No. 18 Kansas State Survives a Colorado Upset Bid

© Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images

No. 18 Kansas State (5-1, 2-1 Big 12 Conference) won on the road against Colorado (4-2, 2-1) 31-28 on Oct. 13 at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado. The Wildcats dominated the trenches in this game, racking up 185 rushing yards as a team and holding the Buffaloes to minus 29 yards.

K-State running back DJ Giddens ran for 182 yards on 25 carries, and quarterback Avery Johnson had 224 yards passing with 3 total touchdowns while throwing only 1 interception.

Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders had an outstanding game despite losing his top two receivers, Travis Hunter and Jimmy Horn Jr. The Buffaloes' defense struggled, giving up 423 yards of offense. They could not get off the field, especially in the third quarter, when they were on the field for 12 minutes and 7 seconds.

Game Summary

Colorado scored first in this game on a 25-yard touchdown pass from Sanders to LaJohntay Wester to lead 7-0. K-State fired back and tied the game up on a Johnson 8-yard touchdown run.

Both teams exchanged punts on the next three drives. Then K-State put a drive together on the ground, running the ball eight times with zero passes, capped by Colorado transfer RB Dylan Edwards scoring on a 1-yard TD run.

The Wildcats came out of the half and put together a 16-play 81-yard drive punctuated by a Jayce Brown 1-yard touchdown catch, giving K-State a 21-7 lead. Colorado answered on a Sanders to Will Sheppard 7-yard TD pass to cut the lead to 21-14.

The Buffaloes scored another touchdown after a K-State field goal to trim the lead to 24-21. After a Johnson interception, Colorado scored on a Wester TD catch of 11 yards to take the lead 28-24. Then, Kansas State scored three plays later to retake the lead 31-28 with 2:14 remaining on the clock. That ended up as the final score.

Turning Point for Kansas State

On the Wildcats' drive following the Johnson interception, the young K-State QB completed a swing pass to Giddens for 34 yards, and on the next play, a dramatic 50-yard TD strike to Brown.

Against NO. 14 BYU (6-0, 3-0), Johnson let one mistake trigger others. That was not the case against Colorado, as he hit two big plays after his mistake to lead the Wildcats to victory.

What it Means

Kansas State built its confidence on the road after suffering a rough loss in its last away game. Giddens is making a case to be one of the top running backs in the Big 12 after another big game. Next up for the Wildcats is another road game at West Virginia (3-3, 2-1).

The Buffaloes have improved this season but are still a work in progress. While Giddens ran all over their defense in this game, they will not see many more teams with a rushing attack as potent as K-State's. Coach Deion Sanders' troops must improve in the trenches to prevent games like this from becoming a trend. Another concern for Colorado is the injury bug that bit their playmakers. Hunter and Horn both went down with injuries. If they miss time, others will need to step up. Their next game is on the road against Arizona (3-3, 1-2), a matchup with the makings of a shootout.