A Great Opportunity

By: D. Scott Fritchen

No. 14 Kansas State knows it hasn't played its best game yet. No. 20 Arizona continues to sort things out although it owns the longest active winning streak in the FBS.

Both Wildcat teams will leave a crucial non-conference matchup Friday with a greater understanding of themselves as they embark upon life in the new-look Big 12 Conference.

The teams meet in Friday's 7 p.m. kickoff on FOX in what will be Arizona's first trip to Manhattan. New conference foes in the Big 12, they will play without conference implications, as the meeting is a previously scheduled non-conference tilt.

Arizona has won six straight games as a nationally ranked team and is 5-1-1 all-time against K-State with the last meeting a 31-0 win in 1978.

K-State has won 12 of its last 15 games at Bill Snyder Family Stadium and has posted 15 consecutive sellouts.

"Two quality teams that are still trying to figure it out," K-State head coach Chris Klieman said. "We need an electric atmosphere. We need it as loud as we can get it. I know K-State Nation will come through because it's going to be a fun atmosphere. We're on national TV. They only pick certain games for Friday night, and they picked the Cats. Every recruit knows we're playing on national TV and it's a top-20 game."

First-year Arizona head coach Brent Brennan pumped in crowd noise at practice this week in hopes of preparing his squad for the imposing 50,000 fans in the Little Apple.

"Obviously, it's going to be a great game day atmosphere," Brennan said. "I think it's something everyone is excited about, and we're also aware of the challenge ahead."

K-State, 2-0, and Arizona, 2-0, both come off Week 2 games in which they trailed at halftime.

K-State found itself down 20-10 after two quarters before it pulled ahead in the fourth quarter and used an interception in the end zone with 5 seconds remaining to preserve a 34-27 win at Tulane.

Arizona stumbled to a 22-10 home win over Northern Arizona. Arizona went o-for-10 on third down and committed 10 penalties for 95 yards, and UA trailed 10-6 at the half.

"I was really happy with our response, especially coming out of halftime down 10-6," Brennan said. "Some good team football. I give credit to Northern Arizona. I thought their players played their butts off and their coaches did a great job."

However, Arizona fought for its ninth straight win, which leads the FBS, and ties the school record set in 1974-75 and also in 1997-98.

Klieman called his Wildcats' escape at Tulane a "culture win."

"We need to get back out on the football field," Klieman said, "and keep growing and keep improving."

Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita has completed 37-of-57 passes for 595 yards with five touchdowns and two interceptions in two games. His favorite target is Tetairoa McMillan, who has 12 catches for 315 yards and four touchdowns.

Arizona scored 61 points in its season opener against New Mexico as McMillan became the first player in FBS history to record at least 10 receptions, 300 receiving yards, 30.0 yards per reception, and four receiving touchdowns in a game.

McMillan's 304 receiving yards against New Mexico were the second most in Big 12 history.

"He's a tremendous football player, just his catch radius, his range, the way he uses his body to keep defenders away from him," K-State defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman said. "I'd like to see anybody more dangerous in college football right now."

Touted by some as a Heisman Trophy candidate prior to the season, K-State sophomore quarterback Avery Johnson continues to find his groove for an offense led by first-year offensive coordinator Conor Riley.

Johnson is 29-for-44 passing for 334 yards and four touchdowns and one interception. The highest-rated dual-threat passer in the Class of 2023 by Rivals has 11 carries for 77 yards.

"I still think I have a lot of room to grow," Johnson said. "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."

Brennan sees vast potential in Johnson, who will make his fourth-career start on Friday.

"Avery is a complete player," he said. "He's got real arm talent, and then he's ridiculously explosive."

Running back DJ Giddens has a team-high seven catches for 69 yards and one touchdown while leading the Wildcats with 238 yards on 32 carries. Expected to make a sizable impact for the Wildcats after transferring from Colorado, sophomore Dylan Edwards has three touchdowns on just 12 touches.

K-State wide receivers have accounted for 15 catches in two games, but the Wildcats have only totaled 56 plays from scrimmage in each of its wins.

"I agree that we need to get this player and this player the ball more, and those are things we're very abreast of," said Riley, who is also the team's offensive line coach. "I'm the one who's responsible, quite honestly. When we get that rep count up, it's going to give us some availability to do that."

Although K-State went just 2-for-10 on third down at Tulane, the Green Wave went 5-for-13 and racked up 491 total yards, including 342 yards through the air.

"Our guys have a lot of confidence in themselves and a lot of pride," Klanderman said. "There's a lot of great lessons learned, and it's a lot better to learn them in a win. We're better than that. I can be better in that. Hopefully, we get this cleaned up very soon."

The K-State defense looks for a little assist from its fans.

"We have the best fans in the nation," defensive tackle Damian Ilalio said. "They'll give their offense a really hard time on third down. Throughout the game it's going to be hard for them to do their checks. You have all that pressure on you. Our fans will do their job, so we have to do ours."

In the history of the Big 12, K-State is 145-47 (75.5%) in games when it is the home team. That's the most wins among all active schools in the league.

This will mark the first time K-State has hosted a top-20 matchup in a non-conference game since 2014.

"Playing at Bill Snyder Family Stadium at night, there's so much energy that builds up throughout the day," said sixth-year senior linebacker Austin Moore. "Just all that energy makes it hard for other teams to focus and our fans are always super loud, too. It makes it really tough.

"We're super excited. We know it's a really good opportunity for us to showcase our abilities."

And an excellent opportunity for K-State to prove itself as the top team in the new-look Big 12 heading into the league season.

Kansas State University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Dylan Edwards

DJ Giddens

Damian Ilalio

Avery Johnson

Austin Moore

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