Why K-State’s victory over Oklahoma State felt like a turning point for Avery Johnson

Chris Klieman has a message for anyone who thought Avery Johnson looked good as he led the Kansas State football team to an impressive 42-20 victory over Oklahoma State on Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.

You should have seen him earlier in the week at practice.

“He may have been like 32 of 35 on Thursday,” Klieman said. “I grabbed him on Friday morning and said, ‘That’s as on point as I’ve seen you in a practice.’ And it was really good throws in tight windows. I saw a guy that was gaining a lot of confidence, so we were going to be more aggressive, especially on some early downs. And I thought he really delivered today.”

Did he ever.

Johnson put on a show in front of 51,741 fans and a national viewing audience. The sophomore quarterback played by far his best game in a purple uniform as he completed 19 of 31 passes for 259 yards and three touchdowns to go along with 60 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the ground.

Oklahoma State could do little to stop him as he found open receivers downfield with his arm and zoomed around defenders with his legs.

“Avery was Avery,” K-State offensive lineman Hadley Panzer said. “I think he does some pretty exceptional stuff in practice, and then we also get to see that on game days. He may have been in a slump last week, but we really saw what he can do and what we can do as a team today.”

This felt like a turning point for Johnson.

Believe it or not, early on, it looked like K-State’s quarterback might be heading toward another frustrating day when he threw a bad interception in the first half. Last week, he threw an interception against BYU and promptly followed it up with another turnover. The Cougars went on to win that game 38-9.

There were some here-we-go-again vibes circulating through the stadium after his pick on Saturday. 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, Johnson threw a short touchdown pass to Will Anciaux and the rout was on.

It’s not easy for a quarterback to play his best after an interception, but Johnson was nearly flawless.

“The great thing about it is it doesn’t get to him,” Klieman said. “He doesn’t let it eat him up for the next series.”

There is a reason for that. Johnson said that K-State strength and conditioning coach Trumaine Carroll loaned him a book titled “It takes what it takes.” The book was written by a mental coach who taught Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson how to stay positive after he throws an interception.

Johnson soaked up every word.

“When Russell Wilson threw four picks in the playoffs and he was pretty much back against the wall his mindset never changed,” Johnson said. “He’s up leading his guys and he’s got all the confidence in the world in himself, and he just goes out there and plays free. They end up winning that game. That just really gave me a lot of confidence.”

Johnson was proud of the way he bounced back from a disappointing effort at BYU, when some wondered if he wasn’t ready to thrive as a college quarterback.

“Things aren’t always going to go my way,” Johnson said. “The biggest thing, especially for a young quarterback, is how are you going to respond when adversity hits? I did a poor job last week of responding in adverse times. A big focus for this week was just not letting any pressure, any of that stuff get to me this week. I just wanted to go out and play free and play my game.”

He did that, and more.

Things weren’t going his way, but he kept his cool when K-State needed him. Good results followed. He showed poise and maturity.

Those are the signs of a quarterback who is growing up. This could be a launching point for him.