Forty carries, 295 yards
Kansas State ran the ball 40 times against Washington State this afternoon in Manhattan and gained 295 yards doing it. That is 7.4 yards per carry, a figure that usually belongs to a team facing an overmatched FCS opponent rather than a Power Four side. The Wildcats won 34-7 and are 2-0.
Rodney Fields Jr. took 13 of those carries for 105 yards. One of them accounted for most of the total. On Kansas State’s first snap after half-time he went 75 yards to make it 24-7, which erased the only piece of momentum Washington State had generated all day.
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The one play that went right for the Cougars
That momentum had arrived 20 minutes earlier, in the strangest possible way. Kansas State led 17-0 after two Avery Johnson touchdown passes in the second quarter, from six and 21 yards on consecutive possessions. Washington State punted with 44 seconds left. On second-and-5 from the Kansas State 38, Johnson threw an out pattern and Jaylen Thomas jumped it, running 50 yards to the end zone as the half expired.
Thomas finished with two interceptions. Johnson finished with three touchdowns and two picks on 22 of 34 passing for 192 yards, and added 50 rushing yards on six carries. Josh Manning caught 10 passes for 97 yards.
Third down remains the problem in Pullman
Washington State converted 2 of 12 third downs. That continues a trend rather than starting one: the Cougars went 0 for 11 on third down in last week’s 24-10 defeat at Washington. Two games into the season they have converted twice in 23 attempts.
The rest followed from that. Washington State managed 166 total yards and 10 first downs. Kansas State had 24 first downs. The Cougars are 0-2.
Weather interrupted proceedings for 56 minutes at half-time, lightning forcing both squads off. Kansas State came back out and scored on the first play. Luis Rodriguez then kicked his second 31-yard field goal of the afternoon and Johnson found Brandon White from nine yards to close the scoring.
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