Kansas State’s first loss of the season still came with one clear takeaway: Avery Johnson keeps looking like the Wildcats’ most reliable offensive spark.
In Saturday’s Big 12 opener against Cincinnati, Johnson handled the load again, completing 30 of 50 passes for 292 yards and a touchdown. He also added 38 rushing yards on six carries, good for third on the team. The Wildcats fell to 3-1, but Johnson’s production wasn’t the reason they came up short.
That followed a strong showing the week before against Tulane, when Johnson accounted for 90 percent of the offense. Both Johnson and coach Collin Klein were encouraged by the numbers, but the bigger picture is hard to ignore: Kansas State is going to need more help around its quarterback if this season is going to go the way it wants.
The loss does at least come with a bye week, giving Klein a chance to reset and make adjustments before the Wildcats return to action the following week against Houston.
There was another bright spot in the defeat, and it came at receiver. Derrick Salley Jr. turned in the best game of his Kansas State career, hauling in seven catches for 140 yards against the Bearcats. That kind of outing gives the Wildcats something else to work with on offense.
For a team that’s been leaning heavily on Jaron Tibbs and Josh Manning, Salley’s emergence matters. Kansas State is still searching for answers after its first setback, but it may have found another weapon along the way.
In Other News...
Kansas State Suddenly Has A Big 12 Problem It Can't Ignore
The loss to Cincinnati left Kansas State with more than just a mark in the standings. Collin Klein made it clear afterward that the Wildcats have a run-defense issue to clean up, after the Bearcats rolled up 271 rushing yards on 38 carries and controlled enough of the game to leave Manhattan with a 31-26 win. Gi'Bran and Cole Tabb fueled that ground attack, giving Kansas State a long afternoon trying to slow things down at the line of scrimmage.
Klein also pointed to the offense's stalled drives as part of why the Wildcats came up short, which only adds to the pressure heading into the stretch ahead. For a team with Big 12 aspirations, getting pushed around on the ground is the kind of problem that can follow you if it is not corrected quickly, especially when the margin for error is already getting thinner. [Read more 🡒]
Cincinnati Just Made The Kind Of Big 12 Statement Fans Needed
Cincinnatis first Big 12 game of the season delivered exactly the kind of message the league tends to notice, and Kansas State was on the wrong side of it. The Bearcats pushed through an early deficit, leaned on their run blocking and got important production on the ground from GiBran Payne and Cole Tabb. For a team trying to show it can handle life in this conference, the win mattered plenty, and it lifted Cincinnati to 4-0 for the first time since 2021.
For Kansas State, the loss serves as an early reminder that Big 12 openers can turn fast when the other side starts controlling the line of scrimmage. Cincinnatis second-half response was the difference, and it left the Wildcats having to sort through how a game they led early slipped away. In a league where every road test can turn into a statement opportunity, this one belonged to the Bearcats. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas State Wasted A Huge Day With One Crushing Mistake
Derrick Salley Jr. gave Kansas State plenty to build on with a huge afternoon against Cincinnati, piling up seven catches for 140 yards and a touchdown in a game that had the Wildcats in position to make a statement. For most of the day, he looked like the kind of difference-maker who can tilt a close Big 12 matchup, giving the passing game a needed spark and keeping Kansas State within reach.
Collin Klein, though, knows the Wildcats were left to rue one costly sequence. Salleys fumble on the first play of the second half swung the momentum toward Cincinnati and helped turn a promising spot into a 31-26 loss. It was the kind of mistake that can erase a big individual performance in a hurry, and Kansas State now has to sort out how to pair production with cleaner execution when the margin is this thin. [Read more 🡒]