It wasn’t at all pretty or impressive, but No. 17 Kansas State did emerge from the bayou as victors after a 34-27 win over Tulane Saturday in New Orleans.
The Wildcats trailed by two possessions early as K-State’s offense struggled to find its rhythm, and the defense was stymied by Tulane redshirt freshman quarterback Darian Mensah and the Green Wave’s talented bunch of skill position players.
But the Wildcats found their footing in the second half behind another 100-plus yard performance from junior running back DJ Giddens, and then the K-State defense stepped up big late with a scoop-and-score fumble recovery for a touchdown and a game-ending interception in the end zone.
The win was the first in school history for the Wildcats against Tulane after two close losses against the Green Wave in 1988 and 2022.
Here are four takeaways from Saturday’s game:
Another slow offensive start
The Wildcats mentioned throughout the week that avoiding a slow offensive start on the road was paramount to their success. However, on K-State’s first seven offensive drives of the game, the Wildcats scored just one touchdown, hit a 48-yard field goal, missed a 53-yard field goal, and punted four times.
Even though K-State's lone first-half touchdown was a seven-yard pitch and catch from sophom*ore quarterback Avery Johnson to senior tight end Will Swanson, the Wildcats’ air attack failed to take hold throughout the game.
K-State had 92 yards through the air in the first half and ended the game with 181 yards on 15-of-23 passing for Johnson. It was another lackluster game for the wide receivers as just six of those 15 catches came from wideouts. However, it should be noted that Johnson did misfire on what would’ve been a wide-open 45-yard Sterling Lockett touchdown catch at the end of the first half that would've gotten the Wildcats within three points at halftime.
Secondary struggles
After going nearly untested during the season-opener against UT-Martin, Tulane and Mensah torched the Wildcat backfield which was supposed to be a strength of K-State's defense. The Green Wave freshman threw for 342 yards on 19-of-28 passing and two touchdowns.
The Wildcats forced 13 third-down situations, and Tulane converted on five of them, as well as going 1-for-2 on fourth down. One in particular, a 3rd-and-21 conversion late in the third quarter, set the Green Wave up in the red zone where they would then score a go-ahead touchdown on another third-down conversion early in the fourth quarter.
Tulane had seven pass plays of 20 or more yards, including three that were for 37 yards or longer.
The Wildcats tightened up when they needed to, though. At the end of the game, Tulane was on the goal line down seven with less than a minute to play. K-State and Tulane traded penalties, including an offensive pass interference called on VJ Payne, but Mensah managed to connect with wide receiver Yulkeith Brown for what appeared to be a touchdown before an offensive pass interference was called nullifying the score.
Two plays later, Payne picked Mensah off in the end zone, ending the game.
Running backs keep the offense upright
Similarly to the UT-Martin season-opening win, K-State’s offense ran (no pun intended) through running backs DJ Giddens and Dylan Edwards.
Giddens ended the game as the team’s leading rusher and receiver, running for 114 yards on nine carries while receiving for 63 yards on four catches including a big 45-yard touchdown catch on a wheel route on 4th-and-short.
Edwards, meanwhile, had four carries for 54 yards, including a 13-yard touchdown run.
In total, the Wildcats ran for 215 yards, including 40 yards for Johnson.
Pass rush saves the day
The Wildcats did not put much pressure on the quarterback in the opening two quarters. But in the second half, K-State recorded four of their five total sacks.
One of which, a forced fumble by sophom*ore linebacker Austin Romaine, was scooped up by freshman safety Jack Fabris and returned 60 yards for what ended up being the game-winning touchdown, giving K-State a 7-point lead.
Romaine led the Wildcats with two sacks with senior Austin Moore, senior Brendan Mott and junior Damian Ilalio getting in on the action with one each.
Up next
It’ll be a short week of preparation as K-State hosts new Big 12 member No. 20 Arizona in a rare non-conference matchup between two conference foes on Friday. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game will be televised on Fox.
