MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — No. 20 Arizona and No. 14 Kansas State will get a chance Friday night to see just where they stack up in the Big 12 race.
Even if it’s not a conference game.
The two sets of Wildcats scheduled the game as part of a home-and-home series before Arizona left the disintegrating Pac-12 for the expanding Big 12. And with the switch so close to the start of the season, Arizona and Kansas State didn’t have time to find replacement opponents, leading to a strange nonconference game between new conference rivals
“The good news is this team and these players have some experience playing in some tough venues the last few years,” Arizona coach Brent Brennan said, “playing at Oregon or Washington or Utah. Those places are all places that are really, really rowdy. You have to lean on that and be smart in terms of what you do.”
Arizona and Kansas State are both 2-0, though both have had some trouble getting there. Arizona put up 61 points in a Week 1 win over New Mexico before stumbling to a 22-10 win over Northern Arizona last week, while Kansas State cruised past Murray State in its opener before rallying from a 10-point halftime deficit to beat Tulane on the road last week.
That left Brennan and Kansas State counterpart Chris Klieman trying to squeeze as much out of a short week of practice as they could, all while trying to recover in time for a Friday night kickoff on national television.
“We were fortunate — we all know it — that the sun didn’t pop out and it wasn’t 105 degrees (in New Orleans). It was still really humid and it was really hot, and it took a lot out of our guys,” Klieman said. “To ask them to practice (Sunday) was really difficult. We got some things done. We’re on a short week, we’re fortunate we’re at home.
“I just know this,” Klieman said, “with the expanded Big 12, we know it’s going to be a big part of what we do, Friday nights.”
Situational football
There are two big reasons why Arizona had such trouble with the Lumberjacks last week: The Wildcats were 0 for 10 on third down, one of which led to a missed field goal, and they committed 10 penalties for 95 yards.
“A couple missed throws, missed opportunities. That part of it was really frustrating,” Brennan said. “Sometimes when you’re in those situations you try to press. We just have to relax and let the game come to us.”
Culture matters
Kansas State trailed Tulane 20-10 at halftime before rallying for the 34-27 win, yet Klieman said there were no secrets about the sudden improvement after the break. The Wildcats simply executed better, and he credited the team’s personality for it.
“One thing I learned that I wasn’t sure of is we have really good leadership,” Klieman said. “Our culture won that game with the older kids stepping up at halftime, when it wasn’t looking so good.”
Star search
Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan turned some heads against New Mexico, when he caught 10 passes for 304 yards and four touchdowns. But the potential first-round NFL draft pick had just two catches for 11 yards against the Lumberjacks.
Star search II
Kansas State running back Dylan Edwards, a transfer from Colorado, has been backing up veteran DJ Giddens this season. But both Klieman and Wildcats quarterback Avery Johnson acknowledged that Edwards needs to see the ball more. He’s carried nine times for 97 yards and two touchdowns, and he has three catches for 17 yards and another score.
Avery on Avery
Johnson was a trendy Heisman Trophy pick before the season, despite just one career start. But so far, the dual-threat dynamo has yet to find his rhythm. He has thrown for 334 yards with four touchdown passes and a pick through the first two games of the season, and he has yet to utilize his world-class speed, running just 11 times for 77 yards.
“I still think I have a lot of room to grow,” Johnson acknowledged. “Week 1 was very average for me, a very average week. Week 2, I felt like I made steps. But I look to make bigger strides as the season goes on, especially Week 2 to Week 3, because that’s where some of the biggest strides are made.”
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