Johnson, Defense Helps 14/15 K-State Roll 20/18 Arizona, 31-7

By D. Scott Fritchen

MANHATTAN, Kan. – No. 14 Kansas State showed its Wildcats are for real while sophomore Avery Johnson threw and ran his way to his best performance yet in a 31-7 win over No. 20 Arizona that gave K-State a big victory on the big stage and in front of an unrelenting crowd at Bill Snyder Family Stadium on Friday night.

Johnson threw for 156 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 110 yards while the defense for K-State, 3-0, clamped down on Arizona, 2-1, to snap Arizona’s nation-leading nine-game winning streak and give K-State its first regular-season home victory over a ranked non-conference opponent since 2002.

The crowd was loud. K-State was proud. And K-State recorded one of its top wins in its six seasons under head coach Chris Klieman.

“That was the loudest I’ve ever heard The Bill,” Klieman said. “I knew they were going to be cranked up when I came in the parking lot. They were electric tonight, and they helped us win that football game.

“I can’t thank our fans and our fan base enough.”

In the history of the Big 12, K-State is 146-47 in games when it is the home team, which marks the most wins among all active schools in the league.

“Being able to matchup with another top-20 team in the nation and being able to go out with a dominant win like that — credit to the defense, credit to the guys around me, it was a really fun win tonight,” said Johnson, who completed 14-of-23 passes for 156 yards and two touchdowns and rushed 17 times for a career-high 110 yards in his fourth career start.

“The best part we did tonight is we just didn’t let up.”

In a rare weekday contest for K-State, the purple-clad Wildcats dazzled in front of the college football universe and in front of a crowd of 51,290, the 16th straight sellout. Friday’s matchup was a nonconference game and did not count in the Big 12 standings, but the first meeting between K-State and Arizona since 1978 no doubt opened eyes to the dangers K-State presents when it is clicking in all three phases.

From Johnson’s two touchdown passes — both to tight ends — to a touchdown-saving interception in the end zone by cornerback Keenan Garber to a 71-yard punt-return touchdown by electric Dylan Edwards, K-State clicked, and clicked, and clicked against an Arizona squad that suffered its worst loss since a 34-0 defeat at Colorado on October 16, 2021.

“We can be a complete team,” said Klieman, who improved to 4-1 in the regular season against non-conference Power 4 opponents. “We’re getting there. We’re getting better. We’ve got more in us, probably. We can play fast on defense, we have some playmakers on offense, we’re not one-dimensional like a lot of people thought we are, Avery spun it pretty well today.

“I don’t know what we’re trying to prove to everybody else. We’re trying to prove to ourselves that we can sustain this and keep playing at a high level. The only way you play at a high level is by preparing and practicing at a high level. That’s what I challenged the guys with. We had a great week of preparation. Now we have to do it again.”

After K-State seemed to have questions following a 34-27 comeback win at Tulane last Saturday, the Wildcats on a short week dazzled against Arizona and now prepare for a 9:30 p.m. (CT) kickoff at BYU next Saturday.

It appears there is ample fuel in the Wildcats’ tank for the road ahead.

“You live for games like this,” said wide receiver Jayce Brown, who had three catches for 60 yards. “What other way would you want it? Friday night lights, packed out game. It was a good team win. We have bigger goals ahead. It’s onto next week.”

Arizona averaged 39 points per game during a win streak that spanned nearly one year. Arizona suffered its first defeat since a 43-41 loss at No. 9 USC in triple overtime on October 7, 2023.

K-State outgained Arizona 391-324 in total offense. K-State held a 235-56 advantage in rushing yards.

Although one of the more potent quarterback-wide receiver duos in the country appeared as tough as advertised — Noah Fifita completed 24-of-36 passes for 248 yards (with one interception) and Tetairoa McMillan had 11 catches for 138 yards — Arizona suffered nine penalties and went 5-for-14 on third downs against a K-State defense that forced turnover-by-downs on each of the final three possessions.

“We just worked as a unit and didn’t beat ourselves,” senior defensive end Brendan Mott said. “In the Tulane game, we had some mental errors and explosive plays that we could’ve avoided. It was on us. We worked together and worked the game. Coach Klieman always says to ‘work the game,’ and I think we did that.”

In the first quarter, it certainly seemed like it was anybody’s game.

Fifita drove Arizona 73 yards on 14 plays for a 1-yard touchdown run by Quali Conley and a 7-0 lead on a game-opening drive that consumed 7:28. Arizona converted two third downs and one fourth-and-1 to keep alive the opening possession.

Then Johnson led a monster drive of his own — a 15-play, 75-yard jaunt featured 58 rushing yards, including 34 by DJ Giddens, and that ended with Johnson hitting tight end Will Swanson for a 3-yard score to tie it with 1:01 left in the first quarter.

Almost unbelievably, each team effectively possessed the ball one time in the first quarter.

The fireworks came shortly after.

When K-State forced an Arizona punt, the K-State special teams unit sprang into action. Edwards took a Tyler Loop 48-yard punt, caught a block to find the edge, and sprinted down the K-State sideline 71 yards for a touchdown and a 14-7 lead.

That gave K-State three non-offensive touchdowns in its first three games — one in each game. K-State’s 134 non-offensive touchdowns since 1999 leads the FBS over that span.

“We knew they were going to come in and try to punch us in the mouth,” Edwards said. “We kept going and you guys saw how the outcome went.”

Fifita tried to answer on a 4-play, 45-yard drive that resulted in his first mistake. Facing third-and-3 at the K-State 30, Fifita fired a pass across the middle and Garber undercut wide receiver Malachi Riley in the end zone for a touchdown-saving interception. K-State’s 67 takeaways mark the most in the Big 12 since 2021.

“I was just running, I saw the ball, and I knew I had a chance to go get it,” Garber said. “I had to make the big-time play when it came my way.”

K-State’s other big-time plays came in the second half. The Wildcats were unable to manufacture a two-score advantage in the first two quarters.

The Arizona defense held strong after K-State drove the football, but a 48-yard field goal attempt by Chris Tennant sailed wide left.

Arizona committed five penalties on offense on the ensuing possession and had to punt. K-State began its next drive just before the 2-minute timeout. But one of its most balanced drives of the first half ended in unfortunate fashion.

With seconds to go on third-and-15 at the Arizona 19-yard line, Johnson extended the play with his legs and raced down the field and out of bounds in front of the Arizona sideline — but not before the game clock expired, thwarting an opportunity for a short field-goal try to end the half.

“It is all on me at the end of the first half,” Klieman said. “I’ve got to be better in that situation, and I should’ve just called the timeout. That’s not on the kid. That’s 100% on me, and I told him that.”

No worries. Johnson and Co. came out of the locker room seemingly unfazed and took care of business the rest of the way.

A brilliant 48-yard catch-and-run by Brown – the longest pass play of the season by K-State — set up Edwards for an 8-yard run, which featured a facemask to give K-State the ball at the 9. On the very next play, Johnson found Brayden Loftin for a 9-yard touchdown in the back of the end zone for a 21-7 lead, capping an 86-yard drive, the longest of the season by K-State.

K-State struck again — this time on an 11-play drive keyed when Johnson connected with Loftin for a 21-yard gain, which set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Giddens to put K-State ahead 28-7 with 34 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

Tennant booted a 35-yard field-goal midway through the fourth quarter while the defense pitched a second-half shutout.

Moments later, the K-State marching band blared, “Happy Trails,” its signature song to send off opposing teams after a big home win.

And this was a gigantic win as the Wildcats prepare to open Big 12 play at BYU.

“We just have to stay focused and have a great week of practice,” Johnson said. “What led to our success tonight is how well we practiced throughout the week and how well we prepared all the way from when the Tulane game ended all the way to the first snap tonight. We need to continue to prepare at the highest level and just execute when we step on the field.”