Kansas State Football: Chris Klieman era off to great start
Kansas State football played its first game in the Chris Klieman era on Saturday and absolutely dominated the Nicholls State Colonels.
The Kansas State Wildcats kicked off the Chris Klieman era in Manhattan and fans weren’t sure what to expect in the first game of Klieman’s tenure. The end result was a very good one, as the Wildcats kicked the Colonels to the curb with a 49-14 victory.
Yes, this was against a non-Power 5 school, so this doesn’t mean K-State is going to put on this kind of show every weekend. Fans do have every right to be excited, however, as this one was never in doubt. All K-State can do is play the team on their schedule each week and they excelled in that task.
Nicholls State might not be a Power-5 school, but they defeated in-state rival Kansas last year IN Lawrence in overtime. Kansas State also was taken down to the wire by South Dakota in week one last year, so the fact that they went out and executed was a beautiful sight.
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The run game had a tremendous game, with the K-State offense compiling over 361 yards on the night. Out of those 361 yards, graduate transfer James Gilbert accounted for 115 yards and found the end zone once. He needs to be a threat on offense this year and he showed what he can do. It was fun to watch!
Speaking of offense, quarterback Skylar Thompson showed what he can provide in Chris Klieman’s new offense and the end result was pretty good. Thompson went 16 of 22 for 212 yards and a touchdown while also rushing for 30 yards on three carries and another score with his legs.
The defense had themselves a night too, only allowing 14 points on the night and shutting out the Colonels in the first half. A.J. Parker had the lone interception off Nicholls State quarterback Chase Fourcade, who couldn’t get much going for the Colonel offense. He threw for just 126 yards and had the aforementioned pick.
K-State did allow 150 rushing yards to the Nicholls State offense and also surrendered 92 yards to Nicholls State wide receiver Dai’Jean Nixon, who averaged 18.4 yards a catch. That’s not ideal, but it’s hard to be super critical about anything in a 49-14 victory.
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Next up for Kansas State football is a date with Bowling Green, which will once again take place in Manhattan. If this week’s game was any indication, Bowling Green will have their work cut out for them when they visit the Little Apple.