From The Couch – Impressive Debut For The Collin Klein-Led Cats
There’s not much to criticize when you beat a college football team 71-3. Sure, I could be facetious and say, “Why did you give up the three?” But I won’t. This game pleasantly surpassed all of my expectations for Collin Klein’s debut as head coach at K-State. 71 points is the most points a K-State team has scored since the Wildcats scored a school-record 76 points against Ball State in 2000. My Mom REALLY wanted them to set the scoring record. Hey, at least it kept her interested until the very end!
The offense was productive, but the defense was also very good. While K-State gained 559 total yards, the Wildcats held Nicholls to 122 yards, which marked the fewest allowed in a game since giving up just 109 to Tennessee Tech in 2009.
The game was full of throwbacks and traditions that thrilled K-State fans. To start, former head coach Chris Klieman got the fans pumped up and welcomed the team from the tunnel onto the field before the game.
JM: It was awesome that they asked Chris Klieman to do this, it was fabulous that he agreed to do it, and the high-five and embrace of Kleiman and Klein was spectacular. Ok, I’m almost running out of adjectives. Outstanding.
JM: Fans loved the return of the Willie skit during pregame. Willie tackled the fake Nicholls fan in the middle of the field, followed by a loud “K-S-U” chant. Unfortunately, I remember the last time they did this when the kid who played the opposing fan got pretty seriously hurt and was carted off the field. I don’t mind them bringing it back, but please be careful!
JM: A sellout crowd of close to 52,000 people on a 95-degree day? I would expect nothing less of K-State fans. The post in question is poking fun at USC’s opening game crowd. Here it is in case you missed it…
JM: Bravo, K-State fans!
Game highlights were aplenty, and I don’t have time to search for them and post them individually. Here is a nice video recap from YouTube…
JM: K-State also introduced a new light, music, and fireworks show at the end of the third quarter, highlighted by the playing of “Sandstorm.” People raved about it.
JM: With K-State scoring 71 points, Willie had to do a lot of push-ups throughout the game. 394, to be exact…
JM: Yikes. But I am sure he’s not complaining too much about it.
JM: I love the “huddle up and jog off the field with arms interlocked after a game.” Good to see this.
“I mean, this is about as good as you could draw up for a first game. We came in with the mindset to dominate. We have to have that killer mindset no matter the score or who we’re playing to get better. We had nine different players score a touchdown in a 10-touchdown game. It’s truly amazing and a credit to the depth on our roster and how many people can make a play when the ball is in their hands. CK (Collin Klein) called a great game. It was just playing catch.”…K-State quarterback Avery Johnson, post-game
JM: Johnson completed 15-of-21 passes for 199 yards and three touchdowns, and he also became K-State’s all-time leader with 51 career touchdown passes. There is your trivia question and answer of the week.
“It was a really good night. I was proud of our players. It was an incredible atmosphere. Our fans did an unbelievable job, as always, and with a lot of players who hadn’t experienced this environment. My message to those guys before the game was that we had to play with maximum effort and focus on every single snap and to strain and finish through everything we do. That’s what we’ve been trying to do since January. I was really proud of the mentality. I felt the focus level throughout the week was where it needed to be. They were dialed in and attacked the game plan. We have to sustain that, and we need to keep bringing that level of intensity and focus in everything that we do on a daily basis.”…K-State head coach Collin Klein, post-game
JM: Klein seemed pretty measured with his comments. Keep working hard and plugging away at getting better. It doesn’t get any easier from here.
JM: Do you agree with Reggie? He mentioned 1998 and 2012 for a reason. I’m not ready to go there quite yet. Washington State comes to Manhattan next week, and it will be a much tougher game. They gave number 17 Washington all they could handle before eventually losing 24 to 10. That said, it appears the swagger is back, at least for one game. You gotta love it.
One final thought. Send this to your friend who thinks I’m always too negative. I write positive columns when it is warranted, but people seem to have selective memory. Thank you and GO CATS!
