Kansas State’s first month under Collin Klein has gone about as well as the Wildcats could have hoped, and Saturday’s 31-20 win over Tulane finished off a perfect non-conference run.
At Bill Snyder Family Stadium, Kansas State moved to 3-0 by beating a Green Wave team that reached the College Football Playoff a year ago. Tulane dropped to 1-2.
Avery Johnson was the engine for K-State all afternoon. The quarterback piled up 228 passing yards and added 152 rushing yards with two touchdowns on the ground. His final score, a 12-yard run early in the fourth quarter, gave the Wildcats the cushion they needed to put the game away.
Tulane struck first and became the first team to score an offensive touchdown against Kansas State this season. Kadin Semonza opened the scoring with a nine-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, putting the Green Wave ahead 7-0.
Kansas State answered with 17 straight points. Jay Harris and Johnson each finished drives with touchdown runs as the Wildcats seized control.
The Green Wave kept it close into halftime, though, thanks to Cooper Helmke’s 58-yard field goal just before the break.
The win closed out an unbeaten non-conference slate for Kansas State, which also handled Nicholls and Washington State. Big 12 play begins next week on the road against Cincinnati.
The Wildcats were picked to finish eighth in the league by the Big 12 media, but this start has already started to change some opinions.
That’s especially notable for Klein, who is in his first season as a head coach. After two years as offensive coordinator at Texas A&M, he took over for Chris Klieman, who resigned after last season’s 6-6 finish.
Many around the league believe Kansas State’s schedule could keep it in the mix for the Big 12 title game or even the College Football Playoff. For Klein, that would be the ideal outcome in his first year on the job.
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Kansas State Win Revealed More Than Fans Will Like Before Big 12 Play
Kansas State closed non-conference play with a 31-20 win over Tulane, moving to 3-0 and giving the Wildcats a clean runway into Big 12 action. Avery Johnson was the headliner, piling up a career-high 152 rushing yards and two touchdowns, while the defense again showed it can lean on depth up front to keep the team in games.
Still, the win also offered a few reminders of what will matter once the league schedule starts. The offensive line had stretches that looked vulnerable, and the Wildcats had to finish without safety Logan Bartley after he left early because of injury, while defensive lineman Jordan Allen did not play. The record looks good, but the next phase will tell Kansas State a lot more about how complete this team really is. [Read more 🡒]
Collin Klein Sounds Off On One Kansas State Problem After Win
Collin Klein came away from Kansas States 31-20 win over Tulane with plenty to like, and he made sure to credit the back-and-forth nature of the game. He praised both teams for the adjustments they made as the night wore on, pointed to the defenses ability to bend without breaking on long Tulane drives, and noted that the offense found a better rhythm with Avery helping steady things.
Even with the victory in hand, Klein kept coming back to the same issue: the penalties. He said the Wildcats have to be more disciplined moving forward, even after a game in which special teams also did its part by limiting Tulanes return game. For Kansas State, it was the kind of win that showed progress in a few areas while leaving at least one familiar problem sitting in plain view. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas State May Have Found The Linebacker It Needed Most
Kansas State has been searching for answers in the middle of its defense since Austin Romaine transferred to Texas Tech, and Gabe Powers is beginning to look like a player who can help steady that spot. The fifth-year senior, who arrived from Ohio State, has already started to settle in with the Wildcats and showed his value in a recent victory against Washington State, where he finished with four tackles.
Powers is expected to keep playing a major role as the schedule moves forward, and that matters for a defense still adjusting to life without Romaine. The fit has been encouraging enough that Kansas State may have found a linebacker who can give it the kind of reliability it needed most, even if the full picture is still coming into focus. [Read more 🡒]