Kicker Jack Cantele delivers for Kansas State

Kansas State senior kicker Jack Cantele had the finest game of his career against Louisiana Tech on Saturday.

Cantele made four field goals, including a 44-yarder in double overtime he had to make to extend a game that the Wildcats ended up winning 39-33 in three overtimes. Quite the contrast from this time last year, when he missed three field goals against Auburn and Matthew McCrane replaced him in the starting lineup.

Not that he thought about that during the game.

“I lined up correctly and just let the rest take care of itself,” Cantele said. “I have practiced those kicks a thousand times in practice, so I am just going to let it take care of itself.”

K-State coach Bill Snyder said he was proud of Cantele, because it’s not easy for a player to lose his job and continue practicing with full intensity a year later. But Cantele did exactly that, and was ready to fill in for an injured McCrane.

“He was a good kicker last year,” Snyder said of Cantele. “He had the misses in the Auburn game, but since that time he rallied back. I admire him.”

Cantele was not nervous kicking in overtime.

“You can’t let there be pressure,” Cantele said. “I am sure all the fans and my family members and my teammates had their hearts in their throats, but as the person out there doing it you can’t let that get to you or else you are probably not going to succeed.”

Injury report

Several prominent K-State players watched Saturday’s game in sweats. The injury list included safety Dante Barnett, kicker Matthew McCrane and quarterbacks Jesse Ertz and Alex Delton.

Barnett is battling a shoulder injury. His return timetable is unknown. McCrane is recovering from a leg injury and may need a few more weeks to regain full health. Delton suffered a meniscus injury last week, according to sources, and could be out anywhere from two weeks to the entire season. Ertz is expected to miss the remainder of the season and request a medical redshirt.

Offensive lineman Boston Stiverson has not played this season, but he has dressed for every game. Senior receiver Stanton Weber returned Saturday after missing the last game.

Second guessing

Louisiana Tech coach Skip Holtz chose to punt with fewer than 2 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter and K-State leading 23-20. But with three timeouts, the Bulldogs got the ball back and forced overtime.

Another decision backfired on him in the third overtime when he chose to accept a chop-block penalty, rather than decline and force K-State into fourth and short. K-State scored on the replay.

This story was originally published September 19, 2015 at 10:30 PM with the headline "Kicker Jack Cantele delivers for Kansas State."