‘We didn’t come here to try to hang on’: Chris Klieman explains gutsy fourth-down call
You only need one word to describe the way Chris Klieman coached during Kansas State’s 34-17 victory over West Virginia on Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
Gutsy.
Klieman made the boldest call of the season when the Wildcats faced a fourth-and-8 near midfield as they nursed a 24-17 lead midway through the fourth quarter ... and it paid off in a big way.
Conventional wisdom would suggest the Wildcats should have punted. The ball was on the West Virginia 39 and K-State was only averaging 5.1 yards per play, its second-worst output of the year. The Mountaineers had also found the end zone on each of their previous two drives. Giving them good field position could have easily resulted in another WVU score and a tie game.
Going for it was risky. Klieman would have been heavily criticized if K-State turned the ball over on downs. Then again, a first down would make West Virginia’s comeback attempt much more difficult.
What to do?
Klieman decided to roll the dice and left his offense on the field.
“I didn’t hesitate,” Klieman said. “I looked at Skylar (Thompson), and I said, ‘This is yours. What do you like? Because we’ve got to get a first down. We didn’t come here to try to hang on to win. We came here to try to win the football game.’”
Turns out, Klieman’s trust in his offense was well placed.
Thompson responded by hitting tight end Sammy Wheeler over the middle for a 35-yard gain that seemed to break West Virginia’s spirit. K-State appropriately scored on the following play with a 4-yard run from Deuce Vaughn.
It was mostly a day to forget for Thompson, who only threw for 138 yards, but he channeled Joe Montana on the biggest play of the afternoon.
“He absolutely ripped the seem route to Sammy Wheeler,” Klieman said. “It was a turning point of the game without question. I’m glad that the guys believe in each other and believed in me there that we were going to get that call and roll with them.”
The decision to go for it on fourth-and-8 may have surprised somefans. But K-State players expected their coach to be aggressive in that situation.
K-State has been excellent on fourth downs all season, converting 12 of 14 opportunities.
Professional gamblers like to say there is no luck involved in poker. The Wildcats seem to take the same approach when they leave their offense on the field for fourth downs.
“It’s exciting,” Thompson said. “Just the look in (Klieman’s) eyes that he had making that decision, just knowing he has confidence in me and he has confidence in our offense. ... Whenever we get the green light like that it’s time to go make a play.”
Thompson and Wheeler turned out to be a productive combination on Saturday.
Wheeler, a junior tight end from Lenexa, finished with three catches for 45 yards and a touchdown.
But it didn’t matter whose number got called on that key fourth-down play. The Wildcats believed they were going to move the chains, no matter what.
“We just have confidence that whenever the head coach looks at you and says, ‘We’re going for this, and I’m putting my trust in you,’ that we’re going to win,” K-State running back Vaughn said. “We take a lot of pride in that.”
Thompson went on to say K-State has become so confident on fourth down that the Wildcats expect to convert 100% of the time.
To that end, he is upset that the Wildcats have turned the ball over on downs twice this season.
Klieman feels the same way. It may have taken guts to go for it on fourth-and-8, but he had no fear in that situation.
Expect him to make the same decision the next time K-State faces a key fourth down.
“I‘ve got a lot of confidence and trust in Skylar and in our offense and Coach (Courtney) Messingham,” Klieman said.
“I know that we can get another set of downs and move the chains. That keeps their offense on the sideline, it chews up ... minutes. We came into this game trying to win it, and that’s what we did.”
This story was originally published November 13, 2021 at 5:06 PM with the headline "‘We didn’t come here to try to hang on’: Chris Klieman explains gutsy fourth-down call."