Analysis and grades from Kansas State’s impressive victory against Oklahoma State

Bill Snyder Family Stadium is quickly becoming a torture chamber for the Oklahoma State football team.

The Kansas State Wildcats have clobbered the Cowboys in their past two visits to the Little Apple.

On Saturday, K-State dismantled Oklahoma State 42-20 thanks to five touchdowns from quarterback Avery Johnson and 209 all-purpose yards from running back DJ Giddens. Two years ago, the Wildcats crushed the Cowboys 48-0.

Mike Gundy still owns a 4-2 coaching record against Chris Klieman, but that probably means little to him after losing those games by a combined score of 90-20.

A day later, it is now time to look back on the action and hand out a few awards and grades. We also look ahead to K-State’s next game at Colorado.

Play of the game

DJ Giddens made it look like Oklahoma State defender Dylan Smith was wearing cement shoes when the K-State running backs zoomed past him for a 66-yard touchdown run.

Giddens did everything well on Saturday, as he rushed for 187 yards and a touchdown, but the juke move he used to get past Smith in the open field was a thing of beauty. He also showed impressive speed on his way into the end zone.

Player of the game

Avery Johnson is the obvious pick after he threw for 259 yards and three touchdowns.

This was his best game in a K-State football uniform. Adding 60 yards and two touchdowns as a runner made it an incredibly productive day for him.

Stat of the game

K-State rushed for 300 yards against Oklahoma State. It’s nearly impossible to beat the Wildcats when they move the ball like that on the ground.

Quote to note

“I know there’s only one ball, and we wanted to get it to everybody, but when 31 (Giddens) gets it in his hands, guys, he’s pretty dang good.” - Chris Klieman

K-State football grades

Offense: A+. Avery Johnson threw for 259 yards. DJ Giddens rushed for 197 yards. And the Wildcats averaged 8.6 yards per play. This was a balanced effort. Jayce Brown, Garrett Oakley, Will Anciaux, Johnson and Giddens all scored touchdowns.

Defense: B. The Wildcats did an excellent job of forcing the Cowboys off the field with big plays. Marques Sigle and Jacob Parrish both grabbed interceptions and Colby McCalister recovered a fumble. But Oklahoma State was able to gain 490 yards.

Special Teams: B. It’s hard to believe Simon McClannan had to punt seven times, considering the Wildcats gained 559 yards and scored 42 points. But he averaged 41.4 yards per punt and pinned Oklahoma State within the 20 on four occasions.

Coaching: A. K-State has won 10 straight games when coming off a loss. Klieman clearly knows how to get his team ready to play in those situations.

Next up: Colorado

The Wildcats are off next weekend, but they will face a challenging game when they return to action on Oct. 12 at Colorado.

Little was expected from the Buffaloes this season, but they are off to a 4-1 start with wins over Baylor and UCF at the start of conference play. Deion Sanders had his team firing on all cylinders during a blowout win over the Knights on Saturday.

Colorado should present a difficult test for K-State, because it has one of the best passing attacks in the country behind quarterback Shedeur Sanders and playmaker Travis Hunter.

It will also be interesting to see how K-State handles its week off. Klieman has not always thrived when given extra time to prepare.

K-State owns an abysmal 1-4 record after a bye week, no including the COVID season of 2020, during the Klieman era.