V.J. Payne’s sack of Brennan Armstrong on a two-point conversion with 1:50 remaining in the third quarter to keep Kansas State with a lead and the Wildcat offense would milk 7:24 off the fourth quarter clock before scoring one final TD to claim a 28-13 win over N.C. State at the Pop-Tarts Bowl.
K-State ran out to 21 first half points and an 11 point lead at the break before the defense had to make those points stand up in the second half at Orlando’s Camping World Stadium.
Avery Johnson found Jayce Brown from 11 yards out with 2:48 remaining and an interception by Jacob Parrish of NC State’s Brennan Armstrong on the first snap following the kickoff would start the celebration in the stands behind the Kansas State bench.
Junction City native D.J. Giddens ran for 20 yards to push the clock under 2:00 as the Wildcats wound the clock down to finish the season 9-4. Giddens ran for 152 yards on 28 carries and scored the night’s first touchdown on a 37 yard reception from Johnson.
Johnson would run for one score and add the final TD through the air in his first start at quarterback. The freshman finished 14 of 31 passing for 178 yards and added another seven carries for 71 yards in being named the game’s MVP.
N.C. State closed the season 9-4 and fell short in a bid for the school’s second ever 10 win season.
Final Stats
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