In an unbelievable finish, Kansas State somehow pulled off a victory against Tulane, 34-27.
It went down to the final seconds, with VJ Payne picking off Darian Mensah with five seconds left. K-State took the lead with eight minutes to go on a 60-yard scoop-and-score by Jack Fabris and held on in the finish.
The first half could not have gone worse for the Wildcats, who trailed 20-10 at the break. All three sides of the ball were struggling and the Wildcats were lucky to be trailing by ten heading into the locker room.
Quarterback Avery Johnson didn’t look himself, as he only had 62 passing yards in that first half. DJ Giddens broke open a few big runs, but it was a fight the whole half for the offense.
***
SUBSCRIBE TO EMAW ONLINE WITH A PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION | DISCUSS AT THE CAT CAVE FORUM | TWITTER: @RivalsFielder, @EMAWOnline
***
Defensively, K-State struggled against Mensah’s arm the whole game, but particularly in the first half. He passed for 218 yards against this Wildcat’s defense in the first half.
The secondary had some miscommunications all night, allowing a few wide-open touchdowns. The Green Wave went on a span in the first half where they scored on four straight possessions.
Following halftime, K-State went on to score the first ten points of the second half to even the game as Johnson found Giddens for a 45-yard touchdown and Chris Tennant made a 28-yard field goal.
While Tulane would take the lead early in the fourth quarter, K-State answered with a Dylan Edwards touchdown. The Wildcats didn’t get Edwards the ball as many people desired, but he put on a show when asked.
It wasn’t the prettiest or best K-State could have played, but they found a way at the end.
It was a much better second half for Johnson, who finished the game with 181 passing yards and two touchdowns. There was a lot of skepticism about the play calling, which I do think held Johnson back in the first half.
This team has plenty to work on, but they still managed to defeat a solid team on the road. It certainly wasn’t easy, but Chris Klieman will take a road win any day.
K-State will have a short week preparing as they take on the Arizona Wildcats on Friday.
