Kansas State University

On a sweltering morning in late August, he sat in his office at the Vanier Family Football Complex: Kansas State’s first-year offensive coordinator Conor Riley said he has a plan for the Wildcats’ first offense of the 2024 football season.


“We get our first first down,” Riley said. “You can’t get too far ahead of yourself.”


Previously Riley, who served under K-State’s head coach Chris Klieman In the six years they’ve been in Manhattan – Riley is also an offensive line coach – the Wildcats’ offense has been right on schedule, one game at a time – and on pace to set the school’s record books on fire.


For starters, K-State has scored at least 28 points in 12 of its last 13 games, its most over a 13-game stretch since it also did so 12 times in the 2013 and 2014 seasons.


The sophomore quarterback is used expertly Avery Johnson and leading with a 1.90 meter tall, 100 kilogram junior running back DJ Giddens – He ranks seventh in the FBS with an average of 120.80 rushing yards per game – The Wildcats are putting up incredibly efficient numbers behind one of the best rushing offenses in the country and a top-tier, revamped offensive line that focuses on opening holes and has specialized in getting the Wildcats exactly where they want to be, which is usually the end zone.


Consider that K-State averages 432.4 yards per game. That’s fourth in K-State history behind 2003 (441.0), 2023 (445.2) and 1998 (478.4).


K-State also averages 6.91 yards per play. That’s the first in K-State history and precedes the dominant 1998 offense (6.47), which is widely considered the best overall offense of all time in Manhattan.


“The offense could be very strong because there are some great players and great leaders on this team,” Riley predicted over the summer. “There is a lot of skill. What we could be and what we will be could potentially be two different things, so it comes down to the work we put into it. The roles that guys can ultimately play at their position and ultimately how well they can execute depends on how well we can execute, and when we can do that, this offense can be extremely impactful.

 

While Giddens’ season and career exploits rightly drew attention, No. 18 K-State, 4-1 overall and 1-1 in the Big 12 Conference, was preparing for a 4-1 game against Colorado and 2-0, kicking off at 9:25 p.m. Saturday in Boulder, Colo., attention should also be spread across the entire offense, which will also help get the move going.

Currently, Giddens has 2,348 career rushing yards to rank ninth in school history. He needs 138 rushing yards to pass Collin Klein for eighth place and 471 to pass Ell Roberson for fifth place. Giddens is on pace to reach 3,193 career rushing yards, which would put him third all-time in K-State history, behind only Deuce Vaughn (3,604) and Darren Sproles (4,979).

Klieman left no doubt about the Wildcats’ identity this season in his weekly press conference this week.

“Our identity is 31 right now, and as he leaves, everything else opens up,” Klieman said. “That’s why Avery was more successful throwing the football because we were able to accelerate the football. It opens up everything when you can let the football run.”

Johnson was the best dual-threat quarterback in the Class of 2023 and during his second season at K-State, he is currently one of only three Power 4 signal callers and the only Big 12 player with at least 800 rushing yards and 300 passing yards.

He finished his career with three touchdowns and two more touchdowns in a 42-20 victory over then-No. 1-20 Oklahoma State on September 28, earning several national weekly awards for his efforts.

“We want to continue to run the ball effectively as the season progresses,” said Johnson, who along with Giddens averages 7.3 yards per carry. “A lot of times people get lost in what DJ is Dylan Edwards do by opening up holes for me to run to be effective in the running game as well. We have to continue to be able to throw the ball because the best thing we did against Okie State was throw the ball to open up the lanes. It helps DJ and the offense when we can throw the ball efficiently, keep the defense on its toes and exploit their weaknesses in both ways.”

Currently, K-State ranks seventh in the FBS with 252.20 rushing yards per game – a stat that ranks second in the Big 12 (UCF average of 282.40). But here’s a particularly eye-opening number: K-State ranks second nationally with an average of 6.93 yards per rushing attempt – a number trailing only Boise State at 8.18.

K-State’s average rushing yards per game and average rushing yards per attempt in 2024 make this group one of the best in school history. The K-State school record for rushing yards per game is 264.1 yards set in 2002 and the record for average yards per rush of 5.27 was set in 2016. Amazingly, these Wildcats are currently running the ball on average more than a full yard better than any other team in school history.

That’s partly because K-State has 43 runs of at least 10 yards, ranking fifth in the country, and its eight rushing plays of over 30 yards also rank fourth nationally.

The Wildcats are getting those desired results behind an offensive line that lost four key starters last season (Cooper Beebe, Hayden Gillum, KT Leveston And Christian Duffy), yet Riley developed depth at all offensive line positions, allowing for a smooth transition. The 2024 offensive line has 98 career starts and 6,669 career offensive snaps. The leaders of these departments stand on the left side in a duel Easton Kilty (42 starts, 2,607 snaps) and senior guard Hadley Panzer (31 starts, 2,027 snaps).

“Our offensive line and our tight ends are doing a really good job,” Klieman said. “They’re an older group, but together they’re a new group, and it took a while for these guys to come together. Say it’s one person, you can never do that. It’s a collective group of people gaining some confidence.

“We have to continue to stay balanced in our offense. The only way to be balanced is to do the first thing, which is to speed up the football.”

And when K-State is pushing the football, the Wildcats are usually in a rush.

K-State ran 80 times for 604 yards on first down plays. His rushing average of 7.55 yards per rush on first down ranks second in the FBS behind Boise State’s 8.83.

“That’s an interesting statistic,” Panzer said. “We try not to look too much at the stats, but that makes us proud and we’re proud that we play the best game when we run the ball, and then we do. “We have to make it happen . We can be proud of that, but we can always do better.

“Instead of 7.55 yards per rush on first down, we’re trying to get that to 8 yards per rush on first down. There can be no complacency. We want to strive to be better and great.”

Colorado is ranked 80th^Th in rushing defense, allowing 156.0 rushing yards per game. The Buffaloes gave up 24 runs of 10 yards and seven runs of 20 yards. They pulled off a Herculean effort in a 48-21 win over UCF, holding the Knights to 177 rushing yards – 198.7 yards below their season rushing average.

There is a sense of pride that K-State brings when carrying the football. They hope to see it in an important game at Folsom Field on Saturday.

“If you throw the ball 200 yards, it’s going to win you some games,” Panzer said. “I tell the running backs all the time when they’re getting wrapped up to just keep their feet moving because the guys are coming to push the pile.”

With great effort from Riley, deft command from Johnson and all-around running from one of the best defenders in the country, the Wildcats continue to deliver impressive performances and ensure wins. It is an identity that the program has carried proudly for many years.

It’s an identity that could face its toughest test yet in Boulder in 2024.