MANHATTAN — Kansas State must like living on the edge.
For the second straight game, Kansas State had to rally in the fourth quarter to stay unbeaten.
This time, it was quarterback Carson Coffman scoring on a 7-yard keeper on second-and-goal with 24 seconds left in regulation to lift Kansas State (4-0) past Central Florida, 17-13, Saturday afternoon at sold-out Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
Last week, the Wildcats, trailing Iowa State 20-17, scored 10 unanswered points in the final six minutes, 47 seconds to win 27-20 in Big 12 Conference-opening play at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo.
Trailing Central Florida 13-10 in the fourth quarter, Kansas State pulled itself from the jaws of defeat after driving 67 yards in the final five minutes, 14 seconds for the game-winning touchdown. On the scoring run, Coffman faked a shovel pass to running back Daniel Thomas and angled his way into the end zone on a keeper.
“(Central Florida) took the shovel away and I was running down towards the line, thinking that I’m going to throw it out to Tremaine (Thompson, a wideout) and they had a backer that stayed out there,” Coffman said, “so I just headed for the goal line and I was thinking about jumping and sticking the ball out (across the goal line), but I thought that probably wouldn’t be a good idea, so I sprinted there.”
Heading into its bye week, the Wildcats have 11 days to prepare for their Oct. 7 clash with Big 12 Conference foe Nebraska at home.
Despite getting outplayed for the better part of three quarters against Central Florida, the Wildcats mustered enough big plays to turn back the Knights.
In a first half that was marred by a one-hour, 26-minute weather delay, in which lightning stopped play early in the opening quarter, Kansas State managed just three first downs and their top-flight running back, Daniel Thomas, was held to just 20 yards in 10 carries .
At halftime, Central Florida clung to a 7-0 lead.
“Offensively, we laid a massive egg during the first half of the ballgame and a good portion of the second half,” Kansas State head coach Bill Snyder said. “But yet, when we had to have it, we were able to get it and that speaks favorably for the young people in our program.
“I sure am proud of the fact that we came back to win the ballgame.”
Central Florida (2-2) went ahead 13-10 with 5:14 remaining after Nick Cattoi, who earlier missed a pair of field goals, kicked a 27-yarder after the Knights’ drive stalled at the 10.
That sent the Wildcats on their game-winning drive, which started at their own 33.  One of several big plays included an 18-yard completion to Andre McDonald on third-and-10 for a first down at the UCF 49.
Thomas, who entered the game as the nation’s second-leading rusher, averaging 184.0 yards per game, finished with 76 yards in 22 carries.
Thomas made four straight big runs, gaining 5, 12, 4 and 2 yards, which set up Coffman’s key completion to wideout Brodrick Smith.
On third-and-2 from the Central Florida 41, Coffman got a first down on a 2-yard sneak at the 39. Then, on the third-and-4, Coffman hit Smith along the sideline for a 6-yard completion and a first down at the 10.
After Coffman gained 3 yards on first down, he punched in his game-clinching TD.
Besides a Josh Cherry 27-yard field goal, Kansas State’s only other score came when Coffman hooked up with Aubrey Quarles for a 58-yard scoring bomb with 11:34 left in the third quarter, tying the game at 10.