildcats went into the final conference game of the season against
Nebraska ranked #20 and playing for the Big Eight championship. The #4-ranked Cornhuskers throttled Kansas State 51–13 in the game. Kansas State did not return to the national rankings again until the
1993 season.
The team finished with a winning record in conference play for the first time since
1953. After the season Gibson was named coach of the year by the Big Eight.