<table> </table> MANHATTAN, Kan. | In eight games this season, Kansas State junior quarterback Josh Freeman has nine turnovers &#8212; five interceptions and four fumbles. He has the same numbers in two career losses to Kansas, the Wildcats&#8217; opponent on Saturday.</p><p>While the onus doesn&#8217;t fall entirely on Freeman, he also realizes that his performance, especially in games of such magnitude, is likely to be scrutinized.</p><p>And if that weren&#8217;t enough, it should be noted that the last time KU won three straight Sunflower Showdowns was almost 20 years ago, in 1988-90. &#8220;There is always pressure,&#8221; Freeman said. &#8220;I wouldn&#8217;t say it&#8217;s pressure from anybody but myself. &#8230; We need to win.&#8221;</p><p>The quarterback said he&#8217;s been asked recently whether he plans to do anything different Saturday, namely for the sake of ball security, and Freeman said he has no plans to change his approach. He&#8217;s going to do whatever it takes to move the ball down the field, whatever it takes to put the ball in the hands of his wide receivers and, hopefully, the end zone.</p><p>&#8220;Nobody wants to win more than Josh Freeman,&#8221; K-State coach Ron Prince said.</p><p>The coach has been here before.</p><p>In 2006, when Freeman tossed three interceptions and lost three fumbles in a 39-20 defeat at Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, the rookie head coach came to the freshman quarterback&#8217;s defense, insisting, &#8220;It&#8217;s my responsibility for how the ball moves. I take responsibility for that.&#8221;</p><p>It was Freeman&#8217;s seventh collegiate start, although he said this week that on a scale of 1 to 10, his comfort level in Lawrence was a nine.</p><p>But last year, when Freeman tossed another three interceptions in a 30-24 loss at Snyder Family Stadium, it was the quarterback&#8217;s turn to assume the blame.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll take this on my shoulders,&#8221; he said after the game. &#8220;I wasn&#8217;t able to come through.&#8221;</p><p>Coach and quarterback hope there won&#8217;t be any need for explanations this year.</p><p>For Prince, it&#8217;s simple. Using last Saturday&#8217;s game against Oklahoma as an example, he thinks that Freeman&#8217;s troubles (i.e., turnovers) can be directly attributed to a lack of protection, which means Prince remains dissatisfied with the play of his offensive line.</p><p>&#8220;He was harassed way too often,&#8221; Prince said.</p><p>Which also leads to the coach&#8217;s next point.</p><p>The pressure isn&#8217;t as relentless if the offense is able to exhibit more than one dimension.</p><p>&#8220;If you can&#8217;t effectively run the football, all of the eyes on the defense converge on the quarterback or the ball as it comes out of his hand,&#8221; Prince said. &#8220;That&#8217;s where, clearly, in the game the other day, we were short. We weren&#8217;t able to mount a serious running attack at any point.&#8221;</p><p>Nevertheless against the Sooners, Freeman threw for a career-high 478 yards.</p><p>&#8220;He has really matured, and he looks in command,&#8221; KU coach Mark Mangino said.</p><p>Freeman said he&#8217;s going to be aggressive. He won&#8217;t be crippled by a fear of the turnover.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s something you look at, but my game is different than it was the past two years,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I have so much more of an understanding (now) of what we&#8217;re trying to do offensively.&#8221;