Avery Johnson helps No. 14 K-State dump No. 20 Arizona in nonconference matchup of Big 12 foes

MANHATTAN, Kan. — Avery Johnson threw two touchdown passes, Dylan Edwards returned a punt 71 yards for a score and No. 14 Kansas State beat No. 20 Arizona 31-7 on Friday night in a rare nonconference matchup of new Big 12 rivals.

The loss ended Arizona’s nine-game winning streak, the longest active streak in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

Johnson had 156 yards passing and 110 yards rushing, and D.J. Giddens added 86 yards rushing and a score, as Kansas State (3-0) rebounded from a lackluster road with over Tulane with an emphatic victory over the desert Wildcats.

Noah Fifita had 268 yards passing for Arizona (2-1) with an interception. Tetairoa McMillan had 11 catches for 138 yards, but the potential first-round NFL draft pick was unable to turn any of those grabs into a big play or touchdown.

The schools agreed to the matchup before Arizona left the Pac-12 for the Big 12. And with neither having enough time to find a replacement opponent, Kansas State and Arizona kept the game but without it counting in the conference standings.

The teams traded grinding, time-consuming touchdown drives to start the game, but otherwise the first 30 minutes was plagued by penalties, mental mistakes and dumbfounding miscues from two teams trying to make a statement.

Arizona failed to cover a poor punt that Edwards returned untouched for a touchdown. On the next drive, Fifita lazily threw over the middle into double coverage and was picked off by Kansas State’s Keenan Garber in the end zone.

Johnson made perhaps the most embarrassing gaffe. He was sacked at the Arizona 19 with 24 seconds left in the first half. On the next play, the freshman needed only to step out of bounds to stop the clock and bring on the field-goal team, but he instead reversed field and ran the other way, allowing the clock to expire without the chance for an attempt.

Kansas State still led 14-7 at the half, and the mistake didn’t matter in the end.

The fleet-footed Johnson began to sling it in the second half, leading his team on back-to-back TD drives. The first featured a 48-yard pass to Jayce Brown on third-and-12, setting up Johnson’s scoring toss to Brayden Loftin. The next included a 21-yard throw to Loftin before Giddens plowed into the end zone to give Kansas State a 28-7 lead.

Kansas State stuffed Arizona on fourth down a few minutes later, and merely had to run out the clock in the fourth quarter.

The takeaway

Arizona might have fared better had it not repeatedly hurt itself with flags. It committed 30 yards worth of penalties on a single drive in the first half, and finished with nine penalties for 74 yards in the game.

Kansas State’s defense had something to prove after allowing Tulane to throw for 342 yards and pile up 491 in last week’s 34-27 comeback win. The Wildcats held Arizona to 324 yards of total offense.

Up next

Arizona: At No. 12 Utah on Sept. 28 in the Wildcats’ first true Big 12 game.

Kansas State: At BYU next Saturday night.

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