The Kansas State Wildcats massively stumbled out of the blocks with an extremely unconvincing 1-3 start, and things looked as if head coach Chris Kleiman was en route to by far his worst season as head coach of Kansas State. If Kleiman doesn’t reach eight wins, it would be his worst (non-COVID) season in his tenure, which spans back to 2019.
When you take a gander at the Wildcats, the first thing you will see is quarterback Avery Johnson and running back Dylan Edwards. Well, Edwards has been officially ruled out for this weekend's matchup, leaving just one big backfield threat remaining in Johnson.
Last season, Johnson was officially handed the season-long keys as a starter. In Johnson’s first full season, Johnson threw for 25 touchdowns and 10 interceptions and accounted for 2,712 yards through the air and a further 605 yards on the ground and seven touchdowns.
This season, in seven games, Johnson has totaled 1,561 yards and 13 touchdowns to just two interceptions with three rushing touchdowns to go along.
“When Avery decides to run the ball, he's dangerous to score at any time, but again, I think his throwing is very underrated,” quoted head coach Lance Leipold during his Monday media availability.
“And you can continue to see the evolution of an outstanding quarterback. When they have people there that they're able to use schematically to continue to be dangerous with, RPOs motions, all the different things that they are able to do.”
In Johnson’s last three games, the junior has thrown for seven touchdowns and one interception with a high of 344 yards in the Wildcats’ most recent 35-34 loss to the Baylor Bears.
Kansas sits smack dab in the middle in terms of the nation’s passing defenses, allowing 225.3 per game, which ranks 60th. Kansas’ rushing defense paints a much more harrowing picture. The Jayhawks currently rank 127th in the nation in defense, allowing 211 yards per game.
This season, Johnson has rushed for 238 yards on 60 carries. The Jayhawks have struggled against rushing quarterbacks this season. In Cincinnati’s 37-34 win over Kansas, Bearcat quarterback Brendan Sorsby rushed for 52 yards. In Kansas’ most recent 42-17 loss to the No. 14 Texas Tech Red Raiders, backup quarterback Will Hammond caused fits with 61 yards on the ground and two touchdowns, which put Kansas’ comeback efforts to bed.
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