Saying I’m a fan of Carson Coffman may not be the best way to put it.Saying I’m a fan of the way he led the Wildcats down the field on a 67-yard game-winning drive would be accurate.
Still, it seems like there are more questions than answers with the quarterback position, which has been the major topic of discussion despite the Wildcats first 4-0 start since 2003.
There have been several instances on the young season where you just shake your head and honestly wonder how bad Coffman’s back-ups are at manning the starting position that Bill Snyder has given him.
Are Sammuel Lamur and Collin Klein that bad in their pre-snap judgments that Snyder would rather stick with a senior who looks like he’s trying to aim nearly every pass he throws?
Then again, why would you take a quarterback who tossed the perfect ball to Aubrey Quarles for a 58-yard touchdown strike to tie the game.
Better yet, why would you remove a senior quarterback who has more starting experience at the position than anyone else on the team, and one who converted on two third down plays in the closing minutes of the game.
Don’t forget the perfect read he made on second down from the seven yard line, when he didn’t panic and force a pitch to Daniel Thomas and then quickly pump-faked to his receiver on the wing to keep the cornerback at bay before tucking the ball and darting into the endzone for the game-winning score.
Now some of these plays worked based on the perfect timing they were called, but it still takes a knowledgeable athlete to make the right reads for these plays to work.
Through four games, K-State is undefeated. They haven’t been the prettiest of wins, but they are wins none the less and wins that can be directly attributed to the Wildcats coaching staff.
K-State now has a bye week to prepare for the toughest game thus far, and quite possibly the season.
No doubt the Wildcats have plenty of holes to fill before their Oct. 7 matchup with sixth-ranked Nebraska at home. UCF exposed K-State’s running game holding Thomas to just 76 yards, while the Wildcats run defense looked porous allowing 252 yards.
Those are the two biggest concerns heading into this showdown between two unbeatens. Without a productive game from Thomas or a more solid showing from the Wildcats defense, Nebraska will roll through Manhattan for the last time as a Big 12 opponent with ease.
Check out my game-by-game preseason prediction blog
