MANHATTAN, Kan. — Avery Johnson has few equals among college football quarterbacks when it comes to explosive running ability. Through two games, the Kansas State sophomore starter hadn’t had many chances to show it.

On Friday night, Arizona gave 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 felt really good to go up against another top-20 team in the country and have such a dominant win,” Johnson said. “Credit to the defense and the guys around me. It was a really fun win tonight.”

After surviving a surprise 34-27 road win over Tulane last week, Kansas State bounced back after a short week and played to the Big 12 title contender’s expectations by sweeping an Arizona team that had won nine straight games since finishing 10-3 last season.

K-State called just five designed runs for its young quarterback in the first two games, but Johnson knew more were planned for Arizona. When he saw defenders focusing on his running backs, he told them he had to make them pay. Johnson racked up 126 yards on his 14 rushing attempts (not including sacks), and the trio of Johnson and running backs DJ Giddens and Dylan Edwards combined for 237 yards on the ground with nine runs of 10 or more yards.

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

Edwards, a touted Colorado transfer, put Kansas State ahead with a 71-yard punt return touchdown to start the second quarter. Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita answered by leading a drive to K-State’s 30-yard line and then took a shot at the end zone, but cornerback Keenan Garber cut off his receiver to catch an interception.

Arizona All-America wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan tied his career high with 11 catches for 138 receiving yards, but Kansas State’s defense caught the ball the rest of the game and got three fourth-down stops in the second half.

Johnson helped his team take a lead in the second half with three consecutive scoring drives, effectively controlling the clock and finishing with a career-high 266 yards of total 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 really composed. He made some plays with his feet, made some plays with his legs and that was a fun performance to watch.”

“This guy is something else,” Arizona coach Brent Brennan said. “He’s a 10.4 100-meter guy. He’s unique.”

The sophomore’s inexperience as a starter was evident in the closing 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, taking away a field goal attempt that would have put the Wildcats up by 10 points. Afterward, his head coach took the blame for what he called a “terrible blunder.”

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

Johnson appreciated Klieman’s support but lamented the missed opportunity. As he walked off the field at Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium 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 thinks he’s starting to settle in and comfortably lead the offense.

“I really wish I could play my best football right now,” Johnson said, “but it’s just going to take some time. All coach asks of me is to get 1 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 chases its second Big 12 title in three years.

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

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

K-State’s conference opener is next week in a test game against BYU (10:30 ET, ESPN). Arizona is off before traveling to take on Utah on Sept. 28.