In future seasons, Arizona vs. Kansas State could be an exciting intra-conference matchup. This year and next, however, it will be an out-of-conference matchup since the home-and-away series was scheduled before Arizona joined the Big 12.

No. 14 K-State gave the Wildcats a nice “Welcome to the Big 12” moment on the road with a 31-7 win at Bill Snyder Family Stadium on Friday night. Quarterback Avery Johnson threw for 156 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another 110 yards. The Wildcats on the home side ran for a total of 234 yards, including 86 yards and a TD by DJ Giddens.

The loss ended Arizona’s nine-game winning streak (No. 20), the longest active winning streak in the FBS. That streak began with last October’s 44-6 win over Washington State (then a Pac-12 conference game) and included a 38-24 win over Oklahoma in the Alamo Bowl.

Turning point in the second quarter

The game came down to two possessions early in the second quarter. After K-State’s defense forced a three-and-out, Dylan Edwards ran down the field from the right side and rounded the corner on the left sideline, racing past four Arizona defenders and scoring a 71-yard punt return touchdown to give K-State a 14-7 lead.

On the next possession, the Wildcats moved to the KSU 30-yard line, thanks in large part to two catches by world-class receiver Tetairoa McMillan for 49 yards. Quarterback Noah Fifita looked McMillan’s way a third time and seemingly had him free in the end zone. But cornerback Keenan Garber pounced on the pass and intercepted it.

Kansas State had a chance to score a field goal at the end of the first half. But with nine seconds left, Johnson seemingly lost track of time. He desperately tried to keep the game alive and eventually ran for a 5-yard gain. He got out of bounds, but time had expired.

Nevertheless, KSU should not have had a chance to attempt a field goal anyway. As Fox rules analyst Mike Pereira emphasized on the show, the home Wildcats should have been given a penalty for a false start.

The home Wildcats pulled ahead by 14 points in the third quarter. Johnson passed 9 yards to Brayden Loftin and Giddens scored a 1 yard touchdown. Will Swanson scored the first touchdown for K-State with a 3 yard pass.

For Arizona, McMillan showed a national television audience on Fox that he could be perhaps the best pass catcher in the country and a likely first-round pick in next year’s NFL Draft, catching 11 passes for 138 yards. Montana Lemonious-Craig had six catches for 75 yards. Fifita threw for 268 yards with one interception and completed 26 of 42 passes. Quali Conley ran for 48 yards and scored Arizona’s only touchdown on the game’s opening drive.

Kansas State next travels to BYU for a Big 12 Conference matchup on Sept. 21. Arizona has an off week before a road game at No. 12 Utah on Sept. 28.