Winning the Sunflower Showdown hasn’t looked that easy in years. The Kansas State Wildcats did everything right on Thursday against the Kansas Jayhawks. Bill Snyder had his team ready to play, Carson Coffman was on fire and Daniel Thomas regained his mojo. Here’s a deeper look:

FIVE THINGS THAT WENT WELL1. When Carson Coffman finished his media obligations for the night, Kansas State administrators and fans lined up to shake his hand. One after another they waited to tell him how proud they were of his gutsy performance.

The last time I saw that much appreciation for a K-State sports figure was when the K-State basketball team defeated then No. 1 Texas at home last season, and everyone wanted to congratulate Frank Martin.

Considering Coffman shook off a rough start to the season, criticism from his own fans and speculation from his coach that he would be benched this week to put up the game of his life, the kudos were definitely deserved.

Just look at this stat line: 15 of 16 for 184 yards and two touchdowns, 10 carries for 42 yards and three touchdowns. Amazing. (more…)