Johnson leads No. 23 KSU past error-prone OSU

MANHATTAN, Kan. — Avery Johnson passed for three touchdowns and ran for two as No. 23 Kansas State routed No. 20 Oklahoma State 42-20 Saturday.

The Wildcats were motivated after a 38-9 loss at BYU the previous week.

“It was (because of) how poorly we played last week,” Johnson said . “We just wanted to come out and play free and play our game. We know what we put on tape last week wasn’t us. A big focus was to not let any pressure or any of that stuff get to me this week. It was a really good feeling.”

Johnson passed for 259 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 60 yards and two scores. After his lone interception of the game, he was nearly flawless.

Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman said it was a continuation of what he saw in practice earlier this week.

“On Thursday, he may have been like 32-of-35,” Klieman said. “I grabbed him on Friday morning and said, ‘That’s as on-point as I’ve seen you in a practice.’ It was really good throws in tight windows. I see a guy that’s gaining a lot of confidence.”

DJ Giddens ran for 187 yards and a touchdown and had a catch for 22 yards for the Wildcats (4-1, 1-1 Big 12), who fell behind early before scoring 35 straight points to take control.

“There’s only one ball, and we wanted to get it to everybody, but when 31’s got it in his hands, He’s pretty dang good,” Klieman said. “I think he wants to prove a point. DJ Giddens is a great football player. I’m really pleased with how DJ played.”

Alan Bowman passed for 361 yards and a touchdown for Oklahoma State (3-2, 0-2), but he threw two costly interceptions and lost a fumble. De’Zhaun Stribling had seven catches for 157 yards, including a 77-yard touchdown catch from Bowman on a flea flicker.

But the K-State defense didn’t let the big play affect the rest of the game. In fact, they didn’t allow another Oklahoma State point until there was just 2:48 left on the clock and K-State held a huge lead.

“We had chances in the first half,” Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said. “We didn’t capitalize. We left some points on the board. When you play a good football team in a good college football environment on the road, you have to capitalize in those situations.”

Giddens’ 66-yard touchdown run on K-State’s second offensive play of the second half gave Kansas State a 28-13 lead. Johnson then found Will Anciaux on a 2-yard pass for his first career touchdown and a 35-13 advantage. Johnson iced the game with a nifty 13-yard scramble for a touchdown.

The Takeaway

Oklahoma State: The Cowboys, one of the preseason favorites to play in the Big 12 Championship Game, will have an uphill battle to get there. The Cowboys got running back Ollie Gordon II going early with 72 yards rushing in the first quarter, but he finished with 76.

Kansas State: The Wildcats dominated on offense, gaining 559 yards. On defense, they still need to limit the big plays in the passing game — they allowed five different Oklahoma State players to gain at least 10 yards on a reception and gave up 364 yards in the air.

Up Next:

Oklahoma State: Hosts West Virginia on Oct. 5.

Kansas State: Visits Colorado on Oct. 12.