MANHATTAN, Kan. — Avery Johnson is hard on himself. Always has been.
Kansas State’s sophomore quarterback was carrying the weight of that burden this past week after a disappointing 38-9 loss at BYU in which Johnson completed just 15 of 28 passes for 130 yards, zero touchdowns and two damaging interceptions.
“I’ll always be my biggest critic, but I think it let it get to the point where it was holding me down a little bit,” said Johnson. “I was being a little bit too hard on myself.”
Kansas State strength coach Trumain Carroll noticed it as well, so he gave Johnson a few pages from the book “It Takes What It Takes,” written by mental conditioning coach Trevor Moawad. It’s all about replacing negative thoughts with what Moawad calls “neutral thinking” — that next-play mentality referenced so often in sports.
Johnson took the message to heart, and it showed in Kansas State’s 42-20 win Saturday over No. 20 Oklahoma State, improving the Wildcats’ record to 4-1 and 1-1 in Big 12 play.
“It just gave me a lot of confidence. Things aren’t always going to go my way, but the biggest thing for a young quarterback is how you respond when adversity hits,” he said Saturday. “I did a poor job last week of responding in adverse times, and a big focus for this week was not letting any pressure get to me. Just going out and playing free.”
It proved to be prescient reading material. Last week at BYU, a 6-3 first-half lead for the Wildcats quickly fizzled into a 17-6 halftime deficit after a pair of K-State turnovers, a spiral that continued in the third quarter with Johnson’s second interception on the opening drive. Neither the team nor its quarterback were able to recalibrate.
The same familiar, sinking feeling creeped back against Oklahoma State at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. The Cowboys quieted a sea of purple early in the second quarter with a perfectly executed, 77-yard flea-flicker for a touchdown, taking a 10-7 lead. Then on the first play of the ensuing drive, Johnson floated a bad, frazzled overthrow to an Oklahoma State defender, fully flipping the momentum in the road team’s direction.
Except this time, instead of spiraling, Johnson stayed neutral. And played free.
“Stuff like that happens,” he said. “The biggest thing was to keep my head high, stay confident.”
After Kansas State’s defense held Oklahoma State to a field goal, Johnson and the Wildcats answered with a two-play touchdown drive, following a long run by DJ Giddens with a perfect 19-yard pass from Johnson to tight end Garrett Oakley in the end zone. On the next drive, Johnson rifled a 55-yard touchdown to receiver Jayce Brown, settling the stomachs of Wildcats faithful.
“Proud of the guys for not only responding to the adversity we had, but responding to each other,” said Kansas State coach Chris Klieman. “When we play together and play all in and pound the stone one play at a time, we have a chance to be a pretty good football team.”
Crisis averted — at least for the Wildcats. This game became a surprisingly critical Big 12 matchup after both teams lost last week, with Oklahoma State falling to league-favorite Utah at home. Both teams expect to be in the mix for a conference championship; neither envisioned an 0-2 start in league play. The Big 12 chaos everyone anticipated is already in full force, with Utah, Iowa State and (most surprisingly) BYU all undefeated to start the season, while supposed contenders Kansas and now Oklahoma State already have multiple losses.
Immediately dropping two straight Big 12 games isn’t disqualifying in a league where a team with three or even four conference losses could reach the championship, but it puts a team in a massive hole and drastically shrinks the margin for error in terms of reaching the College Football Playoff.
Kansas State avoided that fate, though just as important was the way it did, reasserting its status as one of the Big 12’s most potent and dangerous programs with a decisive result. The poor showing against BYU suddenly feels more like a blip than a harbinger, and Johnson’s bounce-back performance is the biggest reason why.
The Kansas native looked very much like a nervy underclassman last week, eliciting some questions in recent days about whether the Wildcats picked the wrong quarterback after veteran Will Howard left via the transfer portal last offseason. Johnson’s speed and running ability is a formidable weapon, but has too often been his only viable option, with opposing defenses daring him to beat them through the air. He answered that challenge on Saturday, completing 19 of 31 throws for 259 yards — his first career game topping the 200-yard mark — with three touchdowns and that one interception, including six passes for 19-plus yards.
Avery Johnson rocket 🚀 and it’s another TD for @KStateFB !#Big12FB | 📺 ESPN pic.twitter.com/8dkPvYyGbP
— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) September 28, 2024
Klieman said Johnson had one of the best practices of his young career on Thursday, unofficially completing 32 of 35 attempts.
“I grabbed him on Friday morning and told him it was as on-point as I’ve seen him in a practice. I see a guy who is gaining a lot of confidence, so we were going to be more aggressive,” said Klieman. “We were throwing the ball on some early downs, getting (Oklahoma State) into man coverage and then creasing them with a few runs.”
It created gaping running lanes for Giddens, who had a season-high 187 rushing yards on just 15 attempts, including a 66-yard touchdown run that Kansas State audibled into at the line of scrimmage.
“Shout-out to Avery, he was doing his thing today,” said Giddens. “There’s a lot of outside noise for Avery, and he was able to come in this week, keep his head down, keep working and lean on his brothers.”
The passing success also opened up things on the ground for Johnson, who had five rushes for 60 yards and two touchdowns. That included a gasp-inducing scramble in the third quarter where he spun away from pressure in the pocket and slalomed 13 yards into the end zone, his long, luscious curls leaving a trail of hapless Cowboys defenders in its jet stream.
“Having that swag and savvy to be able to go out there and not put too much pressure on myself to the point that I have to make every play,” said Johnson. “So when I do have the opportunity to make a highlight reel, I can take full advantage.”
On the heels of a rough week for the Wildcats and their young quarterback, Johnson flipped the switch, flashing the dual-threat, superstar potential so many bestowed upon him this offseason. Kansas State gets to enjoy the win with an idle week up next, followed by road trips to Colorado and West Virginia. No win is a given in this newly wide open, 16-team Big 12, but the rest of the way looks manageable on paper until a road matchup with Iowa State to close out the regular season.
If Johnson can build off of what he did against the Pokes, Kansas State should have every opportunity to live up to the lofty expectations they entered the season with.
“We know what we put on tape last week wasn’t us,” said Johnson. “We want to play in the College Football Playoff, and we know what gives us the best shot is winning the Big 12. So we definitely didn’t want to start by losing two conference games.”
(Photo of Kansas State quarterback Avery Johnson: Peter Aiken / Getty Images)
