Avery Johnson dazzles home crowd as Wildcats extend win streak

MANHATTAN, Kan. — The true sophomore is performing like the best quarterback in the Big 12, and after leading Kansas State to a victory over Kansas, it appears the best is yet to come.

Avery Johnson handles himself like a seasoned veteran on the gridiron, and has full command of Conor Riley’s offense. His teammates trust him, the fans love him and his coaches believe he can accomplish big things. After all, Johnson led the Wildcats to their 16th-straight win in the Sunflower Showdown, and now they’re looking like the hottest team in the conference.

Kansas State (7-1) is on a four-game win streak in Big 12 play, and Johnson continues to learn on the fly. Although the Wildcats went scoreless in the first quarter Saturday, Johnson later led the offense on five scoring drives. The first one was a jaw-dropping, 13-play, 95-yard touchdown drive in the second quarter, that ended with him connecting with tight end Will Anticlaux to tie the game up.

It turned out to be another impressive day of Johnson hooking up with the tight ends in the aerial attack. Garrett Oakley also hauled in a touchdown pass from Johnson, and the gunslinger is glad they were able to get their shine in the spotlight.

“They do the dirty work, and they get rewarded for it, so credit to our coaches for giving us the good stuff,” Johnson said. “How they coach, and the type of detail we try to get them to focus on in practice, it just continues to show as we step on the field for games.”

Johnson also used his dual-threat capabilities to pick up first downs, and extend plays. His heroics is a reason why the Wildcats led the Jayhawks in total offense, plays, first downs, yards per play and time of possession. Once the smoke cleared, Johnson completed 19 of his 34 passes for 253 yards and two touchdowns. The former four-star prospect also had 67 yards on the ground, and a rushing score.

There were some rough moments though, like when Johnson lost a fumble. Not to mention there was a close call late in the fourth quarter, when Johnson took a hit while throwing the football, and a Jayhawk defender nearly intercepted it.

However, at the end of the day, Johnson is proud of his team responding to adversity, and it helped that the sold out home crowd made it a house of nails for the opposition. He’s glad to be able to deliver the fans something that they can brag about for the next 365 days, but refuses to be complacent following the win.

“It was really fun, had to get all the nerves out of my system, but there’s some room for improvement,” he said. “It was a really fun opportunity, and the stadium was jumping tonight.”

The No. 16 Wildcats are still tied for second in the Big 12 standings, and control their own destiny. So Johnson understands what’s at stake, how his team has a slim margin for error and that there’s plenty more work to do. Beating Kansas should only help Kansas State down the stretch in Avery’s mind, and the Big 12 is a meat grinder.

All of the Wildcats’ goals are still on the table following the thrilling win too. Johnson doesn’t want to downplay the success he had against Kansas, or what it means to Kansas State, but must turn the page and focus on a looming road trip at Houston in week 10. At this point , there’s no denying it’s going to be a November to remember.

“I’ll say it’s big just because it’s a conference game, and we have to continue to win our conference games if we want to play for a Big 12 Championship at the end of the year, but it’s not bigger than any win, and it’s not bigger than the win we had last week.”