Friday’s game between Kansas State and Arizona was expected to be more closely contended, with concerns over how Kansas State’s shaky pass defense would match up against Arizona’s potency through the air. That was hardly the storyline to follow in the game, though.
Kansas State looked dominant in the 31-7 victory, snapping Arizona’s nine-game winning streak. It was previously the longest in the FBS.
“I don’t know what we’re trying to prove to everyone else. We’re trying to prove to ourselves that we can sustain this and play at a high level,” Kansas State coach Chris Klieman said. “That was a great week of preparation. Now we have to do it again.”
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Here’s a look into four things we took away from the Wildcats’ victory on the road:
1. Kansas State defense improves, shuts down notorious Arizona passing attack.
While the Wildcats passing defense came up big when it needed to with the last-minute interception of Tulane quarterback Darian Mensah to win last week’s game against the Green Wave, it was mostly unimpressive and allowed too many explosive plays through the air with Tulane accomplishing 342 passing yards.
With Tulane not known for being one of the country’s best teams in the passing game, this raised a lot of concerns as to how Kansas State would fare against a heralded Arizona air attack.
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They clearly made the adjustments they needed by bringing more pressure on Fifita and playing well in coverage. Fifita finished the day 26-for-42 passing with 268 yards and 1 interception.
2. RB Dylan Edwards continues to thrive
Edwards’ versatility is one thing that’s been very apparent this season and continued to show in Friday’s contest. He was a force on special teams in this one, returning a punt for a 71-yard touchdown. He also had a touchdown reception against the Green Wave as well as a receiving and a rushing score against UT-Martin.
“I feel like every time I touch the ball, I try to get a touchdown,” Edwards said after the game.“I knew if I used my speed I could get around those guys and circle them. Number 92 was rolling (laughs) but I circled him and it came out a touchdown.”
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Being able to function as both a traditional running back and as a force in the passing game is essential to players at the position in the modern day, and Edwards brings that to the table.
3. Arizona reaches historic low on offense
Arizona is known for what it can accomplish through the air and has been for some time now. Week 3’s game was a bit of an anomaly on that front, as the Wildcats totaled just 324 yards of offense on both fronts combined. That’s the lowest they have put together in over two years.
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In the first two games of the season, Arizona’s passing offense thrived as Fifita threw for some 422 yards against New Mexico and didn’t have quite the same level of success as Fifita passed for 173 yards. In that second game, though, Arizona running back Quali Conley made up the difference with 112 rushing yards.
Friday was also the first time Arizona has failed to reach double-digits since it was shut out by Colorado in 2021.
4. WR Tetairoa McMillan shines
The Arizona offense did not achieve the heights it typically does in this game, but that didn’t take away from the performance McMillan put on. He tied his career high in receptions with 11 catches, totaling 138 receiving yards with an average of 12.5 yards per catch as the team’s leading pass-catcher.
McMillan is expected to be a potential early draft selection if he keeps it up after he totaled 90 catches for 1,402 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2023.
Crissy Froyd covers college football for Sportsnaut.com. Follow on X @crissy_froyd