Skylar Thompson had two rushing touchdowns to lead Kansas State to a 24-7 victory over Stanford in the season opener for both teams Saturday afternoon at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Deuce Vaughn rushed for 124 yards on 13 carries with a touchdown for the Wildcats (1-0).
K-State’s defense held the Cardinal (0-1) to 233 yards of total offense. Stanford’s only points came on a 14-yard touchdown pass from Tanner McKee to Brycen Tremayne with 3:16 left.
Stanford had its furthest penetration of the game to that point when it reached the K-State 24-yard line midway through the third quarter. But back-to-back sacks with a three-man rush forced the Cardinal to punt again.
Taiten Winkel’s 40-yard field goal with 10:08 remaining capped a nine-play, 44-yard drive that gave Kansas State a 17-0 lead. T.J. Smith then intercepted a Jack West pass at the K-State 41 and returned it 39 yards to set up the Wildcats at the Stanford 20.
Two plays later, Thompson ran 13 yards for his second rushing touchdown.
After an interception in the end zone ended Kansas State’s first drive, the Wildcats needed just two plays to score on their second possession. After a 56-yard pass from Thompson to Phillip Brooks, Thompson ran it in from 6 yards to open the scoring.
A holding penalty hurt Stanford on the subsequent drive, taking the Cardinal out of scoring range. K-State, long known for outstanding special teams, looked to be in prime position midway through the second quarter before a holding penalty on a punt return moved them back.
Deuce Vaughn’s 59-yard run on third-and-13 gave the Wildcats a 14-0 lead.
McKee completed 15 of 18 passes for 118 yards and a touchdown and West was 8-of-12 passing for 76 yards with two interceptions. The Cardinal were outgained 200-39 on the ground.
K-State dominated the first-half stats. The Wildcats outgained the Cardinal 240-124. Most of the advantage was on the ground, where K-State held a 131-32 advantage.
–Field Level Media