Under a sweltering 98-degree evening sky, 51,719 fans packed into Bill Snyder Family Stadium on Saturday night for K-State’s season opener against Nicholls State. However, by the end of the night, the heat was hardly the most overwhelming thing inside the stadium. The Wildcats unleashed a 71-3 avalanche on the Colonels, turning Collin Klein’s head coaching debut into a record-setting celebration.
The night began with a familiar soundtrack and familiar faces. “Crazy Train” blared through the speakers as Willie the Wildcat starred in a video skit reviving classic Snyder-era traditions from when Klein played for the purple and white. The family tradition continued as retired head coach Chris Klieman opened the locker room doors and sent the Wildcats charging onto the field. Klieman was later honored on the turf during the first quarter.
Still, the spotlight ultimately belonged to Klein, who officially took over the K-State sideline for the first time and watched his team deliver one of the most dominant season-opening performances in program history.
“Really good night, I was proud of our players,” Klein said. “Incredible atmosphere, thought our fans did an unbelievable job, as always. … My message to those guys before the game was: we have to play with maximum effort, maximum focus, every single snap.”
By the time the final whistle blew, K-State systematically dismantled Nicholls 71-3 from every corner of the field, setting the program record for the largest margin of victory in a season opener. The 68-point win matched scores the 1998 and 2000 teams set — the only other squads in modern school history to reach the 70-point mark, both of which reached 11 wins and climbed as high as No. 1 or No. 2 in the national rankings.
The scoring explosion was so continuous that stadium operations nearly ran out of fireworks by the fourth quarter. At the same time, Willie the Wildcat kept busy doing a staggering 394 total pushups across the night.
Quarterback Avery Johnson led the charge early. On K-State’s opening possession, Johnson threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Jaron Tibbs, breaking the school record for all-time career passing touchdowns with his 49th scoring throw. Johnson finished 15-of-21 for 199 yards and three touchdowns through the air, connecting with Tibbs, Joe Jackson and Josh Manning to extend his career total to 51, along with a 10-yard rushing score of his own.
“It’s a great feeling,” Johnson said. “Definitely need to keep building here and continue to try to make the record untouchable.”
The Wildcats’ offense racked up 559 total yards, with 10 different scoring drives and nine different players finding the end zone.
Junior running back Rodney Fields Jr. led the backfield in his first start, tallying 101 yards on 14 carries and a 26-yard touchdown run.
“It felt amazing going out there,” Fields said. “First game as a Wildcat. I feel like I performed very well, and us as a team, we performed very well. We just have to get better next week and transfer that.”
Running backs Jackson, Jay Harris and Monterrio Elston Jr. also found the end zone on the ground, while Brandon White ignited the crowd with a 65-yard punt return touchdown in the first quarter.
Defensively, K-State completely stifled the Colonels, limiting them to 122 total yards of offense — including 92 rushing yards and just 30 yards passing on 7-of-19 attempts — and nine first downs. Gabe Powers kicked off the night with a tackle for loss on Nicholls’ opening drive, and Darien Whitaker later forced a third-quarter sack-fumble that K-State recovered.
Nicholls didn’t manage a first down until midway through the second quarter. The Colonels strung together three consecutive first downs on that drive, leading to their sole score of the night on a 32-yard field goal by Kingston Phan.
Backup quarterbacks Blake Barnett and Jacob Knuth directed the second-half drives, with Knuth rushing for an 18-yard gain before capping off the scoring with a 2-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
“Tonight I think it was just really good to get up early and see younger guys and guys who haven’t had as much opportunity,” Johnson said. “I know CK is really happy, but I know CK … and I know he’s going to go back to the drawing board and say, ‘Hey, this was a great victory, but how can we get better?’”
K-State stays at home for Week 2, hosting Washington State at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 12.
