Kansas State Football: Three Biggest Keys To Beating Colorado At Folsom Field
The No. 18 Kansas State Wildcats (4-1, 1-1) travel to face the Colorado Buffaloes (4-1, 2-0) Saturday.
Kickoff is set to 10:15 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Here are three keys for the Wildcats to come out on top against coach Deion Sanders and the Buffaloes.
Avery Johnson Needs A Big Game From The Pocket
The sophomore quarterback has thrown for 879 yards, nine touchdowns against four interceptions. In his last outing, Johnson completed 19 of 31 passes for 259 yards and three touchdowns.
Sophomore wide receiver Jayce Brown is on the receiving end more times than not for Johnson. Brown has 277 yards on 17 receptions and one touchdown.
This duo needs explosive plays against a top 7 defense in the Big 12 conference.
Keep Running DJ Giddens
Junior running back DJ Giddens has racked up 604 rushing yards and two touchdowns. He is coming off a season-high 187 yards on 15 carries and a touchdown against then-ranked No. 20 Oklahoma State.
The ground game is complementary to Johnson to keep the Colorado defense guessing.
Hard-Nosed Defense
The Wildcats have given up a total of 98 points, the fourth most in the Big 12. Colorado has scored 155 points behind quarterback Shedeur Sanders’ 1,630 yards. He's completed 138 of 197 passes.
Not only Sanders but two-way threat Travis Hunter is hard to stop on defense. Despite playing both sides of the ball, Hunter leads the Buffaloes with 561 receiving yards and six touchdowns.
Jeremiah Artacho is a contributor to Kansas State Wildcats On SI. He can be reached at jeremiahartacho@gmail.com or @JeremiahArtacho on X.
Jeremiah Artacho is a sports journalist who has previous bylines featured in The Sporting News, FanSided.com, Hardwood Houdini, Glory Colorado and Busting Brackets.