Kansas State finally gets the long ball going to take the lead into halftime vs. OSU

The long ball is back at Kansas State and it was missed so much!

Kansas State was able to take an eight-point lead into halftime thanks in part to a 55-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Avery Johnson to wide receiver Jayce Brown. Brown and Johnson showed a strong connection in the Wildcats' bowl game in 2023, and fans have been waiting to see that again this season.

After some close calls and slight overthrows, Johnson was able to hit Brown in stride just before the end zone as it looked like Brown was by himself and jogged it into the end zone for the score. The replay showed that Brown's defender fell down on the route, leaving Brown wide open and Johnson throwing an absolute dime to his college roommate.

However, that wasn't the biggest play of the game so far for the Wildcats. The defense struggled a bit to start the game with Oklahoma State running back Ollie Gordon, who has struggled so far this season, finding his stride. After the Wildcats took the lead 14-13, Oklahoma State was driving, and all it took was one bad snap that OSU quarterback Alan Bowman couldn't handle, and the Wildcats had their first takeaway of the game.

Those two plays gave Kansas State all the momentum, but the game didn't quite start that way.

Kansas State received the ball first, and thanks to the help of two fourth-down conversions, the Wildcats took a 7-0 lead on Avery Johnson's first rushing touchdown of the season. It was refreshing to see the Wildcat offense have success on the first drive of the game after failing to score a touchdown against BYU last week.

Oklahoma State was able to drive the ball down the field but settled for a field goal leaving the Wildcats with the lead. The Cowboys then had a missed field goal on their next drive, but Kansas State wasn't able to capitalize and was forced to punt. The Cowboys then took the lead 10-7 on their next drive.

Following the Cowboy's big touchdown, Johnson then put too much air on a pass two and was intercepted for the third time this season. The Kansas State defense, though, came up in clutch and was able to force an OSU field goal.

On the next drive, Johnson was able to find his trusty tight end Garrett Oakley, who is seeing more snaps due to Brayden Loftin's leg injury, for the score to take back the lead. Then things started to look up for the Wildcats until halftime.

This was a good start for Kansas State after the lackluster performance last week against BYU, but there is still a whole second half to be played. The Wildcats have done a good job mixing up the run with the pass, as they already have 113 rushing yards, with DJ Giddens leading the way with 87 yards and averaging 14.5 yards per carry. Johnson has also already surpassed his halftime average in passing yards with 176 yards and two passing touchdowns on the day.

Oklahoma State will receive the ball at the start of the second half down 21-13 on ESPN.