MANHATTAN, Kan. _ Never count Kansas State out against Iowa State.
The Wildcats beat the Cyclones 20-19 on Saturday at Snyder Family Stadium for their 10th straight Farmageddon victory. This one might have been the wildest of the bunch.
Iowa State (7-5, 5-4 Big 12) led 19-7 early in the fourth quarter, and K-State (7-5, 5-4) looked comatose on offense.
But Skylar Thompson led the Wildcats on a wild comeback that featured touchdown drives on each of their final two possessions. He won the game as time expired when he scrambled to his right and found Isaiah Zuber in the back of the end zone.
K-State players poured onto the field in celebration. Iowa State players walked away with stunned faces.
For the second time in three years, the Wildcats came back to beat the Cyclones when it looked like they were out of the game.
This was Thompson's second fourth-quarter comeback of the season. Not bad for a redshirt freshman. He also led K-State on a thrilling overtime victory at Texas Tech.
Thompson completed 15 of 21 passes for 152 yards and a touchdown, doing the majority of his damage in the final quarter. K-State managed just 99 yards and three first downs in the first three quarters.
He drove K-State 87 yards in the final 1:55 to win, hitting Zach Reuter and Zuber for big passes along the way.
Little has gone according to script for K-State this season, but things finally seemed to balance out in the fourth quarter. Until then this looked like another example how unpredictable the Wildcats have been.
A week after upsetting Oklahoma State on the road with a flurry of long touchdown passes from Thompson to Byron Pringle, they failed to connect a single time and K-State mustered little offense while struggling as a home favorite.
Home field hasn't been much of an advantage for K-State lately. For whatever reason, the Wildcats have been better on the road than inside the friendly confines of Snyder Family Stadium, where they had lost three consecutive games. This was their first home win since Sept. 30.
The victory clinched a winning season for K-State and improved its bowl stock.
It was fitting that the game came down to the final play, because this one didn't resemble your typical Big 12 football game.
This was a throwback to the Big Eight origins of this rivalry, long before the conference expanded south and spread offenses took over.
There was very little offense at all in this one, particularly in the first half. The Wildcats gained 53 yards in the first half, with their best play going for six yards. The Cyclones had more success between the 20s, but managed just two field goals.
That combination led to a 7-6 lead for K-State.
The Cyclones started the game with a bang, driving into the red zone and threatening to score the game's first touchdown. But they had to settle for a field goal.
A 43-yard punt return from Dominique Heath put K-State in position to take a 7-3 lead early in the second quarter on a three-yard run from quarterback Skylar Thompson.
Iowa State responded with another promising drive before halftime, but couldn't reach the goal line and settled for another field goal.
Iowa State was the better team in most areas in the first half, out-gaining the Wildcats 191-53, but K-State took advantage when it mattered most and did enough to lead.
The Cyclones pulled ahead in the fourth quarter, but they couldn't hold on.
With another comeback, K-State continues to own this series.
