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Max Olson, ESPN Staff Writer
MANHATTAN, Kan. — Avery Johnson has few peers among college football quarterbacks when it comes to explosive rushing ability. Two games in, Kansas State’s sophomore starter hadn’t had many chances to show it.
On Friday night, Arizona gave him no choice.
Johnson delivered his first career 100-yard rushing performance in his fourth start and threw for 156 yards with two touchdowns and no turnovers, leading No. 14 Kansas State to a 31-7 win over No. 20 Arizona.
“It felt really good just being able to match up with another top-20 team in the nation and being able to go out and have a dominant win like that,” Johnson said. “Credit to the defense and the guys around me. It was a really fun win tonight.”
After surviving an upset bid on the road last week in a 34-27 victory at Tulane, Kansas State bounced back on a short week and played up to Big 12 title contender expectations by overpowering an Arizona squad that had won nine consecutive games dating back to last season’s 10-3 finish.
K-State called only five designed runs for its young QB through its first two games, but Johnson knew more were in the plan for Arizona. When he saw defenders focus on his running backs, he said he had to make them pay. Johnson picked up 126 rushing yards on his 14 rushing attempts (excluding sacks), and the trio of Johnson and running backs DJ Giddens and Dylan Edwards combined for 237 rushing yards with nine rushes of 10 or more yards.
“I never really know how teams are gonna play us,” Johnson said. “It’s kind of like pick your poison.”
Edwards, a touted Colorado transfer, put Kansas State ahead with a 71-yard punt return touchdown to start the second quarter. Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita answered by leading a drive down to K-State’s 30-yard line and then took a shot at the end zone, but cornerback Keenan Garber cut off his receiver to snag an interception.
Arizona’s preseason All-America wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan tied a career high with 11 catches and put up 138 receiving yards, but Kansas State’s defense managed to pitch a shutout the rest of the way and got three fourth-down stops in the second half.
Johnson helped his squad pull away in the second half with three consecutive scoring drives, effectively controlling the clock and finishing with a career-high 266 yards of total offense.
“Our quarterback is a pretty good player,” Kansas State coach Chris Klieman said. “He rose up tonight when we needed him to and played really good football and was really calm. He made some plays with his feet, made some plays with his legs and that was a fun performance to watch him.”
“This guy is something different,” Arizona coach Brent Brennan said. “He’s a 10.4 100-meter guy. He’s unique.”
The sophomore’s inexperience as a starter showed in the final moments of the first half, when a long scramble burned the final 10 seconds of the second quarter and ended with Johnson running out of bounds after time expired, taking away a field goal attempt that could’ve put the Wildcats up by 10. Afterward, his head coach took the blame for what he called a “terrible gaffe.”
“It is all on me,” Klieman said. “I’ve got to be better in that situation, and I should’ve just taken a timeout. That’s not on the kid. That is 100 percent on me, and I told him that.”
Johnson appreciated Klieman’s support but still regretted the missed opportunity. As he walked off the field at Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium to the locker room, strength coach Trumain Carroll reminded him that this team feeds off his energy. Johnson responded with a strong second half. He said he believes he’s starting to settle in to comfortably running the offense.
“I really wish I could be playing my top, best football right now,” Johnson said, “but it’s just gonna take some time. All Coach asks me to do is get 1 percent better each week.”
Klieman believes his 3-0 Wildcats showed they’re capable of being a complete team and are heading in the right direction with their week-to-week improvement as the program chases a second Big 12 title in three years.
“I don’t know what we’re trying to prove to everybody else,” Klieman said. “We need to prove to ourselves that we can sustain this and keep playing at a high level.”
For Kansas State, the win will not count in the Big 12 standings since this showdown was technically a nonconference game. The two programs agreed to this home-and-home series back in 2016 and agreed to keep it on the schedule rather than cancel after Arizona agreed to join the Big 12 starting in 2024.
K-State’s conference opener comes next week in a late-night road test against BYU (10:30 ET, ESPN). Arizona is idle before traveling to face Utah on Sept. 28.