Kansas State quarterback Avery Johnson said all the right things after his team suffered a 23-17 road loss against Arizona on Friday.
“I will take all the blame for tonight,” he said. “I think as a quarterback it’s my job to get these guys ready to play. I have got to be better during the week, and I have got to elevate my game and come out here and show up whenever my team needs me to show up. I’m not going to point the finger at play-calling or anybody else on the team. I have got to be better for my guys.”
That type of statement was likely well received in the K-State locker room after Johnson and the offense played as if they were wearing cement shoes on their way to just 193 total yards against Arizona. K-State punted five times and turned it over on downs four times. Crossing the 50 seemed like a challenge.
Johnson was at the center of those struggles as he posted the worst statistical game of his college career. The Wichita native completed 13 of 29 passes for 88 yards. As a runner, he lost 16 yards. He had several opportunities to lead a go-ahead touchdown drive in the fourth quarter but was unable to find the end zone.
That type of stat line seemed unfathomable after the dualthreat quarterback piled up 763 yards and six touchdowns passing to go along with 78 yards and a touchdown running in the first three games of the season.
It was a game for him to forget, to be sure.
But K-State head coach Chris Klieman doesn’t think Johnson is necessarily to blame. He would rather point his finger at the offensive line that isn’t blocking very well for its starting quarterback.
“I feel bad for (Johnson), because I think he’s playing well enough for us to win,” Klieman said. “But he’s not getting the time.”
It is rare for Klieman to share such pointed words about anyone on the K-State roster. But they were probably deserved Friday night. Johnson was sacked once and hurried six times. Arizona also jumped into the backfield for nine tackles that ended in lost yardage.
Many of K-State’s plays were over before they got started. The coaching staff was clearly searching for answers during the game, as a big rotation with many different blocking combinations was used on the offensive line.
What can be done to spark the Wildcats on offense before they play their next game in two weeks? For now, it sounds like everything is on the table.
K-State fans have been clamoring for Johnson to make more plays with his feet. But Johnson pushed back against that being a fix-all.
“If you really knew,” Johnson said, “how many times in a game where some of those handoffs are read game and have the opportunity to be quarterback runs but they just give us the look that happens to be a handoff. It’s more times than not. We do scheme up a lot of quarterback runs.”
