Status of Roberson Is Unclear After Allegation

Ell Roberson, Kansas State’s star quarterback, was accused Thursday of sexually assaulting a woman at the team’s Phoenix-area hotel, leaving it uncertain if he will play in the Fiesta Bowl today against Ohio State.

The decision belongs to Coach Bill Snyder, Athletic Director Tim Weiser said during an afternoon news briefing.

“Will Ell play?” That’s a decision Coach will make,” Weiser said. “We’re still in a fact-finding mode. That’s not my call. I’ve watched Coach for several years, and I know how he deals with situations, and I know he’ll do the right thing.”

Team spokesman Garry Bowman said there would be no announcement before today as to whether Roberson will play -- or perhaps play, but not start.

The accusation was made early Thursday by a 22-year-old acquaintance of the athlete, according to a Paradise Valley police spokesman.

Roberson told police the sex was consensual after they contacted him regarding an investigation that began at 4:30 a.m. Thursday when hotel security called police.

No decision on whether charges will be filed will be made until after results of medical tests are received and a full report is submitted to the Maricopa County attorney’s office.

Whether Snyder will consider an investigation but no formal charge sufficient to hold Roberson out of the game remained unclear Thursday evening. However, the Lakers’ Kobe Bryant is only one example of a player competing even after being formally charged with such an offense.

The Manhattan (Kan.) Mercury will report in today’s editions that Roberson took part in the beginning of the team’s closed walk-through Thursday but did not complete it.

If Roberson does not play, it will not be a new experience for the Wildcats, who played two games without him this season because of a hand injury, including a stunning 27-20 loss to Marshall on Sept. 20, when the Wildcats were ranked No. 6. Kansas State also defeated Massachusetts without Roberson.

Roberson returned against Texas with his trademark option running game intact, but was ineffective as a passer in a 24-20 loss. He had recovered his passing touch by the time the Wildcats lost to Oklahoma State, 38-34, throwing for 332 yards and four touchdowns, although he also threw three interceptions.

Senior Jeff Schwinn played in place of Roberson in the two games he missed, but the backup is now listed as freshman Dylan Meier, who has appeared in 13 games and rushed for 139 yards but has completed only five of eight passes with two interceptions.

Kansas State was poised to put an emphatic stamp on an 11-3 regular-season that was capped by the stunning upset of then-unbeaten Oklahoma in the Big 12 title game.

That performance was so dominating, it led some to wonder if Kansas State might be in the national title hunt if not for Roberson’s midseason injury.

Only a playoff system would determine for sure if the Wildcats, with three losses and ranked only 10th in the BCS standings, had any claim to being the nation’s best team at season’s end.

Still, Ohio State Coach Jim Tressel said as the Buckeyes prepared for the Fiesta Bowl that by beating Oklahoma the eighth-ranked Wildcats proved they are the Big 12’s best team.

Tressel’s seventh-ranked Buckeyes were considered underdogs against Kansas State before Roberson’s situation arose, despite being the defending national champions.

“Kansas State is as good a team as anyone in the country,” Tressel said.

Tressel had good reason to flatter the Wildcats. It’s a time-honored tradition to praise your opponent.

ESPN analyst Lee Corso is a less interested party, and before Roberson’s availability came into question he said he believed Kansas State was probably in the “top three or four teams in the country.”

“They have an explosive offense with Roberson and [running back Darren Sproles], and their defense is extremely tough,” said Corso, who saw the 24-20 loss to Texas in person.

“Roberson had just gotten back from the injury and he underthrew a couple of passes by so much they bounced,” he said. “That’s what happens with an injury to a quarterback. He could still run, but his passing was off.”

As for the 35-7 upset of Oklahoma -- which will play in the bowl championship series national-title game in the Sugar Bowl on Sunday -- the Wildcat players have heard the word “fluke” more than once.

“We want to show people that it wasn’t the weather and it wasn’t that they knew they were going to the national championship, win or lose,” tight end Thomas Hill said.

The focus is always on Roberson’s role in the Wildcats’ option attack. But a big part of that attack is Sproles, the nation’s second-leading rusher. He was at his best late in the season, with more than 200 yards in three of the last four games -- including his 235-yard performance against Oklahoma.

The Wildcats definitely made an impression down the stretch, defeating their last seven opponents by a combined score of 271-66.

But that was a diet that included Colorado (5-7), Kansas (3-5), Baylor (3-9), Iowa State (2-10) and Missouri (8-4). The only truly impressive wins this season were a 38-9 defeat of then-No. 18 Nebraska and the stunner against the Sooners.

Roberson or no Roberson? It makes a difference, but there are no asterisks in the record books.

“Roberson adds a tremendous element,” Marshall Coach Bob Pruett said. “But we didn’t get to play our first-string quarterback [Stan Hill] either. That’s part of the game.”

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Associated Press contributed to this report.