Manhattan, Kan. – Let Kansas State coach Bill Snyder explain.
He wanted a fast start. Can you blame him? He thought getting the wind at his team’s back was the best chance to get out of the blocks quickly. So on the coin toss, Snyder chose to defend an end zone rather than make a decision whether to receive or defer to the second half.
That gave Colorado a choice of what it wanted to do when the second half began. The Buffaloes chose to receive, and get the wind at their backs in the fourth quarter.
That decision paid off as kicker Mason Crosby had the air whipping toward the goalpost he faced as he nailed a 50-yard, game-winning field goal with six seconds left Saturday to give the Buffs a wind-aided 23-20 victory at KSU Stadium.
“I’m not the most popular guy in the world when we choose to defend the south goal,” Snyder said.
He’s right. In Kansas, where the wind on this day blew hard enough to drop a house on a wicked witch, he is not.
But that doesn’t matter to the Buffs (6-2, 4-1 Big 12), who stand alone atop the North standings, buoyed by Missouri’s 13-3 loss to Kansas. Colorado hosts Missouri Saturday in its quest to defend its division title.
Colorado’s lofty status is thanks in great part to a decision on a coin toss, a Kansas State muffed punt with 55 seconds left and a kicker in whom CU has the ultimate confidence.
With the game tied at 20, Kansas State had stuffed the Colorado offense and forced a punt, as it had done the entire second half. But K-State returner Jermaine Moreira mishandled the kick, and the Buffs recovered on the Wildcats’ 26-yard line.
Moreira was seriously injured on the play, and an ambulance took him to a hospital. His head strapped down, Moreira was said to be responsive in his extremities, and tests later came back negative.
After a lengthy delay, Colorado did what is generally unthinkable when getting in position for a last-second field goal – the Buffs took 7 yards in losses just to kill time and get the ball to the middle of the field. It turned what would have been a 43-yard attempt into 50-yard try, but when Crosby is your place-kicker, it apparently doesn’t matter.
“All of the offensive linemen are like, ‘Why are you going backwards?”‘ tight end Quinn Sypniewski said. “We were like, ‘We’ve got Mason, don’t worry about it.’ We can take a knee 6 yards back, we can take a knee 10 yards back. We’ve got Mason. We’re good to go.”‘
The kick, Crosby’s second game-winner this season, cleared the crossbar with 15 yards to spare. CU quarterback Joel Klatt admitted that had the Buffs not had the wind at their backs, their final strategy would have changed.
“We probably would have (run the football),” Klatt said. “But with the wind, it was spotted as a 50-yarder, but for (Crosby) it was probably just a normal attempt.”
It was a big red bow on an otherwise not-too-great day for the Buffs. Injuries took down running backs Hugh Charles and Byron Ellis, leaving Lawrence Vickers to do the heavy work and Bernard Jackson on standby. CU, which has been plagued by penalties this season, had 11 more Saturday and squandered a 10-point halftime lead.
“We made so many mistakes today that we were lucky to win the game,” CU coach Gary Barnett said. “But we had just enough in us.”
CU sidelines
UNSUNG HERO
K-State coach Bill Snyder. Kansas State’s decision to defend a goal in the first quarter and go with the wind allowed CU to have the choice in the second half. The Buffs chose the ball to get the wind in the fourth quarter, subsequently making Crosby’s game-winning field goal easier.
KEY PLAY
Mason Crosby’s 50-yard field goal, which put CU up 23-20 with six seconds to go. After CU took losses on consecutive plays, Crosby kicked the game-winner on third down.
TURNING POINT
Kansas State’s muffed punt return late in the fourth quarter. CU punter John Torp’s kick got away from K-State returner Jermaine Moreira and was recovered by Buffs cornerback Terry Washington. That helped set up Crosby’s game-winning field goal.
KEY STATISTIC
3 – Kansas State fumbled three times and lost them all. Colorado cashed in only one turnover for points, but it was a field goal, and the Buffs won by three points.
Staff writer Chris Dempsey can be reached at 303-820-5455 or cdempsey@denverpost.com.
