On Avery Johnson, white uniforms and a concerning start for Wildcats: K-State Q&A

College football can be funny sometimes.

When Kansas State lost its season-opener to Iowa State, I argued that fans shouldn’t fret all that much about the defeat. Yes, it put the Wildcats at a big disadvantage in the Big 12 championship race. But they did enough good things in Dublin to make me think another nine-win season was within reach for Chris Klieman.

A week later, K-State won its first game of the year ... but we were all left wondering how much we needed to downgrade our expectations for this team.

Beating a FCS team at home by three was definitely more concerning than losing to a Big 12 rival by the same margin.

I hate to overreact, but the Wildcats looked bad enough on Saturday for me to think this team is probably looking at seven or eight wins instead of nine or 10.

I can forgive a team for winning an ugly game against a FCS opponent. After all, the Wildcats beat Eastern Kentucky 10-7 in 2011 and went on to win 10 games. They also lost to North Dakota State in 2013 and ended up winning eight games. It’s not always a death sentence.

But two things bothered me about K-State’s 38-35 win over North Dakota.

1. The Wildcats couldn’t run the ball. Avery Johnson, Joe Jackson and DeVon Rice combined for 135 yards on 27 carries. Those numbers came one week after K-State just mustered 110 yards on the ground against Iowa State.

2. K-State looks mid at best on defense. North Dakota reeled off five touchdown drives of at least 70 yards against the Wildcats. That came one week after Iowa State cooked the K-State defense for three scoring drives in the second half.

Making matters worse, many of the teams on K-State’s schedule (Arizona, TCU, Kansas, Texas Tech and Utah) have looked better than advertised thus far.

Klieman and the Wildcats will need a better performance against Army this weekend to get everyone’s hopes back up.

Now, let’s move onto your questions. Thanks, as always, for providing them.

Are we now a “pass first” offense? -@JtCatCamino via X.

The numbers suggest that Kansas State is most definitely a “pass first” offense without Dylan Edwards at running back.

Avery Johnson has already attempted 73 passes this season, and his 43 throws last week against North Dakota set a new career high in a single game. Those stats are way up from this time last year, when Johnson attempted just 44 passes in his first two games combined.

His production (591 yards and five touchdowns) is also up compared to his first two games last year (334 yards and four touchdowns).

No K-State quarterback has come out passing this aggressively since 2007 when Josh Freeman chucked it 93 times in the first two games of that season, according to statistical research from K-State Online reporter Mason Voth.

We were bound to see a different type of offense this season as Matt Wells replaced Conor Riley and began calling the shots at coordinator. The biggest change so far has been in the passing game. The Wildcats aren’t afraid to put the ball in the air. That strategy has resulted in explosive plays for Jayce Brown, Jerand Bradley and Jaron Tibbs.

I don’t see K-State looking to run the ball more often until Edwards returns to health and is back in the lineup. The Wildcats haven’t looked stellar on the offensive line. Backup running backs Joe Jackson and DeVon Rice aren’t good enough to be featured players. And K-State is taking a careful approach when it comes to running Johnson.

Jayce Brown has arguably been the best weapon on offense. Might as well look to keep getting him the ball.

Here’s what Wells had to say about Johnson’s high passing numbers: “That number doesn’t surprise me. I don’t think it’s too high.”

Avery Johnson completed 65% of his passes and threw for more than 300 yards against North Dakota. He also led a game-winning drive in that game. But you write that his stats are deceiving. Don’t you think you are being a little hard on QB1? - Emily V. via e-mail.

If you think I’m being hard on him then you really won’t like the folks over at Pro Football Focus, who gave him a grade of 43.7 (out of 100) for his performance against North Dakota.

Johnson got away with some ill-advised throws against the Fighting Hawks. At least four of his passes could have, and probably should have, been intercepted by the North Dakota defense.

“Sometimes you get lucky and the ball falls your way,” Johnson said after the game. “The football gods were on our side.”

If you can guarantee me that defenses will drop every single bad pass that Johnson throws this season then there is absolutely nothing to worry about. Heck, if his bad throws keep bouncing off defenders and into the hands of his own receivers for touchdowns then the Wildcats can start making travel plans for Arlington, Texas.

But I don’t defenses in the Big 12 will be quite that generous.

“We did put the ball in harm’s way about four times,” Wells said. “We were living right on Saturday night, as some people would say. If you continue to play with fire, you’re going to get your butt burned.”

I’m not trying to be hard on Johnson. He did some great things against North Dakota and made clutch plays when his team needed him the most. But his stat line (28 of 43 for 318 yards and three touchdowns) wouldn’t have looked quite so good if he had to pay for any of his mistakes.

Any chance Linkon Cure plays on Saturday? -@SportsguruLinin via X.

Yes, he practiced last week and dressed for the North Dakota game. I watched the freshman tight end as he went through warm ups and thought he looked ready to play.

The only thing slowing him down was a sleeve of some kind over his right knee. He is heading in the right direction compared to where he was during preseason camp, when he wore a brace.

Chris Klieman described Cure as “close” earlier this week.

I think he is healthy enough to play. If the K-State coaches see an opportunity to get the former five-star recruit on the field he could make his college debut against Army.

Any chance we are getting alternate uniforms this week vs Army? They have worked so well this year. Not! -@bfullingt1 via X.

Look, I am not superstitious in the slightest when it comes to K-State football uniforms.

Anyone who blames white pants or an alternate helmet for recent losses against Tulane and Iowa State (plus a close encounter against North Dakota) is shaking their fist in the wrong place. Would silver pants and silver helmets have helped the Wildcats stop the Fighting Hawks on their five touchdown drives that spanned at least 70 yards? Did Dylan Edwards get hurt because of the Celtic knot pattern on top of the team’s helmet in Ireland?

Of course not!

That being said, even I was starting to buy into the “alternate uniforms curse” when K-State trailed North Dakota late into the game on Saturday. Chris Klieman was begging his team for a lackluster effort when he decided to break out white jerseys at home for the first time since 1991.

It’s time for K-State to wear its traditional, boring uniforms against Army.

How many snaps did Gunner Maldonado play against North Dakota? -@KSUFan360 via X.

The Arizona transfer was on the field for 24 plays against the Fighting Hawks. He has seen limited action in both of Kansas State’s games this season as he works his way back from injury.

But defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman thinks he is progressing nicely.

“By the time we get into the meat of our schedule,” Klanderman said, “he’s going to be a big factor in what we’re doing.”

Is depth a big concern for most college football teams? Considering the 105-player limit, I guess it’s really hurt Kansas State -@jamesglessner92 via X.

Chris Klieman went on a mini rant about this topic at his weekly news conference. He wishes the Wildcats still had 125 players on their roster to help deal with injuries and other unexpected twists that transpire during a season.

I understand his point. I’m sure every coach would rather have an army of walk-ons than few very few.

But I’m not sure that it’s really all that big of a deal. Teams can only play 11 dudes at a time. How beneficial is it really to have 125 players on your sideline come gameday?

NFL teams make due with 53-man rosters, plus a small practice squad. By comparison, a college team should be just fine with 105.

This story was originally published September 5, 2025 at 6:30 AM with the headline "On Avery Johnson, white uniforms and a concerning start for Wildcats: K-State Q&A."

Kellis Robinett

The Wichita Eagle

Kellis Robinett covers Kansas State athletics for The Wichita Eagle and The Kansas City Star. A winner of more than a dozen national writing awards, he lives in Manhattan with his wife and four children.