Kansas State Hangs 71 on Nicholls in the Opener
Seventy-one points. Ten touchdowns, a 68-point margin, and one small crack in the shutout (Nicholls kicked a 32-yard field goal in the second quarter). Kansas State beat Nicholls 71-3 in the opener for both teams, and the result was never in any doubt. Nicholls did not lead, tie or threaten at any point, and its field goal arrived with the game already at 29-0.
It was 7-0 almost immediately, Avery Johnson hitting Jaron Tibbs from seven yards, and 22-0 by the end of the first quarter after Johnson ran one in from 10 yards, Linkon Cure converted the two-point try, and Brandon White returned a punt 65 yards for a score. By halftime it was 36-3. By the end of the third quarter it was 57-3. Then the backups got their turn: Monterrio Elston Jr. ran 46 yards for a touchdown early in the fourth, and Jacob Knuth, the quarterback who had thrown one pass, finished it with a two-yard run with 8:02 left.
Kansas State piled up 573 yards, 326 of them on the ground over 43 carries, with 247 through the air, and did not throw an interception. They did lose one fumble, which at this scoreboard is a rounding error. Johnson was 15 of 21 for 199 yards and three touchdown passes and added a rushing score.
Kansas State is 1-0, Nicholls 0-1. For fantasy purposes, this is the kind of box score that spreads points everywhere: ten touchdowns went to nine different players, and Johnson, Jackson and Fields still stood out. Those are the three you are happy to have started.