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By D. Scott Fritchen
BOULDER, Colo. – The nailbiter in Boulder ended in victory formation for No. 18 Kansas State, which led most of the game, then came from behind late in a 31-28 thriller over Colorado, giving the Wildcats a big road victory against an old rival at Folsom Field.
Avery Johnson laid a long pass over the left shoulder of Jayce Brown for the game-winning 50-yard touchdown with 2 minutes, 14 seconds left before Sanders saw his 40thand final passing attempt fall incomplete on fourth-and-5 at his own 30-yard line with 74 seconds to go, as K-State survived the 67th meeting between the former conference opponents — who are now Big 12 Conference foes again.
“This was a really good win for us,” K-State head coach Chris Klieman said. “It’s a really good football team that we ended up finding a way to beat. We knew they weren’t going to hand it to us, and we took it from them.”
K-State, 5-1 overall and 2-1 in the Big 12, tied its best six-game start of the Klieman era, and outlasted Colorado, 4-2 and 2-1, which looked to reach its longest winning streak of the Deion Sanders era.
It marked the sixth win ever by K-State at Folsom Field, which rocked before a sellout crowd. The theme of the night was “Gold Rush,” and it didn’t take much mining to find gridiron excitement in what was one of the most hyped games of this college football season.
K-State has scored at least 28 points in 13 of the last 14 games and out-gained Colorado, 423 to 359.
Johnson threw for 224 yards and two touchdowns despite one interception and rushed for another score. DJ Giddens rushed 25 times for 182 yards. Brown had a career performance with six catches for 121 yards and the go-ahead touchdown. Dylan Edwards, who transferred from Colorado to K-State prior to the season, scored on a 1-yard touchdown run against his former team.
Shedeur Sanders, projected to be one of the top quarterbacks taken in the NFL Draft, was spectacular, completing 34-of-40 passes for 388 yards and three touchdowns and one interception. With Travis Hunter, a top Heisman Trophy candidate, on the sideline, Omarion Miller had a career night with eight catches for 145 yards.
It was toward the end of the first quarter that 6-foot-1, 212-pound Giddens truly came alive for the nation. With a bevy of punishing runs and long strides down the middle of the field, Giddens put on a show. By the end of the first half, he had 12 carries for 127 yards and averaged 10.6 yards per rushing attempt.
Colorado hadn’t allowed a 100-yard rusher in its first five games. Giddens reached 100 yards with 4:15 left in the second quarter.
After rushing six straight times, Giddens went to the sideline for a quick breather. Edwards sprang into action with a 9-yard carry to the goal line and finished things off by taking the ball between tackles into the end zone for a 14-7 lead.
Colorado and Sanders struggled to respond. K-State disguised its pressures, at times rushing four with a linebacker as a spy, and Desmond Purnell flew through and sacked Sanders for a 16-yard loss in the final minute of the second quarter. The Buffaloes faced fourth-and-33 and let the game clock run out.
“Our defensive line imposed its will,” Klieman said. “Six sacks — I thought our defensive line was the difference in the game.”
K-State fans held their breath with 12:59 left in the third quarter when Johnson immediately grabbed his left side after throwing a 33-yard pass to Brown. Johnson trotted to the locker room, giving the ball to backup Ta’Quan Roberson at first-and-10 at the K-State 29-yard line. Giddens paced the Wildcats, who drove to the Colorado 4 before Johnson returned to the game. Johnson promptly fired a 1-yard touchdown pass to Brown for a 21-7 lead.
Colorado stormed back as Sanders completed 6-of-7 passes on the drive and his 7-yard pass to Sheppard resulted in a touchdown.
Moments later, K-State got the first takeaway of the game when VJ Payne intercepted Sanders at the goal line — just one play after Miller left the game due to injury — but Colorado forced the Wildcats into their first 3-and-out of the second half.
Sanders went to work again, taking Colorado 70 yards in 10 plays before handing off to Isaiah Augustave for a 2-yard scoring run as the Wildcats’ lead narrowed to 24-21 with 6:44 left in the fourth quarter.
Adversity struck K-State with 3:51 left to play. Facing fourth and 6 at the 31, Johnson attempted a pass to Brown. The ball flew up and cornerback Cooper Hood intercepted it. He raced the other direction before he tripped and fell. But Colorado had the ball at the K-State 17
Three plays later, LaJohntay Wester caught an out route for a 11-yard touchdown to take a 28-24 lead with 3:12 left.
Turns out K-State didn’t need that long to score. Johnson laid a long pass over the left shoulder of Brown, who caught the ball in stride for a 50-yard score as the Wildcats snatched back the lead at 31-28.
K-State defense stiffened and pressured Sanders over the final two minutes before the Wildcats regained possession and ran out the clock.
“I’m so proud of our guys,” Klieman said. “When Sanders is in the game, anything is a go. They are so explosive. I was just proud of our resolve.”
