Picture courtesy of Kansas State Athletics

Kansas State head coach Collin Klein says that his team has “some work to do,” but the Wildcats responded to two consecutive Big 12 Conference losses by beating Kansas, 35-24, to extend the longest active winning streak by a team in a rivalry game — a streak that reached 18 wins in front of a sellout crowd at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.

Trailing 17-7 in the first quarter and leading 18-17 at halftime, K-State, 4-2 overall and 1-2 in the Big 12, kept punching before delivering a knockout with a Luis Rodiguez 34-yard field goal with 1 minute, 56 seconds left to put the game out of reach for Kansas, 2-4 and 0-3, which appeared plenty primed for a battle in the 124th edition of the Sunflower Showdown.

Klein, who has now beaten Kansas as a player, offensive coordinator and now as a head coach, put the feat into perspective.

“So proud of them to be able to have that moment together and keep that Governor’s Cup Trophy here, but to also have the perspective that this is a process, a journey, a great day of that process, but we have a lot of work to do,” Klein said. “We tried to give that game away a couple ways and shot ourselves in both feet. Because our guys wanted it enough, we were able to overcome it, but we have some work to do.”

On a day in which quarterback Avery Johnson became the school’s all-time leader in total offensive yards, the senior native of Wichita passed for 209 yards and one touchdown and added 132 yards on the ground, as the Wildcats racked up 568 total yards for the fifth-most yards ever in a Big 12 game.

Johnson tore off a 59-yard run down the middle of the field on the game’s fourth play from scrimmage before catching his foot on the turf and falling feet from the end zone. Moments later, he bounced up, smiled, and proceeded to lead an offense that saw running back Joe Jackson rush for a season-high 159 yards and one touchdown and Rodriguez hit four field goals from 22, 51, 28 and 34 yards for the second-most field goals made in a single game in school history.

The big day for K-State provided added confidence to a group of players that fought through losses at Cincinnati and against No. 22 Houston to gain some momentum.

“It means everything being from Kansas and to win at this place,” Johnson said. “We did some really good things today and there are some things we can improve on, but there’s no better feeling than being able to win the game and for the Jayhawks to be on the other end of it.”

K-State outgained Kansas, 568-319, while the Wildcats totaled 359 rushing yards — second most by K-State in series history — and averaged 7.0 yards per carry against a Kansas defense that entered giving up fewer than 140 rushing yards per contest.

The Wildcats rushed 51 times and passed 24 times and busted off seven plays of 20-plus yards, including runs of 64, 59, 39 and 23 yards, and pass completions of 45, 29 and 25 yards.

“We knew we had to make a statement and dominate the line of scrimmage and run the ball,” Jackson said. “We stuck together and it worked. The sky’s the limit. It opens up everything and gives us the confidence we need.”

K-State faced adversity early when Bryson Hayes scored on a 95-yard kickoff return, marking the first time K-State had allowed a kickoff-return touchdown since 2013 and snapping the nation’s longest streak of 168 games without allowing such a score.

Less than two minutes into the game, both teams had scored, and it was game on.

“Can’t have the kick return,” Klein said. “That’s something that’s normally the ace in our pockets, and we have to make sure we get that tightened up so we’re on the right end of those special teams difference-maker plays. I’m very proud of the competitive maturity in a physical ballgame, but there’s a lot to still clean-up to reach our potential.”

The game assuredly remained competitive. After Kansas went on top 24-18 in the third quarter, K-State went 65 yards on nine plays to regain the edge. Facing third-and-8, Johnson hit wide receiver Jaron Tibbs down the middle for 11 yards to the Kansas 8-yard line. Jackson rumbled up the middle and into the end zone to tie the score. The extra-point gave K-State a 25-24 lead.

After K-State fell short on fourth-and-inches at the goal line and Kansas journeyed to the K-State 17-yard line, momentum clearly sided with the Jayhawks, who were guided by quarterback Isaiah Marshall and his 151 passing yards and one touchdown and one interception and 117 rushing yards.

However, on first-and-10 at the 17, Marshall threw a ball in the middle of the end zone to wide receiver Nahzae Cox on a post route, but K-State safety Logan Bartley made one of the biggest plays of the season for the Wildcats when he stepped in front and caught the pass and returned it to the 16-yard line.

Klein called it “the difference in the ballgame.”

It marked the first interception of the season for K-State, which entered as the only FBS team without an interception this season.

“I caught it and was looking around, and thought, ‘I got to run it,'” Bartley said. “I was just in the post and I was lurking, and saw (Cox) step up, and he was staring at it, and it was coming right at me. I had to catch it.”

the K-State offense went to work, as Jackson took the ball to the right side and raced 64 yards to the Kansas 20. On second-and-goal at the 9-yard line, Johnson found Tibbs on a crossing route left-to-right and Tibbs needed just a few steps to reach the end zone for a 32-24 lead with 8:28 left in the fourth quarter.

All that was left was the 34-yard field goal by Rodriguez for K-State to extend the longest active winning streak in a major college football rivalry game.

“Every kick is an important kick, and I always keep that in mind,” said Rodriguez, who is 10-of-10 on field goals this season, third best in the nation. “Every kick can affect the game somehow.”

The game meant plenty to Klein, who afterward applauded the K-State Nation for its support.

“I’m so proud of them and the effort and focus they had this week in knowing how big of a game this was to our program and our players and K-Staters everywhere. I want to say thank you to our fans. That environment today was unbelievable, and our students were absolutely amazing.”

K-State proved to be amazing, too.

For an 18th-straight time against their in-state rival.