MANHATTAN, Kansas — When it comes to explosive running ability, Avery Johnson has few peers among college football quarterbacks. Through two games, Kansas State’s sophomore starter hasn’t had many chances to showcase those skills.

On Friday night, Arizona left him no choice.

Johnson delivered his first career 100-yard rushing performance in his fourth start, throwing for 156 yards with two touchdowns and no turnovers, leading No. 14 Kansas State to a 31-7 victory over No. 20 Arizona.

“It was a great feeling to be able to go up against another top 20 team in the country and come away with a dominant win like that,” Johnson said. “Kudos to the defense and the guys around me. It was a really nice win tonight.”

After surviving a surprise 34-27 road victory at Tulane last week, Kansas State rebounded from a short week and lived up to expectations as a Big 12 title contender by overwhelming an Arizona team that had won nine straight games since last season’s 10-3 finish.

K-State has only scheduled five runs for its young QB in the first two games, but Johnson knew Arizona had more planned. When he saw defenders focusing on his running backs, he said, he had to make them pay. Johnson picked up 126 rushing yards (not including sacks) on his 14 rushing attempts, and the trio of Johnson and running backs DJ Giddens and Dylan Edwards combined for 237 rushing yards, including nine runs of 10 or more yards.

“I never really know how teams are going to play against us,” Johnson said. “It’s like picking your poison.”

Edwards, a highly touted transfer from Colorado, gave Kansas State the lead early in the second quarter with a 71-yard punt return touchdown. Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita responded by leading a drive to K-State’s 30-yard line and then attempting a rush into the end zone, but cornerback Keenan Garber cut off his receiver and intercepted a pass.

Tetairoa McMillan, Arizona’s preseason All-America wide receiver nominee, set a career high with 11 catches and 138 receiving yards, but Kansas State’s defense managed a shutout for the rest of the game, making three fourth-down stops in the second half.

Johnson helped his team pull away with three consecutive drives in the second half, effectively controlling the clock and setting a career-high with 266 total yards of offense.

“Our quarterback is a pretty good player,” Kansas State coach Chris Klieman said. “He stepped up tonight when we needed him and played some really good football and was very calm. He made some plays with his feet and some plays with his legs and it was fun to watch.”

“This guy is special,” said Arizona coach Brent Brennan. “He runs 10.4 seconds in the 100 meters. He’s one of a kind.”

The sophomore’s inexperience as a starter was evident in the final moments of the first half, when a long scramble consumed the final 10 seconds of the second quarter and ended with Johnson running out of bounds as time expired, thwarting a field goal attempt that could have given the Wildcats a 10-point lead. Afterward, his head coach took the blame for what he called a “terrible faux pas.”

“It’s all on me,” Klieman said. “I have to be better in that situation and I should have just taken a time off. That’s not on the kid. That’s 100 percent on me and I told him that.”

Johnson was grateful for Klieman’s support, but still regretted the missed opportunity. As he left the field at Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium and headed to the locker room, strength coach Trumain Carroll reminded him that this team thrives on his energy. Johnson responded with a strong second half. He said he believes he is starting to get comfortable with running the offense with confidence.

“I really wish I could play my best football game right now,” Johnson said, “but that will take some time. Coach just asks me to get one percent better every week.”

Klieman believes his 3-0 Wildcats have shown they can be a complete team and are on the right track with their weekly improvement as the program seeks its second Big 12 title in three years.

“I don’t know what we want to prove to everyone else,” Klieman said. “We have to prove to ourselves that we can keep this up and continue to play at a high level.”

For Kansas State, the win doesn’t count toward Big 12 standings because this showdown was technically a non-conference game. The two programs had agreed to this home-and-away series back in 2016 and agreed to keep it in the schedule rather than cancel it after Arizona agreed to join the Big 12 starting in 2024.

K-State’s conference opener is next week in a late-night road game against BYU (10:30 ET, ESPN). Arizona has no action before traveling to Utah on Sept. 28.