No. 20 OSU falls 42-20 to No. 23 K-State
The Associated Press - September 29, 2024 8:43 am
By DAVID SMALE Associated Press
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Avery Johnson passed for three touchdowns and ran for two as No. 23 Kansas State routed No. 20 Oklahoma State 42-20 Saturday.
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.
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.
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.
Yet 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 October 5th.