Avery Johnson helped K-State avoid disaster, but Wildcats ‘have to get better’
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Avery Johnson led Kansas State to a 38-35 comeback win over FCS North Dakota.
- Johnson directed an 81-yard game-winning drive with under two minutes remaining.
- K-State avoided historic 0-2 start but faces questions about consistency and execution.
Avery Johnson was the hero of Kansas State’s come-from-behind victory over North Dakota on Saturday, but nobody was lining up to throw him a parade after the Wildcats won 38-35 at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
The home crowd was too busy breathing a collective sigh of relief to properly celebrate the fact that Johnson threw for 318 yards and three touchdowns.
In fact, EMAW nation was still trying to figure out why K-State had to fight and claw its way past an FCS opponent it was favored to beat by nearly four touchdowns to fully appreciate the fact that Johnson engineered an 81-yard scoring drive in the final minutes.
But Johnson was fine with that. The junior quarterback from Wichita wasn’t in a celebratory mood, either.
“If we’re going to play like this every week, we’re not going to be the team that we want to be,” Johnson said afterward. “I just went straight up to all the leaders on our offense and on our defense. We have to take accountability for the game we had tonight. It was way too close for comfort.”
Johnson could say that last part again, with a heavy emphasis on the word “way.”
Disaster nearly struck the Little Apple. Not only would a loss to North Dakota have been embarrassing for everyone involved, it would have dropped K-State to 0-2 for the first time since 1989, so long ago that Bill Snyder was in his first year as head coach.
The Wildcats entered this season with a national ranking and Big 12 championship hopes. But losing the first two games on the schedule would have put bowl eligibility in doubt. The fan base would have been in meltdown mode.
Things never got quite that bad, though.
Sure, North Dakota possessed a 35-31 lead (and had the ball at midfield) with 2 minutes, 5 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. But the Fighting Hawks didn’t have a quarterback like Johnson. They were unable to pick up a first down and run out the clock. Instead, they had to punt.
That gave Johnson one final chance to win the game with the ball at his own 19-yard line. Then he led his team on an impressive 10-play scoring drive that featured five completions and a 25-yard scramble. He capped the drive with a 6-yard touchdown pass to running back Joe Jackson in the flats.
“That’s going to be a defining drive for Avery Johnson,” K-State coach Chris Klieman said, “because he was calm and cool. He made play after play after play.”
Perhaps the most impressive thing about that drive is it began with a brutal drop from K-State wide receiver Jaron Tibbs. Johnson hit him in stride with a perfect pass that would have resulted in a big gain, but the ball bounced off his hands and fell to the turf.
“Even when we had a drop, he came back,” Klieman said, “and kept making plays until we ultimately get a score.”
Johnson certainly showed maturity in the fourth quarter. That was particularly notable because he got lucky at times in the first half. At least four of his passes in the first two quarters could have been intercepted, including a 30-yard touchdown pass to Tibbs that bounced off a North Dakota defender before Tibbs corralled the tipped ball.
Kansas State’s QB1 knew he got away with some bad throws.
“Sometimes you get lucky and the ball falls your way,” Johnson said. “The football gods were on our side.”
That is all well and good for the short term.
But this game raised some long-term questions, such as: Is this K-State team in trouble? Losing a close game to Iowa State last week in Dublin was one thing. Needing help from the “football gods” and a last-minute scoring drive to beat North Dakota at home is another.
“We’ve got to get a lot better,” Klieman said. “We’ve got to improve in all areas — not just one area — in all phases. We have got to improve.”
Still, you have to give credit to Johnson and K-State for avoiding disaster. Some teams would have folded in the final two minutes, even against an FCS team. The Wildcats kept fighting and found a way to win.
They can thank their quarterback for that.
For some, this win may have felt like a loss. But Johnson made sure the Wildcats came out on top by making clutch plays with the game on the line.
This story was originally published August 31, 2025 at 6:30 AM with the headline "Avery Johnson helped K-State avoid disaster, but Wildcats ‘have to get better’."