K-State football grades: What went right for Wildcats in crucial win at Texas Tech - Wichita Eagle

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Treshaun Ward wanted to make something clear after the Kansas State football team defeated Texas Tech 38-21 on Saturday at Jones AT&T Stadium.

The Wildcats have put their early season struggles behind them.

“We definitely needed to do something this like after the loss at Missouri and the loss at Oklahoma State,” Ward said. “Man, that was a little tough on us. But to get this win, it puts a little bit of confidence back in us. And now we have got a home game, and we are going to bring the big crowd out — and we are going to try and get another win. It gives us so much opportunity and momentum.”

Indeed, K-State (4-2, 2-1 Big 12) is back in a good spot as the second half of the season arrives. The Wildcats should be favored in most of their remaining games, with road trips to Texas and Kansas serving as the most difficult tests. With home games against TCU and Houston on deck, they will have an excellent shot at obtaining bowl eligibility before the month ends.

Beating Texas Tech (3-4, 2-2 Big 12) put them in that position.

Now, it’s time to analyze the game and to look ahead to the Horned Frogs...

Play of the game

Avery Johnson’s second (of five) touchdowns was a thing of beauty, for both him and tight end Ben Sinnott.

On the play, Johnson ran to his left with Sinnott serving as lead blocker. Sinnott did his job perfectly and prevented not one but two defenders from getting anywhere near Johnson as he sauntered into the end zone for six points.

“Sinnott knocked the first guy on his butt and then gets up there and blocks another guy,” Johnson said. “I was just pretty much walking in. That’s incredible what he did there.”

Player and stat of the game

Avery Johnson put his name in the K-State record books by rushing for five touchdowns. He also won Player of the Game honors here.

To be fair, he benefited from outstanding blocking and ran untouched into the end zone on more than one occasion. But that might not have been possible for a slower quarterback. Johnson is one of the fastest quarterbacks in the country, and he showed off his wheels by rushing for 90 yards and five scores on just 13 carries.

Most impressive of all, K-State averaged 2.3 points per play every time he ran the ball.

Quote to note

“We gave up a lot of yards, but we were able to get three big turnovers and two stops on fourth down. So, essentially, we had five turnovers. You have to do that on the road to have a chance to be successful. I’m a huge Joey McGuire fan. I have got tons of respect for him and his football team. Without a doubt, we beat a really good team tonight.” -- K-State coach Chris Klieman

K-State football grades

Offense: B+. Throwing the ball continues to be a challenge for the Wildcats, but I suppose that doesn’t matter when you rush for 272 yards and five touchdowns. Offensive coordinator Collin Klein had a wise game plan ready for Texas Tech’s defense and he deployed Johnson against it perfectly. This was also without a doubt the best K-State has looked on the offensive line this season.

Defense: B-. K-State made several big plays on defense, but it still allowed the Red Raiders to win the yardage battle 480-435. Getting out-gained in a football game is never a good sign, especially when the opponent started a backup quarterback and used a third-stringer for the entire second half. Kobe Savage deserves credit for grabbing a pair of interceptions. So does VJ Payne for coming up with one pick.

Special Teams: A. Chris Tennant kicked a long field goal on the opening drive of the game and Jack Blumer had several solid punts, including one that Seth Porter was able to down at the Texas Tech 1-yard line. Speaking of Porter, he also made two big tackles near the goal line. He had a big impact on this game.

Coaching: A. Klieman used an angry approach with his team this week as K-State looked to bounce back from a frustrating loss at Oklahoma State, and it worked wonders against Texas Tech. The Wildcats were ready to play. Klieman also deserves credit for sticking with Johnson in this game. K-State found something that Texas Tech couldn’t stop and never deviated away from it, even though it meant keeping Will Howard on the sideline.

Next up: TCU

Kansas State and TCU gave us a pair of highly entertaining games last season.

Fans everywhere are hoping their first rematch since the Big 12 championship game will be every bit as fun on Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.

It’s been an eventful season for the Horned Frogs. They clearly have taken a step back from a few months ago when they won 13 games and reached the national championship game. TCU is off to a 4-3 start with home losses to Colorado and West Virginia. Starting quarterback Chandler Morris is also currently sidelined with an injury.

But the Horned Frogs looked awfully good in their last game when they throttled BYU 44-11 behind 439 yards and four touchdowns passing from Josh Hoover. Maybe he’s an upgrade?

TCU is extremely pass-heavy on offense this season, as Hoover attempted a whopping 58 passes against the Cougars. The Horned Frogs also played well on defense and limited BYU to 243 yards of offense.

K-State will likely be favored by less than a touchdown. With both teams coming off big victories, this figures to be a good game.

Kellis Robinett covers Kansas State athletics for The Wichita Eagle and The Kansas City Star. A winner of more than a dozen national writing awards, he lives in Manhattan with his wife and four children.

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