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The Topeka Capital Journal
Kansas State football vs UCF takeaways: Wildcats grab much-needed win
- Story byThe Topeka Capital Journal
- Kansas State football vs UCF takeaways: Wildcats grab much-needed win
MANHATTAN — That's more like it.
Kansas State football, for the first time this season , flashed its potential, winning 34-20 against UCF on Saturday, Sept. 27, at Bill Snyder Family Stadium in Manhattan.
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The win snapped a two-game losing streak, handing the Wildcats a much-needed victory behind the great play of star running back Dylan Edwards , who saw his first extended action after missing the majority of the first four games.
Outside of early offensive mistakes and big plays allowed by the defense, the Wildcats played a near-complete game, running the ball as well as they have all year. Quarterback Avery Johnson also played an efficient game, both through the air and on the ground.
Kansas State (2-3, 1-1 Big 12) will visit Baylor for an 11 a.m. game on Saturday, Oct. 4, in Waco, Texas.
Here are our immediate takeaways from the Wildcats' first Big 12 win of the year.
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Kansas State 's newfound energy was evident
The Wildcats spoke all week of the energy they've lacked in previous games and practices. A rejuvenated team came out of the locker room and played its best game.
Defensively, the Wildcats swarmed to the ball, containing a UCF offense that was banged up at quarterback outside of a handful of big plays. Offensively, the Wildcats found a groove in the running game, rushing for more yards in the first half than they had finished a single game with so far this season.
Some of that energy might have waned late in the second half, as the Knights tried to stay in the game. The Wildcats struggled to tackle late, but overall had a decent day.
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Dylan Edwards makes a big difference in the offense
It was amazing to see how differently the Wildcats' offense looked with their starting running back in the backfield. His explosiveness helped the entire Kansas State offense, as he showed patience when blocks developed in front of him and then took off, picking up positive gains on the ground.
Edwards put the game on ice when he broke away for a 75-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter, showing the Wildcats what they've been missing. He finished with a team-high 166 yards on the ground.
His presence opened up a lot for the Wildcats' offense, especially for Johnson, who had his best day on the ground.
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Avery Johnson looked like himself
Johnson had his best day of the season, and most importantly, looked like himself. He made plays with his legs, which often turned into plays with his arm. The dual-threat quarterback reminded everyone what he's capable of.
Johnson was 18-for-25 with 168 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran the ball 11 times for 75 yards.
Kansas State defense allowed too many big plays
K-State's defense looked solid for most of the game, but the defense allowed way too many big plays, which gave UCF some life in the fourth quarter.
UCF had six plays that went for 30 yards or more, three of which came on the ground. Two of the big plays went for touchdowns. This will need to be cleaned up.
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Kansas State should've been up by more early, but kept getting in its own way
The Wildcats had an opportunity to be up by much more than 10 at halftime, leaving points on the board when their first three drives ended in UCF territory.
After running the ball the best they had all season, the Wildcats tried a trick play when a backward pass to Linkon Cure turned into a double-pass that was intercepted. On the next drive, the Wildcats turned it over on downs before settling for a field goal on their third drive.
UCF's lone score of the game came on an 82-yard touchdown pass. Blown coverage in the Wildcats' secondary left a receiver wide-open down the field. He was so open that a bad pass was still taken 82 yards to the house, when UCF had 46 total yards on its previous four drives.
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Wyatt D. Wheeler covers Kansas State athletics for the USA TODAY Network and Topeka Capital-Journal. You can follow him on X at @WyattWheeler_ , contact him at 417-371-6987 or email him at wwheeler@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas State football vs UCF takeaways: Wildcats grab needed victory
