Kansas State football and Colorado renewed their old conference rivalry Saturday night and delivered a classic performance under the lights. 

K-State quarterback Avery Johnson connected with his roommate, wide receiver Jayce Brown, on a 50-yard touchdown pass with 2:14 to play, leading K-State to the 31-28 victory. 

The Wildcats moved to 5-1 overall and 2-1 in conference play. The win cemented K-State’s best six-game start under head coach Chris Klieman. 

“This was a really good win for us,” Klieman said to K-State Athletics. “It’s a really good football team that we ended up finding a way to beat. We knew they weren’t going to hand it to us, and we took it from them.”

K-State led for a majority of the contest while dominating the time of possession — 35 minutes to 25 — largely on the back of running back DJ Giddens. 

Entering the contest, Colorado had not allowed a 100-yard rusher in a single matchup this season. Giddens put an end to that mark with 127 yards in the first half, finishing with 182 yards on 25 attempts for an average of 7.3 yards per play. 

The Buffaloes, which dropped to 4-2 and 1-1, hadn’t allowed a 100-yard receiver as well. Brown’s game-winning touchdown broke that streak as well, totaling six receptions for 121 yards and two scores. 

Defensively, K-State won in the trenches, making life hard on Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, with six sacks on the star. 

“Our defensive line imposed its will,” Klieman said. “Six sacks — I thought our defensive line was the difference in the game.”

Sanders still tossed a great game, hitting on 34-of-40 passes for 388 yards and three scores with one interception. He did his best to mask the injury to the Buffaloes’ two-way star Travis Hunter, who left early. 

What we learned

DJ Giddens, still DJ Giddens

While he’s a calm, mild-tempered presence off the field, Giddens is a force to be reckoned with when the cleats are laced up. After a 187-yard performance against Oklahoma State before the bye week, he flirted with 200 yards again. 

“This is the best he’s playing right now,” Klieman said. “He just doesn’t go down with first contact.”

Giddens refused to go down on multiple occasions, shaking away defenders with slick cuts or putting his head down and stampeding past Buffaloes. 

“I tried to warn everybody before the season started,” Johnson said. “I told you he was a different animal. Him [being] mixed in with Dylan [Edwards], those two guys are special, man … DJ — 182 yards, it doesn’t surprise me, he’s doing it week-in and week-out.”

Edwards, who transferred from Colorado in the offseason, racked up 48 total yards on 10 touches, including a touchdown run in his return to Boulder. 

Maturity from Johnson

While K-State led for a majority of the contest, including a 21-7 lead at halftime, the Buffaloes came back late to take a 28-24 lead after Johnson’s sole interception. 

Despite the momentum switch with three minutes to play, the sophomore remained poised and delivered arguably the most important throw of his young career. 

“This is what football is all about,” Johnson said. “We wanted to put the game away the drive before, obviously it didn’t go our way, and ultimately you have to make big plays in big moments.”

After the touchdown to Brown, Johnson finished with a line of 15-of-23 for 224 yards and two touchdowns, rushing for another score. 

Johnson’s performance, especially under late pressure, showcased a lot of maturity for a young signal-caller. 

In the Wildcats’ lone loss this season, another late kickoff at BYU, Johnson gave away two interceptions. This time, playing after dark on the road didn’t rattle Johnson when it mattered most. 

“It got loud at times, especially when the game got into crunch time,” Johnson said. “Ultimately, it’s fun to play in hostile environments and silence the crowd in big-time games. We just wanted to show tonight we’re a great team and we can win close games on the road.”

K-State will look to channel its road mentality once again at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, playing at West Virginia on FOX. The Mountaineers come off a 28-16 loss against No. 11 Iowa State, dropping to 3-3 on the year.