His name has been tarnished, his abilities questioned. He was a starter who lost his job, a player who has been singled out for two years for nearly every loss of which he had taken part. Yet, he won the game against Central Florida for Kansas State when nothing seemed to be going right. His name is Carson Coffman.
The game between Kansas State and UCF can only be described in one word: crazy. Between the furious weather and the fourth quarter heroics of Coffman, few could have imagined the outcome that took place in front of 50,000 anxious fans at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
Fort Riley Day started well enough for K-State. The crowd was roaring, possibly due to the hype of a 3-0 team, and the cannons and guns created ample background noise. The Wildcats defense came out firing and shut down the Knights on their first drive. All the momentum seemed to be on Kansas State’s side.
The Wildcats got the ball looking to take an early first quarter lead, but UCF made it clear that every yard the Wildcats would earn would be a struggle. Kansas State was forced to punt immediately following a three-and-out. The crowd was not fazed and was still roaring loudly when there was a long delay. The crowd did not seem to comprehend what was going on when the PA announcer, Dave Lewis, announced the crowd needed to take shelter.
That’s when the fans looked to the northern sky. What they saw was a scary sight. There seemed to be rotation, and it was very close to the stadium. Luckily, other than heavy rain and some strong winds, there was nothing too dangerous. After an hour-and-a-half the storm delay ended and most fans, undeterred by the ominous weather, returned to the stadium.
The game would not get any better than that in the first half for Kansas State. UCF would drive and then the Wildcat defense would step up when they needed to, keeping any more points from being added to the scoreboard. The Wildcat offense was contained and star running back Daniel Thomas was bottled up.
The Knights had two more chances to score in the first half which probably should have made the score either 13-0 or 17-0, but a missed a redzone field goal and an Emmanuel Lamur redzone interception kept the Knights off the scoreboard. At halftime, K-State had more three-and-outs then they did first downs. It was an amazing and gutsy performance by the Knights, who shut down Thomas and hit Coffman often, forcing him to make poor passes which caused the Wildcat offense to come to a grinding halt.
The fans all around the stadium were growing impatient with Coffman. Frustrated fans began calling for the Wildcats’ starting quarterback to be benched in favor of another option–anyone besides Coffman. Their wishes were not granted, but it did not seem to affect Coffman. On a perfect play action pass, Coffman hit Tramaine Thompson down the field for a 72-yard gain. The long pass lead to a field goal, cutting the UCF lead to four. UCF answered back against the weary defense on the very next drive. Luckily for K-State the defense stepped up when it mattered, yet again, forcing the Knights to kick a field goal. At that point early in the fourth quarter, the score stood at 10-3 in favor of the Knights.
K-State began to move the ball effectively, compared to earlier in the game when nothing seemed to work. They actually got a first down on two plays (an offsides call on the Knights helped). But even K-State fans could have predicted what would happen next.
Coffman delivered again by connecting on a 59-yard touchdown pass to Aubrey Quarles, tying the game at 10 apiece. The crowd was back into the game and the stadium was roaring. The Wildcats held the Knights to a three-and-out on the ensuing possession and it appeared that K-State was well on their way to taking over the game. Receiving the ball once again, with a chance to take the lead, the unthinkable happened. K-State’s Heisman hopeful, Daniel Thomas, fumbled at the 50-yard line, giving the Knights great field position and a chance to take the lead once more.
UCF drove down the field with the crowd still roaring. The defense stepped up once more and held them to a field goal attempt. Fans of both teams collectively held their breath as the UCF kicker Nick Cattoi had already missed two field goals on the day. He drilled it and the Knights took the lead, 13-10. The air was punched out of Kansas State fans, who felt that five minutes left in the game might not be enough for their Wildcats to take the lead.
In spectacular fashion, embattled quarterback Coffman completed two huge third down plays, putting the Cats in position to score. But there was one problem–the clock was still running. Coffman ran for a short three-yard gain and the clock continued to tick down. Down to thirty seconds left in the game, the crowd was screaming for the Wildcats to hurry. At 27 seconds, fans became frantic. Coffman snapped the ball and the Knights were all over the play, locking down Thomas as well as all of the wide receivers. A designed shovel pass play called, Coffman decided not to pitch the ball to the well-defended Thomas and instead chose to run the ball in himself, scoring the game-winning touchdown with 24 seconds left to play.
UCF had one last chance. On a hail-mary pass, Terrence Sweeney intercepted it and the Wildcats took over with just one more play needed to end the game. In victory formation, the Wildcats took a knee and the game came to an end with the Wildcats on top, 17-13 over the UCF Knights. The crowd exploded.
Somehow, after three quarters of being manhandled by the Knights, the Wildcats, riding Carson Coffman, won the game against all odds. Coffman persevered and silenced most of his doubters. Though he will never be the most talented quarterback in K-State history, nor will he ever be the most popular, Coffman has led Kansas State to its first 4-0 start since 2003 and every K-State fan should be proud. This win was entirely on Coffman’s shoulders and he has been redeemed, at least in my eyes.
K-State now prepares to face-off against Nebraska on October 7th on national television in Bill Snyder Family Stadium. GO STATE!
