MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Avery Johnson threw for 227 yards on 21-of-28 passing and rushed for 152 yards and two scores as Kansas State defeated Tulane 31-20 on Saturday.
asserted
State → throw → Saturday
Kansas State allowed its first offensive touchdown of the season with 7:55 remaining in the first quarter.
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State → allow → quarter
It marked the first time this season the Wildcats have trailed.
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Wildcats → mark → time
K-State then reeled off the next 17 points.
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State → reel → points
Following a Luis Rodriguez field goal, the Wildcats pulled ahead on a 1-yard run by Jay Harris.
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Wildcats → follow → Harris
Johnson then scored from the 7-yard line, set up by his career-long, 66-yard run.
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Johnson → score → run
“They kind of committed in their defensive structure to take away the run,” said Johnson, who was frustrated that he didn’t score on the long run.
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he → commit → run
“When I get long-run opportunities, I’ve just got to score the score the ball so that we can all go to the sideline and rest.”
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we → get → sideline
The Wildcats have had a 100-yard rusher in each of the first three games, but Saturday was the first time it wasn’t a running back who reached the plateau.
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who → have → plateau
“We have so much talent on this team,” Johnson said.
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Johnson → have → team
“You never know who’s going to get the opportunities.
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who → know → opportunities
Rodney (Fields) has gone for 100 yards the past two weeks.
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Fields → go → yards
It keeps this team so unpredictable; we can beat you on the ground in so many ways.
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we → keep → ways
We can beat you through the air in so many ways.
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We → beat → ways
I feel like it gives defensive coordinators a lot to have to prepare for on a game week.”
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it → feel → week
Tulane closed the first-half scoring with a 58-yard field goal by Cooper Helmke.
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Tulane → close → Helmke
“I thought the difference in the game was the explosive plays,” said Tulane coach Will Hall said.
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Hall → think → game
We had our opportunities.
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We → have → opportunities
Johnson averaged 12.7 yards per carry.
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Johnson → average → carry
“Avery is a spectacular player,” Kansas State coach Collin Klein said.
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Klein → say → ?
“He’s a spectacular competitor, and he’s getting better.
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he → ’ → ?
He’s embracing that process.
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He → embrace → process
Numbers like that, production like that, that doesn’t hurt us.
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that → hurt → us
I think that’s a great thing for our program.”
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that → think → program
The Wildcats took the second-half kickoff 75 yards over eight minutes to grab a 24-10 lead on a 1-yard run by Harris and the lead was never back to single-digits.
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lead → take → digits
Jaron Tibbs made nine catches for 114 yards to lead K-State (3-0).
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Tibbs → make → State
Kadin Semonza was 13 of 26 for 165 yards and a touchdown for Tulane (1-2), which was held to 260 total yards.
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which → hold → yards
The takeaway
Tulane: Despite the loss, Tulane still owns the most road victories (19) in FBS since the start of 2022.
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Tulane → own → 2022
The Wildcats continue to lean on a balanced offensive attack.
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Wildcats → continue → attack
They gained 227 yards through the air and 201 on the ground.
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They → gain → ground
Up next
Tulane: Completes its non-conference season with a home game against Southern Mississippi next Saturday.
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Tulane → complete → Mississippi
Kansas State: Opens Big 12 play at Cincinnati next Saturday.
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State → open → Cincinnati
The Aporia
