MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — DJ Giddens rushed for 143 yards, on just 15 carries, with two touchdowns, as Kansas State defeated Cincinnati 41-15 Saturday night.
Kansas State (8-3, 5-3 Big 12) snapped a two-game losing streak with the victory.
“It was an inspired win by our guys,” Kansas State coach Chris Klieman said. “I’m proud of the whole team, proud of our seniors for responding to the adversity that we’ve had.
“We knew we needed to start fast, and we did start fast. Our defense really made them one-dimensional early on, and then we did some really good things.”
Cincinnati (5-6, 3-5 Big 12) lost its fourth straight game. The Bearcats need a home win against TCU next Saturday to achieve bowl eligibility.
Avery Johnson was 13-of-23 passing for 147 yards and two touchdowns for KSU. With running back Dylan Edwards out with an undisclosed injury, Johnson also ran the ball 10 times for 81 yards and a score.
“(The coaches) definitely said it was going to be a heavier QB-run game this week,” Johnson said about the extra workload. “And you know, that’s one of the strongest suits of my game. I was just running behind my pads, kind of fitting up in some gaps when I needed to and just trying my best to follow those guys’ blocks.”
Klieman was especially proud of his defense in the clutch.
“Cincinnati was 3 of 12 third down, 0 of 5 on fourth down,” he said. “That was a big-time effort on fourth down especially, because there’s a handful of those that were in critical situations and those weren’t fourth-and-10 or fourth-and-12. Those were fourth-and-short to fourth-and-medium.”
Brendan Sorsby was 21 of 39 for 200 yards and two touchdowns for the Bearcats.
Trailing by 24 points, Cincinnati found the end zone on a 9-yard touchdown pass from Sorsby to Tony Johnson late in the third quarter. The 2-point conversion failed. Giddens had his second rushing touchdown on K-State’s next drive.
Johnson’s 8-yard touchdown pass to Will Swanson put K-State up 41-9. Sorsby then found Johnson for a 6-yard touchdown.
“We were contemplating between two plays, and (offensive coordinator Conor Riley) asked me what I wanted,” Johnson said. “And I (chose) the play we ended up calling. Riles kind of looked at me a little bit funny, and then we called it. We had two guys wide open because they didn’t know how to cover it. It was just all smiles on the sideline.”
Kansas State wasted little time grabbing a 7-0 lead on its opening drive on a 21-yard touchdown run by Johnson. That capped a five-play, 65-yard drive.
The Wildcats extended the lead to 10-0 on a 28-yard Chris Tennant field goal, and then to 13-0 on his 32-yarder.
After K-State held Cincinnati on fourth-and-8 at the KSU 33, Giddens pushed the Wildcats’ lead to 20-0 when he used a spin move at the line of scrimmage and then raced 32 yards for a touchdown, capping a four-play drive.
Cincinnati got on the scoreboard with 4:17 left in the first half with a 42-yard field goal by Nathan Hawks.
Brendan Mott then intercepted a Sorsby pass at the Cincinnati 22-yard line and returned it to the 6. It was Mott’s first career interception in his last home game.
“Unfortunately, I couldn’t finish it off and get the 6 points,” Mott said. “When I got to the sideline, I don’t know if I got more ‘Congratulations’ or, ‘Man, you should have housed that thing.’”
Two plays later, Johnson found Tre Spivey for a 6-yard touchdown and the Wildcats led 27-3 at halftime.
THE TAKEAWAY
Cincinnati: The Bearcats struggled to convert at crucial times. They were just 3 of 12 on third-down conversions and 0 for 5 when going for it on fourth down.
Kansas State: The score may have been lopsided in Kansas State’s favor, but the Wildcats were not dominant. They out-gained Cincinnati by just 54 total yards.
UP NEXT
Both teams will conclude the regular season on November 30. Cincinnati will host TCU, while K-State will travel to Iowa State.
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