Takeaways from Kansas State’s thrilling football victory over the Colorado Buffaloes

This game was worth staying up late for.

The Kansas State football team pulled off a dramatic 31-28 victory over Colorado on Saturday night at Folsom Field with a series of thrilling plays that will be remembered for quite some time.

Here’s a sign of just how entertaining this contest was: It didn’t end until Sunday morning Central Time. A capacity crowd of 53,972 showed up to watch the action and those fans stayed in their seats until the bitter end, when K-State pulled ahead in the final moments thanks to a clutch touchdown drive from sophomore quarterback Avery Johnson.

He led the Wildcats 84 yards in just three plays for a game-winning touchdown less than a minute after the Buffaloes threatened to take control of the game with a touchdown of their own with 3 minutes, 12 seconds remaining.

Johnson pushed K-State ahead with 2:14 showing on the clock when he connected with Jayce Brown for a 50-yard touchdown on a go route against man coverage.

“It’s fun to play in hostile environments and just silence the crowd in big-time games,” Johnson said. “We just wanted to show tonight that we’re a great team and that we can win close games on the road.”

After the Wildcats pulled ahead they forced Colorado to turn the ball over on downs when Keenan Garber successfully defended a deep pass on fourth and long. The home fans wanted pass interference to be called on the play. But no flag came.

Just like that, the Wildcats clinched the game and began celebrating.

“This is a win that will help us down the road,” K-State coach Chris Klieman said.

K-State (5-1, 2-1 Big 12) remains near the top of the conference standings and now is very much in the league championship mix. Colorado (4-2, 2-1 Big 12) suffered its first loss in conference play after getting off to a hot start.

“We proved that we can lead the Big 12,” K-State running back Dylan Edwards said. “We’re a contender, for sure. We’re just trying to get to the playoff and win out every single game.”

The Wildcats are next in action at West Virginia. Until then, here are some takeaways from Saturday’s game:

DJ Giddens had another strong game

In a game filled with star power, few shined brighter than DJ Giddens.

The Kansas State running back led his team to victory by rushing for 182 yards on 25 carries. He also caught two passes for 38 yards, including a 26-yard grab on the game’s decisive drive.

His production was particularly valuable to the Wildcats because every first down he gained took time off the game clock and made it harder for Colorado to mount a comeback with its high-octane offense.

Giddens has been Mr. Reliable for the Wildcats all season. Klieman went so far as to describe him as “the identity” of K-State’s offense leading up to this game.

But he took things to a higher level against Colorado and exposed its rush defense with a steady diet of impressive runs.

It seems like Giddens is maturing as a running back. For most of his career, he has been known mostly as a power runner. But he has mixed in some nifty moves over the past two weeks and he has made people miss in the open field.

Avery Johnson played with swagger, and shook off an injury

K-State fans collectively held their breath and worried about Avery Johnson when the sophomore quarterback had to leave this game midway through a drive in the third quarter.

Johnson suffered a bizarre injury to his midsection without being touched. He threw a pass to his right and then crumbled to the ground in pain as he favored his left side.

After the game, Johnson explained that he took a knee to the midsection on a previous play and pain randomly shot through his body at that moment. It was enough pain to send him to the locker room for an evaluation, which sent backup quarterback Ta’Quan Roberson into the game.

But Roberson was able to lead the Wildcats on a touchdown drive and Johnson returned after a brief absence. That was good news for the Wildcats, because Johnson played well when he was on the field.

He completed 15 of 23 passes for 224 yards and two touchdowns. His biggest play of the night came on a 50-yard strike to Jayce Brown that gave the Wildcats a 31-28 lead in the game’s final minutes.

He also celebrated a rushing touchdown in the first quarter by dancing like Deion Sanders.

Johnson played with confidence and good results followed.

K-State’s best defense was its pass rush

When Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders had time to pass he carved up the K-State secondary like a Halloween pumpkin.

Sanders completed 34 of 40 passes for 388 yards and three touchdowns. At one point, he set a new Colorado record by completing 16 consecutive passes. And the streak only came to an end when receiver Will Sheppard dropped a pass that hit him in the numbers at the goal line.

Turns out there is a reason why Sanders is considered to be one of the best passers in all of college football.

Klieman called him “the best quarterback that I’ve seen and played against.”

But he wasn’t perfect. K-State found one way to stop him and successfully forced Colorado off the field with its pass rush.

The Wildcats put pressure on Sanders throughout the game and sacked him six times. The Buffaloes had particular trouble blocking K-State defensive end Brendan Mott and he successfully forced Sanders to scramble more than he would have liked.

Mott finished with two sacks while Cody Stufflebean, Travis Bates, Ryan Davis and Desmond Purnell had one apiece. Some of them went for significant losses.

Sanders couldn’t hurt K-State when he was tackled in the backfield.

“Our defensive line was the difference in us getting a three-point win,” Klieman said. “Our defensive line played a phenomenal football game.”

It was shame that Travis Hunter got hurt

Travis Hunter usually spends more time on the football field than any other player in the country.

The Colorado superstar plays both defensive back and wide receiver for head coach Deion Sanders, making him one of the most valuable players in every single game that he plays. He is literally a threat to produce a highlight at any moment.

His mixture of talent and versatility has made him a Heisman Trophy contender.

But he didn’t get an opportunity to make a big impact on this game, as he missed the entire second half with an injury. He was only able to make one tackle on defense and three catches for 26 yards on offense.

K-State played well enough to win this game with or without Hunter on the field, but it would have been fun to see Colorado’s best player do his thing for a full four quarters.

K-State proved it can win on the road

The Wildcats have been mostly dominant at home under Klieman, but they have struggled to win on the road over the past few seasons.

K-State entered this game having won only three of its past seven away games. And the Wildcats got embarrassed 38-9 in their first Big 12 road game of the season at BYU.

There were some concerns that those struggles would continue against Colorado. It looked like they might when the Buffaloes surged ahead in the fourth quarter of this game. But the Wildcats battled back and got an important win on the road in front of a loud crowd.

That should give them confidence as they hit the road for other challenging away games against West Virginia (next Saturday, Oct. 19), Houston (Nov. 2) and Iowa State (Nov. 30) as the season continues.