SE: McCrane Hits Mark in Career Night to Help K-State Top Baylor
Oct 01, 2017 | Football, Sports Extra
Before every kick, Matthew McCrane zones in on something small between the uprights and behind the goalposts.
It could be a letter on one of field-level LED boards on the south side of Bill Snyder Family Stadium. It could be a specific K-State fan, quietly hoping McCrane splits the uprights.
"Aim small, miss small," McCrane said, "that's kind of my motivator."
McCrane's mental approach worked to perfection in K-State's 33-20 home win against Baylor on Saturday. The senior kicker knocked in all four of his field goal attempts (37, 21, 49, 23) to help K-State (3-1,1-0) start Big 12 play on a positive note.
"We always rely on him, we always count on him and he always delivers," sophomore defensive end Kyle Ball said of McCrane, who tied his career-high for field goals made in a game. "He's just a great, consistent guy who does well at practice and it showed up today, all his hard work."
With a strong south wind at his back, McCrane made his first two field goals in the second quarter to boost K-State's lead to 20-3 at halftime. His most crucial kick, however, came against the wind, from much a farther distance and in the fourth quarter.
K-State led Baylor, 20-13, with a little more than eight minutes left to play when the offense stalled out at the Bears' 32-yard line. The Wildcats called on McCrane for the third time, and he was "a little bit worried" after his pregame long against the wind was from only 42 yards out.
Still, McCrane picked his visual spot behind the goal posts and came through with three points in a crucial moment.
"It took about 10, 15 yards off a kick," he said of Saturday's wind. "I hit the 49 well. It kind of knuckled a little bit and went into the wind, but I struck it well and it went in."
Considering McCrane's 87-percent career success rate on field goals coming into Saturday's game, which ranked first in school history and seventh nationally, this season certainly started as a personal disappointment.
Through three games, McCrane had missed two kicks — a 50-yard attempt in K-State's season-opening win and another from 42 yards out in a close loss to Vanderbilt.
This ate at him, driving him to analyze his misses over and over again on tape. Was the issue his plant foot? Where he was aimed? Was his knee locked? Was his ankle? All these thoughts ran through his head.
"There's a lot of stuff that goes into it. It's like a golf swing," McCrane said. "If your arms are too far forward, if your knee's not locked, if your ankle's not locked, you miss the kick. Any inch, it makes a difference.
"I tried to analyze my kick (at Vanderbilt), so it stuck with me through the bye week but after this week, that kick's in the past."
McCrane's performance against Baylor added to head coach Bill Snyder's already high level of confidence in him.
"Outside of snapping the ball that's probably the hardest thing in the game of football itself, is to be able to put it through those two little uprights, those toothpicks up there, and he does it quite well," Snyder said. "It takes a lot of focus and a great deal of discipline on his part. He works at it, it's important to him and he's done well with it."
"There's a lot of pressure. Everyone's watching you," Ball added when asked about the difficulty of kicking. "They just have to be perfect all the time. In practice Matt does a great job all the time, kicking long field goals and being consistent with it, and I feel like it showed up today."
While McCrane appreciates the respect given to his craft, he's not ready to label it as any more or less difficult than his teammates' jobs.
"I respect what all the other guys do. They do a lot more than I do in practice. I do a lot of standing, but it's tough," said McCrane, before describing how Snyder pushes his kickers toward perfection. "If we make a field goal in practice and it's right-center, Coach says, 'That's only worth one point.' He makes it hard on us, for sure."
McCrane also made three extra points against Baylor to total a career-high 15 points scored. Only four Wildcat kickers (Martin Gramatica, Jamie Rheem, Joe Rheem and Brooks Rossman) have scored more in one game in school history.
With 234 career points, McCrane now sits one point away from moving into a tie for seventh on K-State's career scoring list. He may also reach Ell Roberson (248) and Jamie Rheem (252), third among only K-State kickers, before season's end.
"If you go and look at the entirety of his career," Snyder said, "he's been very good."
It could be a letter on one of field-level LED boards on the south side of Bill Snyder Family Stadium. It could be a specific K-State fan, quietly hoping McCrane splits the uprights.
"Aim small, miss small," McCrane said, "that's kind of my motivator."
McCrane's mental approach worked to perfection in K-State's 33-20 home win against Baylor on Saturday. The senior kicker knocked in all four of his field goal attempts (37, 21, 49, 23) to help K-State (3-1,1-0) start Big 12 play on a positive note.
"We always rely on him, we always count on him and he always delivers," sophomore defensive end Kyle Ball said of McCrane, who tied his career-high for field goals made in a game. "He's just a great, consistent guy who does well at practice and it showed up today, all his hard work."
With a strong south wind at his back, McCrane made his first two field goals in the second quarter to boost K-State's lead to 20-3 at halftime. His most crucial kick, however, came against the wind, from much a farther distance and in the fourth quarter.
K-State led Baylor, 20-13, with a little more than eight minutes left to play when the offense stalled out at the Bears' 32-yard line. The Wildcats called on McCrane for the third time, and he was "a little bit worried" after his pregame long against the wind was from only 42 yards out.
Still, McCrane picked his visual spot behind the goal posts and came through with three points in a crucial moment.
"It took about 10, 15 yards off a kick," he said of Saturday's wind. "I hit the 49 well. It kind of knuckled a little bit and went into the wind, but I struck it well and it went in."
Considering McCrane's 87-percent career success rate on field goals coming into Saturday's game, which ranked first in school history and seventh nationally, this season certainly started as a personal disappointment.
Through three games, McCrane had missed two kicks — a 50-yard attempt in K-State's season-opening win and another from 42 yards out in a close loss to Vanderbilt.
This ate at him, driving him to analyze his misses over and over again on tape. Was the issue his plant foot? Where he was aimed? Was his knee locked? Was his ankle? All these thoughts ran through his head.
"There's a lot of stuff that goes into it. It's like a golf swing," McCrane said. "If your arms are too far forward, if your knee's not locked, if your ankle's not locked, you miss the kick. Any inch, it makes a difference.
"I tried to analyze my kick (at Vanderbilt), so it stuck with me through the bye week but after this week, that kick's in the past."
McCrane's performance against Baylor added to head coach Bill Snyder's already high level of confidence in him.
"Outside of snapping the ball that's probably the hardest thing in the game of football itself, is to be able to put it through those two little uprights, those toothpicks up there, and he does it quite well," Snyder said. "It takes a lot of focus and a great deal of discipline on his part. He works at it, it's important to him and he's done well with it."
"There's a lot of pressure. Everyone's watching you," Ball added when asked about the difficulty of kicking. "They just have to be perfect all the time. In practice Matt does a great job all the time, kicking long field goals and being consistent with it, and I feel like it showed up today."
While McCrane appreciates the respect given to his craft, he's not ready to label it as any more or less difficult than his teammates' jobs.
"I respect what all the other guys do. They do a lot more than I do in practice. I do a lot of standing, but it's tough," said McCrane, before describing how Snyder pushes his kickers toward perfection. "If we make a field goal in practice and it's right-center, Coach says, 'That's only worth one point.' He makes it hard on us, for sure."
McCrane also made three extra points against Baylor to total a career-high 15 points scored. Only four Wildcat kickers (Martin Gramatica, Jamie Rheem, Joe Rheem and Brooks Rossman) have scored more in one game in school history.
With 234 career points, McCrane now sits one point away from moving into a tie for seventh on K-State's career scoring list. He may also reach Ell Roberson (248) and Jamie Rheem (252), third among only K-State kickers, before season's end.
"If you go and look at the entirety of his career," Snyder said, "he's been very good."
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