Five takeaways as Kansas State crushes Oklahoma State in pivotal Big 12 football game

The Kansas State football team returned to its winning ways and got its season back on track with a 42-20 victory over Oklahoma State on Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.

No. 25 K-State crushed No. 20 Oklahoma State in a highly anticipated conference game between ranked teams.

The Wildcats (4-1, 1-1 Big 12) won so easily that it’s hard to imagine a football game playing out much better for them. Not only did K-State bounce back from its first loss of the season at BYU it did so in resounding fashion.

This win puts the Wildcats right back in the race for a conference championship while the Cowboys (3-2, 0-2 Big 12) have lots of ground to make up in the league standings.

Avery Johnson led K-State to a blowout victory with his finest game in a purple uniform. The sophomore quarterback completed 19 of 31 passes for 259 yards and three touchdowns to go along with 60 yards and two touchdowns as a runner.

The Cowboys had no answers for him.

They also struggled to contain DJ Giddens, as the K-State running back ran for 187 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries.

K-State will get a week off before it heads to Colorado for its next game on Oct. 12. Until then, here are some takeaways from Saturday’s action:

Avery Johnson played with poise and maturity

It looked like Kansas State’s quarterback might be heading toward another frustrating day when he threw a bad interception in the first half of this game. But he responded with a series of impressive throws that proved he is growing as a college quarterback.

Immediately after Johnson committed that turnover and Oklahoma State was able to pull ahead 13-7 on a short field goal, he returned to the field and led the Wildcats on a clutch touchdown drive that was capped by a 19-yard pass to Garrett Oakley.

Unlike last week’s game against BYU, when Johnson allowed one mistake to snowball into several, he kept his composure and dropped an avalanche of points on Oklahoma State.

The next time K-State possessed the ball, Johnson connected with Jayce Brown for a 55-yard touchdown strike that gave the Wildcats a 21-13 lead before halftime.

K-State had all the momentum, and Oklahoma State was never able to get back in the game.

The Wildcats jumped ahead 28-13 early in the third quarter with another merciless touchdown drive. Later, he threw a short touchdown pass to Will Anciaux and the rout was on.

Johnson finished the day with 259 yards and three touchdowns passing. He was also exceptional as a runner, ending with 60 yards and two touchdowns. He hurt Oklahoma State in many different ways.

He also kept his cool when K-State needed him to, and good results followed.

DJ Giddens has best game of season

Kansas State’s starting running back entered the weekend averaging nearly 105 rushing yards per game. So it was going to take quite a performance from DJ Giddens for this contest to stand out on his resume.

But that is exactly what he delivered.

Giddens was Mr. Reliable every time he touched the ball for the Wildcats. He gained 187 yards and scored a touchdown on just 15 carries. That means he averaged 12.5 yards per run, for those of you without calculators. Johnson also found him once for a gain of 22 yards.

His best play of the day came on a 66-yard touchdown run in which he burst through an initial hole and then used a juke move to get past Oklahoma State safety Dylan Smith. There were no other defenders for him to beat on his way into the end zone. Giddens is typically known as a power back, but he showed shiftiness and speed on that highlight run.

K-State defense produces multiple turnovers

Oklahoma State was able to move the ball for nearly 500 yards, but it came up empty against the K-State defense at crucial moments.

The Wildcats made a handful of clutch plays that led to turnovers and disappointing drives for the Cowboys.

The biggest plays of all came in the form of interceptions. Marques Sigle came up with one interception on an ill-advised throw from Bowman. Then Jacob Parrish intercepted a fade pass in the end zone. Parrish defended the play perfectly and caught the ball as if it was intended for him.

Oklahoma State also lost a fumble and had to settle for a pair of field goal attempts at the end of promising drives.

This was a promising effort from the K-State defense.

Flea-flicker works against the Wildcats ... again

Another week, another trick play that worked to perfect against the K-State defense.

Opposing teams have found a great deal of success against the Wildcats with flea-flicker passes this season. BYU picked up an important first down with that particular gadget play last week. And it worked again for Oklahoma State on Saturday.

The Cowboys executed it to perfection when Alan Bowman found De’Zhaun Stribling for a 77-yard touchdown in the second quarter. K-State defenders crashed down on the line of scrimmage when Bowman handed the ball off to his running back, leaving no one back to defend Stribling after the Cowboys pitched the ball back to Bowman and he looked to throw.

It will be interesting to see how many other teams try the same play against K-State. The Cats have been unable to stop it so far this season.

Ollie Gordon is still an elite running back

He is no longer putting up eye-popping stats, but it’s clear that Ollie Gordon is still one of the best running backs in all of college football.

The Oklahoma State junior looked like his old self at times against K-State as he rushed for 76 yards on 15 carries and caught three passes for 20 yards.

His finest play of the afternoon came on a screen pass in the first quarter when he caught the ball in the backfield and then bulldozed K-State safety VJ Payne on his way to a gain of 13 yards and a first down.

The Cowboys haven’t been able to open many holes for Gordon this season, as defenses have gone out of their way to shut him down. But when he does find himself in open space he remains more than capable of making plays.