K-State film study: Breaking down one of the best nights of Skylar Thompson’s life
With 9:30 left in the third quarter, Skylar Thompson had thrown one true incomplete pass.
The K-State State junior quarterback fired about a foot too low for receiver Malik Knowles on his second throw of the 2019 season and was nearly perfect from then out. Thompson finished 16-of-22 for 212 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions with a 168.7 quarterback rating.
The Wildcats beat Nicholls State 49-14 in their season opener, and Thompson was emotional postgame.
“The feeling walking off the field tonight was truly special,” he said. “It’s a feeling that I struggle to put into words. A lot of hard work, a lot of sacrifices that I’ve put into my daily life to go out and play the way I did today.”
Here is a breakdown of the film on why Saturday was so special.
Comebacks and roll-outs
To go in tandem with K-State’s stout running game and offensive line play Saturday, the Wildcats ran a lot of run action roll-outs that got Thompson on the move and firing to his right.
On the Cats’ second passing play of the season, Thompson and running back James Gilbert got the attention of the Nicholls linebackers. That left freshman fullback Jax Dineen wide open and prime for his first reception of his career.
Thompson rolled to his right and had Dineen about 10 yards away, but Thompson opted for Knowles at the sideline. Nicholls was running man coverage, as it did most of Saturday night, and by running to the sideline on the comeback instead of back toward the middle of the field on a curl, the Nicholls’ cornerback had to make a perfect break on the ball.
It also called for a perfect ball, and it wasn’t, but Thompson would get another opportunity.
Early in the third quarter, Thompson scrambled to his right. Knowles ran a chair route, breaking out and then up the field, but that wasn’t Thompson’s first read.
As Thompson escaped the pocket, Knowles broke his chair route short and back toward the sideline. On the run, Thompson delivered one of his best balls of the night.
Late in the third quarter, he delivered again. Senior receiver Dalton Schoen ran a deep comeback route. He created separation off his Nicholls corner, who was in man coverage, and Thompson pinned Schoen to the sideline.
It wasn’t their last connection of the night.
A couple of plays later, K-State ran the same concept. Running out of a two running back, one tight end package, sophomore Nick Lenners went in motion to his left.
The motion indicated a power run play, and the K-State offensive line sold it well. Instead of looking through the tight end to the receiver at the sideline, Thompson opted to dump it off.
The last example came on Thompson’s final snap of his season opener.
After running comebacks to the sideline all night against the Nicholls’ cornerbacks, who had fits in man coverage, Schoen gave his defender a double move.
He shimmied toward the boundary and broke for the end zone. In perhaps the cleanest pocket of the night, Thompson threw about 45 yards downfield.
It wasn’t his best ball, but it didn’t need to be. Schoen made that much separation.
K-State ran for 361 yards Saturday. If the Cats didn’t, Thompson wouldn’t have been as effective on play action. A lot of times, though Thompson didn’t hit it, receivers were open across the middle because of the run action of the offensive line, which sucked in the linebackers.
Drops
The K-State receivers dropped four passes Saturday, and all of them could have gone for touchdowns.
In one of the few zone looks the K-State offense got Saturday, Knowles and Lenners ran vertical routes attacking the middle of the field. Lenners broke his off before the end zone, but Knowles stretched the free safety to make a choice.
The safety chose Lenners. Knowles had a step on his corner, who was taking the deep third. He was one-on-one, and Thompson put it in his hands for what would have been the opening score of the season.
After a touchdown from running back Harry Trotter and an interception from A.J. Parker, K-State had the ball at the Nicholls 28-yard line. The Cats took another shot at the end zone.
Against the same defensive cover 3 scheme, K-State ran crossing routes with Knowles and junior receiver Wykeem Gill. It confused the defense, and Knowles was one-on-one in the end zone again.
The coverage was much tighter, and it required a flawless ball. Thompson delivered again, but it fell to the ground again.
Thompson’s best ball came on a drop.
Launching a 40-yard dart to Schoen, who ran a corner route, Thompson dropped the ball in a basket. Any shorter, and Schoen would have had to contend with the trailing defender. Any longer, it was overthrown.
Schoen’s second drop came with a price.
Schoen ran another corner route into the right side of the end zone. Thompson delivered an under-thrown ball that Schoen had to turn around for. Even still, it was good enough.
Thompson stared down the safeties, knowing he was going to Schoen all the way. He flicked it, but Schoen couldn’t control through contact.
The third-down drop forced a field goal try that was missed. It left seven points off the board.
Improvisation
Thompson made K-State fans forget Delton quickly.
Going in for the Wildcats’ second touchdown on the night with 5:53 left in the first quarter, Thompson tucked after surveying at least three options to the right side of the field.
In staring down his receivers, the Nicholls defender vacated the middle of the field. One worked his way back to contain Thompson. He couldn’t.
Thompson’s best improvised play came with 2:46 left in the second quarter. He took the snap and read zone coverage on a high-low route concept to the left side of the field.
Thompson didn’t like his options. He pump faked as the pocket collapsed. He worked his way back to the right. Eyed a pair of receivers on the right side of the field and eventually found sophomore Chabastin Taylor.
Taylor had run across the field and ripped through the Nicholls’ zone defense. His 34-yard reception was the second longest play of the night.
After the game, K-State’s in-house media caught the junior captain quarterback addressing the team. As he did with reporters a few moments later, Thompson struggled to find words to sum up the night.
“This was a lot of fun, so much fun,” Thompson said. “I-, I-, I’m speechless.”
This story was originally published September 4, 2019 at 9:56 AM.