Will Howard and Avery Johnson alternated drives at quarterback for Kansas State, and the Wildcats walloped TCU 41-3 Saturday night in Manhattan, Kan., in a rematch of last season’s Big 12 Championship Game.
Kansas State scored on six of its first seven drives to seize control of the game and seven of nine possessions overall.
Howard was 10-of-16 for 154 yards and three touchdowns, while Johnson was 5-of-10 for 90 yards and a score.
Kansas State (5-2, 3-1 Big 12) had 587 yards of total offense, 343 yards on the ground and 244 through the air.
TCU (4-4, 2-3) never gained traction. Quarterback Josh Hoover was 23-of-43 for 187 yards.
Trailing by 24, the Horned Frogs opened the second half by going 56 yards on 11 plays but turned the ball over on downs at the Kansas State 19-yard line.
The Wildcats responded with a 13-play, 81-yard drive that took almost eight minutes. Howard found Jayce Brown for an 11-yard touchdown to give the Wildcats a 34-3 lead with just 2:30 left in the quarter.
Howard found Will Swanson for a 5-yard touchdown pass with 3:59 remaining.
Kansas State jumped ahead quickly when DJ Giddens jumped to the outside for a 2-yard touchdown run and a 7-0 lead with 11:45 left in the first quarter.
After forcing a TCU punt, Treshaun Ward scored on a 3-yard screen pass and the Wildcats led 14-0. It was Johnson’s first career touchdown pass.
Griffin Kell connected on a 32-yard field goal to put TCU on the scoreboard. But with Howard back behind center, Giddens took a screen pass 61 yards untouched down the right sideline for a 21-3 lead with 3:06 left in the first quarter.
Chris Tennant kicked field goals of 27 and 40 yards in the second quarter to take a 27-3 halftime lead. The Wildcats had 406 yards of total offense in the first half, with 238 on the ground.
–Field Level Media
