Giddens fuels KSU’s vaunted attack on WVU | News, sports, jobs

West Virginia head coach Neal Brown complains after a holding call in the end zone during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Iowa State, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, in Morgantown, West Virginia (AP Photo/William Wotring). )

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) – Kansas State’s Avery Johnson felt a few months ago that running back DJ Giddens was regularly wearing down opponents.

Giddens proved his quarterback right. The junior has recorded at least 182 rushing yards in two straight games and ranks fourth nationally with 786 yards.

A year ago, Giddens rushed for 1,226 yards and scored 10 touchdowns but earned only Honorable Mention honors on the All-Big 12 team behind a bevy of solid running backs. Giddens averaged 83 yards in nine games and then finished with four straight 100-yard attempts, posting the third-best sophomore season in school history behind Darren Sproles and Deuce Vaughn.

Giddens hasn’t slowed down in 2024 and finds himself in a race with Arizona State’s Cam Skattebo, Texas Tech’s Tahj Brooks and UCF’s RJ Harvey for the Big 12 rushing title.

“I tried to warn everyone before the season started. I told you he was a different animal. Johnson said. “He does it week in and week out. The guy is special, man.”

FILE – Kansas State running back DJ Giddens passes the ball during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Oklahoma State, Sept. 28, 2024, in Manhattan, Kansas. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

Thanks to Giddens, No. 17 Kansas State (5-1, 2-1 Big 12) sits eighth in the Bowl Subdivision with 241 rushing yards per game, an average of 6.4 yards per carry. The Wildcats can secure their best start to the season in 10 years with a road win Saturday night against West Virginia.

The Mountaineers (3-3, 2-1) have lost twice at home this season and have lost eight straight against ranked opponents, including three such meetings this season.

Dual threat QBs

Johnson and the Mountaineers’ Garrett Greene are two of the Big 12’s top dual-threat quarterbacks who will have the opportunity to throw the ball against some vulnerable secondaries this week.

Greene is first among quarterbacks in the league with 382 rushing yards, but he doesn’t hesitate to throw the ball downfield. Kansas State is holding opponents to a league-low 72 yards on the ground per game and allowing an average of 268 passing yards, second-worst in the league.

Kansas State coach Chris Klieman has been impressed with Greene since his first career start against the Wildcats in 2022, when he had three TD passes and scored the fourth score in a 48-31 loss.

“Greene is one of my favorite kids to watch play. He’s a competitor,” Klieman said. “You can tell his energy cheers their team on.”

Johnson had two TD passes and a scoring run against Colorado last week and will face a West Virginia defense that allowed 12 TD passes, the most in the Big 12.

Oh bargain

West Virginia coach Neal Brown said he believes center Brandon Yates has healed from a hand injury that caused problems snapping the ball last week against Iowa State. Brown said the injury contributed to 11 high snaps, many of which resulted in timing issues on handoffs and running backs being tackled behind the line of scrimmage.

Brown said Yates did it “I need to get it fixed, and we think he can do it.”

Don’t sleep on Jayce Brown

Somewhat lost in the spotlight on two run-first teams is the pass catching of Kansas State’s Jayce Brown. He had six receptions for 121 yards and two scores against Colorado, including a 50-yard TD catch with 2:14 left, giving the Wildcats a 31-28 victory.

“I feel like I’ve dreamed of this since I started playing football” Brown said. “I feel like I’m ready for the moment.”

Brown leads the Wildcats with 23 catches for 398 yards. Klieman said he was impressed with the sophomore’s performance “Confidence he played with and how fast he played.”

Ty French’s toddler

Linebacker Ty French transferred to West Virginia this season after compiling a school record 34.5 sacks in three seasons at FCS Gardner-Webb. He’s still working on getting his starting spot for the Mountaineers.

While he’s still adjusting to the larger size and better techniques of opposing offensive linemen, French’s biggest challenge may be keeping up with his daughter, who turned 1 in April.

“She gets involved in everything.” French said.