By Jackson Schneider
ARLINGTON, Tex. — Skylar Thompson rushed for two scores and Deuce Vaughn added another, and the Kansas State Wildcats opened their 2021 season with a 24-7 victory over the Stanford Cardinal in the All-State Kickoff Classic.
Kansas State's win snapped a five-game losing streak dating back to the end of the 2020 year, it also marked the Wildcats first-ever win inside of AT&T Stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys.
K-State's defense answered a variety of the questions that surrounded it on the outset of the season, shutting down Stanford and holding the Cardinal scoreless until the final three minutes of the game.
The defensive effort earned worlds of praise from K-State Head Coach Chris Klieman.
"We needed to be better on defense this year," said Klieman. "And we worked both our four down and our three down the entire spring, and just kind of learned the three down from some people that I'm pretty close to in the profession."
The effort from K-State's defense clearly frustrated the Cardinal as well. "You know, we seem disjointed," said Stanford Head Coach David Shaw. "We had opportunities. We didn't take advantage of those."
The Wildcats out-gained Stanford 344-233 in the contest and running back Deuce Vaughn led K-State's ground attack with 124 yards on 13 carries, just one yard shy of his career-high. Vaughn also ripped off a 59-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, the longest touchdown run in the history of the All-State Kickoff Classic.
Vaughn wasn't the only Wildcat that saw success on the ground either. The Wildcat offense as a whole rushed for 6.5 yards per carry in the effort, which also set an All-State Kickoff Classic record.
The Wildcats will now take their 1-0 record into its home-opener at Bill Snyder Family Stadium against the Southern Illinois Salukis.