Kansas State didn’t just open the Collin Klein era with a win. It opened it with a scoreboard number that instantly jumps off the page.
The Wildcats ripped past Nicholls 71-3 at Bill Snyder Family Stadium, and the final total carried a little extra weight because K-State had not reached 70 points in a game since 2000. For a program that has only done it three times in school history, the outburst landed like a flashing sign that this debut was about more than one lopsided September result.
The stat sheet looked every bit like a runaway. Nine different K-State players scored a touchdown.
Eight different Wildcats caught a pass. Seven different players averaged at least 5.8 yards per carry.
Three players completed a pass. One returned a punt for a score.
Another added points on a two-point conversion.
Senior quarterback Avery Johnson couldn’t help but smile at the chaos afterward.
“That is about as good as you could draw up a first game,” he said.
The only other K-State teams to top 70 were elite groups. In 1998, the Wildcats beat Northern Illinois 73-7 behind Michael Bishop and went on to start 11-0, reach No. 1 in the top-25 coaches poll, and finish with a painful loss to Texas A&M in the Big 12 championship game. Two years later, K-State blasted Ball State 76-0, won 11 games, finished in the top 10 and rolled through the Cotton Bowl.
It’s way too early to place this team in that company. Still, the number itself gave the Wildcats a jolt of confidence.
“Everybody is fired up,” safety Koy Beasley said. “I mean, when you beat a team by 68 you’re going to be happy. It’s all great vibes right now.”
Brandon White had his own memorable piece of the opener. The wide receiver caught two passes for 20 yards and took a punt 65 yards to the end zone.
“I have never seen anything like that,” White said. “I have never been a part of anything like that. I feel like the sky is the limit.”
Klein said he wasn’t setting out to put 71 on Nicholls, and he brushed off the number when asked about it. But he made it clear he liked the way his team went about its business on a hot, steamy night in Manhattan.
“My message to those guys,” Klein said, “before the game was, we have to play with maximum effort, maximum focus every single snap, regardless of if things are going good or things are going bad. That’s what we’ve been trying to do since January, long before the season started.
I was really proud of the mentality. I felt that focus level through the course of this week was where it needed to be.
I thought they were dialed in.”
Johnson took that message and ran with it. He completed 15 of 21 passes for 199 yards and three touchdowns, added four carries for 23 yards and another score, and led the offense so efficiently that he was pulled midway through the third quarter for Blake Barnett and Jacob Knuth.
He said the Wildcats wanted to make a statement.
“We came in with a mindset that we just wanted to dominate,” Johnson said. “We have to have that killer mindset, no matter what the score is or who we’re playing.
We have to just get better internally, each and every player. I think we had that tonight.”
Nicholls was only the first test. Washington State and Tulane are still ahead before Big 12 play begins, and those games should reveal a lot more about where K-State stands.
For now, though, one thing is already clear: the Wildcats intend to keep the throttle down.
“Our mindset as players is,” Johnson said, “we’re going to put our foot on the gas until (Klein) tells us to let up.”
In Other News...
Kansas State's Offensive Eruption Put Willie Wildcat Through Something Absurd
Kansas States offense gave Willie Wildcat plenty of work at Bill Snyder Family Stadium, where the mascots post-score routine turned into a full-blown endurance test. After every touchdown and kick, Willie dropped into another push-up, keeping up with a Wildcats attack that rolled past Nicholls and piled up points at a pace that is not exactly routine in Manhattan.
By the end of the blowout, the total had climbed to 71 push-ups, a number that matched the scoreboard and made for a viral social media moment as Willie labored through the last few reps. The tradition is simple enough when the scoring is steady, but on a night like this, Kansas States rare offensive eruption left its mascot paying the price in a way the internet was happy to watch. [Read more 🡒]
Former Kansas State Players Are Already Testing Fans Patience
The first weekend of the 2026 college football season also served as a reminder of how many former Kansas State players are already making noise in new places. Dylan Edwards opened his Kansas career with a splash, Austin Romaine was part of Texas Techs early action, and a few other Wildcats found themselves in meaningful roles at Indiana and Baylor as their new seasons got underway.
For Kansas State fans, it was the kind of mixed-bag update that keeps the out-of-state tracker busy before September even settles in. Some of those former Wildcats put together eye-catching Week 1 stat lines and contributions, while others were simply part of the rotation as new programs sorted out their early identities, leaving plenty for Kansas State supporters to monitor as the season moves forward. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas State Just Got The First Real Sign Of The Collin Klein Era
Kansas State opened the Collin Klein era with a performance that felt bigger than a season opener at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. The Wildcats were sharp on offense, defense and special teams in a 71-3 rout of Nicholls, with quarterback Avery Johnson turning in a solid debut and the entire operation looking far more synchronized than teams usually are in Week 1.
It was also the sort of game that tells a fan base something about the direction of the program, even if one afternoon only says so much. The balance was there, the pace was there and the scoring output reached a level Kansas State had not hit in a long time, with Rodney Fields earning game MVP honors after making his mark in the backfield. [Read more 🡒]