What we learned from Kansas State’s impressive opening victory over Stanford
The Kansas State football team opened its season with a statement victory on Saturday at AT&T Stadium.
Anyone who watched the Wildcats defeat Stanford 24-7 in front of 28,668 mostly purple-clad fans walked away knowing it was no fluke. K-State was far and away the better team in this neutral-site clash between Big 12 and Pac-12 teams.
The Wildcats jumped out to a 14-0 halftime lead and never looked back. K-State’s offense kept Stanford off balance behind senior quarterback Skylar Thompson and sophomore running back Deuce Vaughn. But K-State was even better on defense, dominating from start to finish thanks to a new approach from coordinator Joe Klanderman.
A win like this will allow K-State fans to dream a little bit moving forward. If the Wildcats can blow out a Pac-12 team that was coming off a winning season, perhaps they can finish in the upper half of the Big 12 standings and challenge preseason favorites Iowa State and Oklahoma in conference play.
That’s a good statement to make on the first full Saturday of college football season.
Here are a few other things we learned about the Wildcats on Saturday:
New look, new swagger on defense
Klanderman deserves major credit for coming up with a defensive scheme that confused the heck out of Stanford.
Come to think of it, “confused” might not be a strong enough word.
The Cardinal looked utterly lost trying to figure out what to do against the Wildcats as they lined up predominantly in a new 3-3-5 formation, which featured three defensive linemen and three linebackers, instead of their traditional 4-2-5.
K-State held Stanford scoreless until the final moments and nearly became the first team to shut out the Cardinal since 2006. But Stanford got on the scoreboard with 3 minutes, 16 seconds remaining when Tanner McKee found Bryce Tremayne in the end zone with a nice pass down the left sideline.
Stanford finished with just 233 yards.
The Wildcats stymied their opponent by substituting players as if it was a hockey game. Seriously, as many as five new players came running onto the field after most plays. They used 57 players in the first half alone.
With five defensive backs playing well off the line of scrimmage behind their front six, the Wildcats seemed to challenge the Cardinal to run the ball. But Stanford mostly opted to throw into zone coverage. Perhaps that strategy would have worked with an experienced quarterback running the offense. Stanford receivers didn’t have much trouble getting open. But newbies like McKee and Jack West couldn’t get the job done.
Some thought defense would be a question mark for K-State this season. For one day, at least, that didn’t seem to be the case.
Russ Yeast and T.J. Smith both grabbed interceptions, Khalid Duke and Cody Fletcher made some impressive sacks and Daniel Green led the team in tackles.
Up-and-down day for Skylar Thompson
Thompson’s first game back from injury was far from perfect.
That’s the nice way to put it, anyway.
Outside of a GIF-worthy highlight when Thompson lowered his left shoulder and bulldozed a Stanford defender on his way into the end zone for the first touchdown of the game, it was a mostly forgettable day for the super senior.
He completed nine of 14 passes for 144 yards and an interception.
He also took three sacks, often seeming afraid to throw the ball down field unless his receivers were wide open.
Perhaps the off day can be explained by the simple fact that it was his first live game in nearly a year. Even a quarterback with 30 career starts like Thompson can need time to re-acclimate. But there will certainly be plays he wishes he could have back when he watches this game on replay.
Finding things to complain about after a 24-7 win is a good problem to have, though. Especially when you consider he showed a nose for the end zone on his way to a pair of impressive rushing touchdowns.
Deuce Vaughn looked electric as ever
The sophomore running back remains the same highlight machine he was as a freshman.
Vaughn began the day with a nifty 17-year run up the right sideline and later put the Wildcats ahead 14-0 on a 59-yard run when he sprinted untouched up the middle of the field for one of the easiest touchdowns you will ever see.
He finished the day with 124 rushing yards and a touchdown on 13 carries.
This promises to be a big season for him.
This story was originally published September 4, 2021 at 2:16 PM.