Quarterback to Back: Kansas State’s Avery Johnson Looks to Go 2-0 against Oklahoma State

The Cowboys are back from a bye week and the quarterback situation continues to evolve.

Against Kansas two weeks ago, Zane Flores returned after a month-long absence and showed little rust. He had the best game of his career, completing 78.6% of his passes for two TDs and no picks. While the Cowboys lost their eighth-straight outing, they actually fielded an offense.

There’s also been rumblings about Hauss Hejny. But while he seems to be progressing, his return date is still TBD.

Across the field, the Cowboys will face a legit dual-threat option in typical K-State fashion in Avery Johnson. He’ll look to make it 2-0 against OSU.

To take an interestingly slice out of the narrative, Flores is coming off his best game and Johnson is coming off his worst of the season, and both had a bye week to think about it.

Before we get into the matchup, let’s take a look at the two QBs’ numbers thus far.

In his junior season, Johnson has improved in most categories, upping his yards per game, completion rate and passer rating incrementally, but most importantly he’s been more careful with the ball. After throwing 10 interceptions last season, Johnson came into the Wildcats’ last outing having just two picks. Of course, that narrative fell apart a bit on Nov. 1 when he faced a Top 10 Texas Tech team with a defense that really gets after QBs.

In the home loss to the Red Raiders, Johnson completed just 48.5% of his passes and threw two INTs to just one touchdown. He did pick up two rushing scores, a skillset that is always on the mind of opposing coaches. When previewing his Cowboys’ matchup with the Wildcats this week, interim head coach Doug Meacham said, “the quarterback scares you to death.”

He looked mighty scary when the Cowboys faced him last season. Johnson hung 42 points on the Pokes, almost on his own. He threw three touchdowns and rushed for two more in the 42-20 win.

Both quarterbacks and offenses are coming off a bye week, but one has a lot more to fight for. After a 9-4 season last year, the Wildcats sit at just 4-5, needing to win two of their final three to push their bowl streak to five years. Of those two, this trip to Stillwater and a home finale against hapless Colorado bookend a trip to No. 15 Utah. So, this is essentially a must-win for the Wildcats if they want to go bowling.

The Cowboys and Wildcats kick off at 11 a.m. Saturday inside Boone Pickens Stadium.