Avery Johnson has Career Day in K-State's 31-20 Victory Over Tulane

Avery Johnson had a solid game passing the ball on Saturday, finishing 20-of-27 for 217 yards. However, it was Johnson's rushing ability that was the difference. He rushed for a career-high 152 yards and two touchdowns, while helping K-State get to 3-0 under first-year coach Collin Klein with a 31-20 victory against Tulane. He also became the fourth Big 12 quarterback in the last 20 seasons to throw for 200+, rush for 150+yards, and score two rushing touchdowns.

AVERY JOHNSON DOES IT ALL 😤

The Kansas State QB's huge performance vs. Tulane makes him the 4th Big 12 player in the last 20 seasons with 200+ pass yards, 150+ rush yards and multiple rush TDs in a game 🙌 pic.twitter.com/yY7OXWbUDm
— ESPN Insights (@ESPNInsights) September 19, 2026

Entering Saturday, the Wildcats were expected to have a big advantage when it came to running the ball. K-State entered this game averaging 303.5 rushing yards per game, which ranked 7th in the country. The Green Wave rush defense had been bad all year, ranking 125th out of 134 teams by allowing 216 rushing yards per game.

The Green Wave put an added emphasis on stopping the running backs, and they actually did a good job of that. The K-State running backs ran the ball 21 times for 44 yards. Rodney Fields Jr. had rushed for 100 yards in each of his first two games, but he finished with only 18 yards on 10 carries. However, they were unable to keep contain on he outside, and Johnson hurt them multiple times throughout the game.

With K-State leading 10-7 in the second quarter, Johnson provided the fans with a huge play; he rushed the ball 66 yards to give the Wildcats the ball at the Green Wave's seven. On the very next play, he ran it in from seven yards out for his first score of the day.

AJ2 trots in for the TD! 💨

(via @KStateFB) pic.twitter.com/1EozYdt641
— K-State on KCSN (@kstate_kcsn) September 19, 2026

Johnson solid in passing game, but still missing out on big plays

Last week it was Josh Manning as the go-to receiver, and on Saturday, it was Jaron Tibbs. He finished the game with nine catches for 114 yards and was especially dominant early. However, one thing that has been an issue all year was the inability to connect in the vertical passing game. That continued on Saturday, as there were multiple opportunities for big plays, but they ended up incomplete.

It is now officially Big 12, and the Wildcats are going to have to connect on those plays during conference play. The Green Wave defensive gameplan will be looked at by other Big 12 coaches, while they will also possess the type of athletes that could potentially keep Johnson contained.

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