No. 17 K-State tests road form against a Tulane team seeking CFP credibility
Kansas State quarterback Avery Johnson, right, hands off to running back DJ Giddens (31) during practice before an NCAA college football game against UT Martin Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024, in Manhattan, Kan. Credit: AP/Charlie Riedel
NEW ORLEANS — Kansas State's last trip to New Orleans didn't go so well.
Neither did the Wildcats' last game against Tulane.
On Saturday, No. 17 K-State (1-0) gets a chance to make better memories on both fronts.
The Wildcats will be back in the Big Easy, where they lost 45-20 in the Sugar Bowl to Alabama two seasons ago. And they'll be visiting Tulane (1-0), which upset the Wildcats in Manhattan, Kansas, earlier in that same 2022 campaign.
It's a ready-made revenge game — not that Kansas State coach Chris Klieman necessarily wants the Wildcats buying into that.
Wildcats who've been with the program for two or more years "probably remember the loss, but you can’t think of it as revenge,” Klieman said. “It’s important for this group to go on the road because we’re going to have to win some games on the road to have a successful season.”
Tulane could provide K-State a solid first road test.
Tulane running back Makhi Hughes (21) carries past UTSA linebackers Martavius French (10) and Avery Morris on a 58-yard run in the first half of an NCAA college football game in New Orleans, Friday, Nov. 24, 2023. Credit: AP/Gerald Herbert
The Green Wave has won 24 of the 29 games it has played since the start of the 2022 season, highlighted by a victory over Southern California in the Cotton Bowl at the end of the '22 season. Tulane also has hosted consecutive American Athletic Conference title games and is now looking to be taken seriously as a candidate for the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff.
Last week, the Green Wave rolled to a 52-0 victory over Southeastern Louisiana of the second-tier Football Championship Subdivision in the program's first game under new coach Jon Sumrall.
Sumrall was pleased with the victory, but wasn't about to gloss over issues he saw as an impediment to beating a power conference team.
“The next few weeks are going to be a rude awakening,” Sumrall said, referring to both Saturday's game and the following week's trip to No. 15 Oklahoma. "The upcoming gauntlet of games we’ve got, the way we played will get you losses. We’ve got to get some stuff cleaned up fast.
Kansas State quarterback Avery Johnson (2) runs during the first half of an NCAA college football game against UT Martin Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024, in Manhattan, Kan. Credit: AP/Charlie Riedel
“We’re getting ready to play a really good opponent — a top-20 team — and we’re not a top-20 team,” Sumrall added. “We didn’t play like one last week. If we play like we did (against Southeastern), we will get destroyed.”
QB inexperience
Both teams have first-year starters, although Kansas State sophomore Avery Johnson has taken many more college snaps.
Johnson appeared in eight games last season with two starts — the second in a Pop Tarts Bowl MVP victory over North Carolina State, after which the freshman QB was named game MVP.
“He’s really gifted athletically,” Sumrall said. “I’ve heard he’s the fastest guy on the team, and when you see him go, it wouldn’t surprise me.”
Tulane surprisingly named freshman Darian Mensah the starter over Oregon transfer Ty Thompson and 2023 backup Kai Horton.
Mensah was 10 of 12 passing for 205 yards and two TDs last week, connecting four times for 124 yards with USC transfer receiver Mario Williams. Mensah didn't play the whole game, and not just because the score was lopsided. Sumrall went into the game saying he intends to play more than one QB. Thompson, a strong runner, could become a change-of-pace option for Tulane's offense throughout the season.
Ground and pound
Kansas State running back DJ Giddens has given the Wildcats a productive ground game.
After rushing for 1,226 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2023, he opened this season by gaining 124 yards on 13 carries in a season-opening, 41-6 victory over UT-Martin last week.
He has rushed for 100 or more yards in five straight games.
Meanwhile, Tulane has welcomed back 2023 leading rusher Makhi Hughes. His 59 yards and a touchdown in Week 1 led a Green Wave ground game that accounted for 241 yards and four TDs.
History in the making
Before Tulane visited Kansas State in 2022, the two programs had met just once. That was back in 1988, when the Wildcats traveled to New Orleans to play Tulane in the Superdome, which the Green Wave used as its home stadium at that time.
Tulane won that game, 20-16, and is now 2-0 in the series.
But while K-State is seeking its first victory against Tulane, the Green Wave also is seeking a first of sorts. Since Yulman Stadium opened in 2014, Tulane has not won a game there against a guest that was in a power conference at the time of their visit.
The Wave is 0-4 in such games, falling to Georgia Tech (2014), Duke (2015), Wake Forest (2018) and Mississippi (2023).
