The Cats’ offense got rolling as Johnson had just hit wide receiver Jace Brown for a 33-yard gain when he abruptly left with the lead. Johnson was having an efficient night up to this point, going 8/10 for 84 yards.

At that point, the Wildcats led Colorado 14-7 when Ta’quan Roberson took over under center. Roberson, who spent time at Penn State and UConn, just seven plays at quarterback on the same drive before Johnson returned.

On a 4th-and-1 inside the five-yard line with eight minutes left, Johnson handed the game to DJ Giddens, who bulldozed his way forward and scored a first down at the two-yard line. Two plays later, Johnson found Jace Brown in the left flat for a touchdown and the Cats took a 20-7 lead over Colorado.

Here’s a video of the injury that caused Johnson to temporarily leave the game.

Who is Ta’quan Roberson?

Roberson is an experienced backup quarterback who has bounced around college football in recent seasons. The senior from Orange, New Jersey, has played in 18 career games with 11 appearances over five seasons with Penn State and UConn. Roberson won the starting quarterback job at UConn in 2022 before suffering a season-ending injury in the first game, while he started the final 10 games at center in 2023.

Last year, he played in 11 games with 10 starts, throwing for 2,075 yards and 12 touchdowns on 197-of-338 (58.3%). He also rushed for 120 yards and two touchdowns on 46 carries.

Kansas State is 4-1 this season and 1-1 in the Big 12 Conference heading into the Colorado game.