CINCINNATI, Ohio – Collin Klein said that the Big 12 Conference season would be a journey for Kansas State. The Wildcats hit a speedbump during their first road game on Saturday.
Avery Johnson threw for 292 yards and one touchdown and transfer wide receiver Derrick Salley Jr. had seven catches for 140 yards and one touchdown, but K-State saw its 17-10 halftime lead evaporate by Cincinnati and its pair of running backs — Gi’Bran Payne and Cole Tabb — as the Wildcats suffered a 31-26 loss at Nippert Stadium.
“I just told them there’s no excuses for losing, it feels horrible and it should, and if it does, it means you’re invested and you care,” Klein said. “As we continue to build this thing and go where we’re supposed to, and where we want to go, there are lessons that come out of these ballgames and these situations that we have to be able to take with us moving forward.”
K-State led 17-10 when Johnson hit Salley with a four-yard touchdown in the endzone with 16 seconds until both teams headed to the locker room. The Bearcats emerged for the second half with a vengeance as Payne and Tabb took turns against the Wildcats and the No. 2-ranked defense in the country.
Things got interesting late as K-State, down two scores with 10 minutes remaining, scored a touchdown on a two-yard run by Rodney Fields Jr. with 1:15 left in the fourth quarter. When Cincinnati’s attempt to run out the clock stalled, the Wildcats took over at their own 20-yard line with 45 seconds to go. But K-State, 3-1 overall and 0-1 in the Big 12, was unable to manufacture anything in the final seconds while losing the scoring battle 21-9 over the final two quarters against Cincinnati, 4-0 and 1-0, which improved to 41-16 in night home games since 2006.
“I was proud of how we battled down the stretch,” Klein said. “We were inches away from giving ourselves a chance down the stretch. Credit their fight and spirit for that.”
Payne had 16 carries for 126 yards while Tabb had 11 rushes for 124 yards and three touchdowns for a second straight game.
Both Klein and Cincinnati head coach Scott Satterfield predicted the meeting between their teams would be an evenly matched battle, and it proved to be a war.
K-State outgained Cincinnati 446-436. The Wildcats outgained the Bearcats 291-165 in passing yards, but the Bearcats outgained the Wildcats 271-155 in rushing yards.
Johnson completed 30-of-50 passes for 292 yards and one touchdown, and he added six carries for 38 yards. Running back Joe Jackson had 11 carries for 59 yards, and Rodney Fields Jr. had 12 carries for 50 yards and two touchdowns.
Cincinnati quarterback JC French IV went 8-of-13 passing for 165 yards and one touchdown.
“We knew the battle of the line of scrimmage was going to be the story of the day, and third down, red zone, all of that stuff, was going to follow that right there,” Klein said. “We didn’t do a great job stopping the run and that’s the story of the game, and we stalled twice on offense and kicked two field goals and that’s not a recipe to win on the road.”
Disaster struck on the first play from scrimmage in the third quarter when Salley caught a 34-yard pass across the middle but fumbled the ball. Cincinnati recovered and tied it at 17-17 when the Bearcats ran, ending their game-tying drive with a five-yard run by Tabb around the left edge.
“We have to be better, secure the football, and put the brakes on in sudden change, and get the thing flipped,” Klein said.
When K-State was unable to move the ball, Cincinnati pushed ahead, and Tabb scored his second touchdown in as many drives — this one, a 30-yard run down the middle of the field for a 24-17 lead with 7:26 left in the third quarter.
It appeared that Cincinnati was primed to score again, as wide receiver JV Gibson caught a pass for a 64-yard gain, but running back Zion Johnson fumbled on the next play — a fumbled forced by Mekhi Mason and recovered by Donovan McIntosh.
The result? The longest drive of the season for K-State. But the 17-play, 65-yard drive that consumed 7:49 stalled out and Luis Rodriguez hit a 36-yard field goal to make it 24-20 with 9:30 left in the fourth quarter.
“We did some nice things,” Klein said. “Derrick Salley really stepped up and Joe Jackson and Rodney Fields ran incredibly hard. We didn’t handle adversity well when it struck and they had that momentum early in the third quarter. Good things, but at the end of the day, not enough.”
