SE: A Game-Changing Play Leads to a Blowout

By Denzel Goolsby as told to D. Scott Fritchen

We trailed 17-14 with under 7 minutes remaining in the third quarter against UCLA in the 2017 Cactus Bowl at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona. We needed a stop, and a game-changing event would be even better. Our defense took the field determined to respond after our offense just reached the end zone. We wanted to provide a spark.

It all happened so fast, but UCLA had first down at its own 22-yard line. I was the high safety and crept down before I read that the tight end was going to block. He showed run read right away, so I was going to come down and be that edge player off the side. When they handed off to their running back and he appeared to be stood up in a scrum, it was one of those moments where somebody flipped a switch in my head. This was my opportunity to make a game-changing play.

Will Geary had the running back stood up, so I swept in there, got my arm out and stripped the ball out. I was shocked at how easy it happened. It kind of surprised me. I was like, 'Oh, my gosh.' The play happened so quick. Next thing I knew, I was on the ground with the ball buried against my chest. We had the ball. And we had excellent field position to set up another score.

Four plays later, Alex Delton found Dominique Heath for an 8-yard touchdown pass for the go-ahead score and a 21-17 lead. We never looked back and won 35-17.

But here's the thing.

Nobody knew that I tore all the ligaments in my AC joint on the second play of the game.

UCLA ran a reverse and I was high safety. I read the reverse but when I ran down to tackle the ball carrier all of our weight landed on my left shoulder. My shoulder was the first thing to hit, and it absorbed all the weight. I felt this pop in my shoulder. I knew something wasn't right. I was like, "Let me get through this." Fortunately, they had to punt. I came off the sideline and they gave me a shot to numb it. Once I took my pads off after the game, my clavicle was sticking out under the skin, because all the ligaments that hold my clavicle were torn. When all the ligaments are torn, the clavicle just pops up.

I basically played the entire game with one arm, because I wasn't comfortable moving my left arm because I knew something was seriously wrong. At the time, I thought, "There's no way I'm going to end my season like this. They're going to have to cart me off the field for me not to play." I didn't really say much about the injury, so they would still believe in me out there on the field, so that was cool. Looking back, I'm like, "Geez, that was crazy." I have a cool scar now.

When Alex Delton came into the game, it showed that Coach was going to try and expose their rush defense with Alex's legs and explosive runs. UCLA ranked 128^th in the nation in rushing defense. You look at what happened, and that's exactly how it played out. Alex set a K-State bowl record with 158 rushing yards on 20 carries and 3 touchdowns. Alex Barnes had 12 carries for 117 yards and 1 touchdown as well. UCLA simply couldn't scheme for Alex and Alex Barnes. As a defensive player, I know what it's like trying to tackle a quarterback who's just as fast as the running backs, and it's very tough. Coach's decision to go with Alex totally changed their defense and threw them off for sure.

Alex and Skylar Thompson were always preparing. During the season, Skylar had his shots and Alex had his shots and you had to be ready because your number could be called at a moment's notice. Alex's performance spoke to his preparation. He didn't blink. I think guys rallied around that. He provided that spark that we needed in that particular game.

You always hear about the Big 12 versus the Pac-12 or the other Power 5 conferences, and this win against a tradition-rich school like UCLA brought some respect to the Big 12. UCLA, the name, carries a lot of weight. Being that underdog university, we definitely had a chip on our shoulder. They had some tremendous players, and we knew we had our hands full. Our toughness is really what allowed us to come out on top.

I remember it was so gorgeous in Phoenix. It didn't feel like Christmas at all. Christmas, to me, was about freezing cold weather, and maybe some snow, and this was my first time in Arizona, so it was way different. I thought, "Wow, this is an incredible atmosphere to play a college football game right now." It was a blast to practice outside and see the mountains. We were fired up to practice outside. It was interesting playing at their baseball stadium, Chase Field. It was a unique venue to play in.

At the end, we came out on top. Delton won Offensive MVP and I won Defensive MVP. It was surreal to be named Defensive MVP. This was my first year playing at the safety position. I'd never played on defense until I was in college. I was fortunate to play around some tremendous players like Trent Tanking, Duke Shelley, D.J. Reed and Kendall Adams. Being around guys like that, you felt you had a competitive edge, and they always gave 100%. We never stopped until the game was completely over. It was really humbling for me to earn that award and for the trophy to be handed to me when they were a lot of guys equally deserving, if not more, but it was tremendous honor, and I was just very fortunate to be recognized.

The postgame celebration was short-lived for me. I just wanted to shower and see what was up with the shoulder. This was the one time we were able to really spend time with family and friends, and I went to the hotel and had to go to bed. I was mentally exhausted because I knew I was hurt bad, and I had become even more mentally exhausted during the game and in trying to play the game at a high level without letting the opponent know I was hurt.

Fast forward, and I had surgery and missed all of the spring doing rehab. They had put screws and a plate down over my clavicle to allow my ligaments to properly heal. The plate would hold it down. Then we played Mississippi State and I tackled their running back and my clavicle plate cracked all the way down, so a huge chunk of my clavicle was floating around in there. I had another surgery and had to remove that chunk of clavicle. That's why I was out a good chunk of the season my junior year.

It all goes back to that bowl win over UCLA. I'm glad I stayed on the field against the Bruins. I'm glad I didn't give in to the pain. I look back and think, "Man, that was crazy," but I'm glad I was able to contribute.

I was able to making a game-changing play to help us win the game.

Kansas State University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Skylar Thompson

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