<table> </table> COLLEGE STATION, Texas | It was mere minutes after Kansas State&#8217;s 44-30 victory Saturday against Texas A&amp;M at storied Kyle Field, where the Wildcats hadn&#8217;t won since 1996, and junior quarterback Josh Freeman was reflecting.</p><p>A lot had happened in the past seven days.</p><p>&#8220;I think the guys came out and responded extremely well from all of the negativity from last week,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We just kind of locked ourselves into the complex and drew closer as a unit, coaching staff and players alike.&#8221;</p><p>Asked for specifics, Freeman shrugged his shoulders.</p><p>&#8220;We don&#8217;t pay attention to anything going on,&#8221; he said. &#8220;&#8230; Just people on campus, some of the questions. &#8230; We knew we had to win. All that matters are the people inside that locker room.</p><p>&#8220;If we block all of that out and play our type of game, we&#8217;ll be successful and we were able to do that today.&#8221;</p><p>What worked Saturday for the Wildcats, 4-2 overall, 1-1 in Big 12, &#8212; using Freeman&#8217;s arm (21 of 26 for 234 yards) and legs (18 carries, 95 yards and four touchdowns) along with the familiar mix of special teams (senior linebacker Reggie Walker&#8217;s blocked punt and junior safety Courtney Herndon&#8217;s return for a touchdown) and timely defense &#8212; was there all along.</p><p>It&#8217;s a matter of confidence.</p><p>&#8220;The game is always more mental than physical,&#8221; Herndon said.</p><p>And the game, while played Saturday, was won during the week. Prince took extra care to inform the media of how &#8220;extraordinary&#8221; the Aggies were, although the statistics and A&amp;M&#8217;s performance thus far indicated something more along the lines of ordinary.</p><p>The Aggies, 2-4, 0-2, ranked last in the Big 12 in total offense and 95th in the country, but listening to Prince, this was another in a string of high-powered offenses that would pose a threat to his defense. On the latter, he was correct &#8212; A&amp;M rang up 544 total yards.</p><p>Jerrod Johnson set school records for total offense (487) and passing yards (419), but the sophomore quarterback was left to lament what might have been when the Aggies were denied twice at K-State&#8217;s 1 early in the fourth quarter and trailing 30-16.</p><p>Sophomore cornerback Josh Moore stopped A&amp;M&#8217;s Jorvorskie Lane, the 270-pound back, on third and fourth down.</p><p>&#8220;That 1 yard could be the difference between a win and a loss,&#8221; Johnson said.</p><p>And for the first time in what seems forever, K-State was on the positive side of such a difference.</p><p>Then, K-State applied the clincher, a 16-play, 98-yard drive that spanned 7 minutes and 28 seconds and ended with Freeman&#8217;s third rushing touchdown of the day &#8212; a drive, it turns out, that Prince predicted or demanded, according to Freeman.</p><p>&#8220;Coach told us we needed a 16-play drive to take eight minutes off the clock,&#8221; he said.</p><p>During the drive, the Wildcats relied upon Freeman, freshman running back Logan Dold and junior wide receiver Aubrey Quarles. Dold started for Lamark Brown, who did not travel with K-State because of an undisclosed injury or ailment, and Dold ran 21 times for 115 yards and a touchdown; he&#8217;d carried 19 times for 87 yards all season. And Quarles eclipsed the century mark as well, hauling in nine receptions for 102 yards.</p><p>Prince said it was a drive designed to relieve some pressure from his beleaguered defense, but its members were enthusiastic about how they performed. Johnson was sacked four times, including 1 1/2 from junior defensive end Eric Childs.