HOUSTON — Kansas State’s first bowl victory of the Chris Klieman era could be described with one word: effortless. Or maybe dominant is a better fit?
The Wildcats took advantage of a depleted LSU roster and steamrolled the Tigers in every way possible for a 42-20 victory at the Texas Bowl on Tuesday at NRG Stadium.
Most expected K-State to win, because the Wildcats (8-5) were at full strength with senior quarterback Skylar Thompson commanding the offense in his final college game while the Tigers (6-7) were missing a huge chunk of their roster and using converted wide receiver Jontre Kirklin as their primary passer.
But that did little to diminish the enthusiasm of K-State fans following this performance. Victories over a traditional college football powerhouse like LSU don’t come along often for the Wildcats, and it will sure look good in the record book, regardless of circumstances.
Besides, K-State played well enough to beat LSU even if the Tigers were at full strength. They entered this game with Brad Davis serving as interim head coach and numerous starters from the regular season watching from afar after they transferred to other schools or turned pro. And the Wildcats made them look over matched.
Thompson threw for 259 yards and three touchdowns. Deuce Vaughn ran for 146 yards and found the end zone four times. Malik Knowles caught a pair of touchdown passes. And LSU rarely crossed midfield.
It was K-State’s first bowl victory since the 2017 Cactus Bowl under former coach Bill Snyder. It was one of the most lopsided bowl victories in K-State history, period.
Here are some key takeaways from the game:
Collin Klein impresses as offensive coordinator
Things couldn’t have gone much better for assistant coach Collin Klein during his debut as a play caller. K-State’s interim offensive coordinator prepared a splendid game plan against LSU and the Wildcats executed it almost flawlessly.
Thompson threw the ball with confidence, Vaughn ran the ball hard and Knowles did exciting things when he caught passes in space. The Wildcats were so sharp on offense that they delivered the longest touchdown drive in Texas Bowl history, based on plays (18) and time consumed (9 minutes, 16 seconds) in the first half.
Klein ditched many of the power-based running schemes that former coordinator Courtney Messingham used during the regular season and spread the ball around the field to different playmakers. It was entertaining to watch.
Klieman almost certainly has to consider Klein as a candidate to take over as offensive coordinator full time next season after the way K-State’s offense performed at the Texas Bowl. This was a strong audition.
Skylar Thompson went out with a bang
Shortly after Thompson threw his third touchdown of the night on a short pass to Vaughn in the corner of the end zone, the senior quarterback pointed both of his fingers high into the air and screamed with excitement. He was having fun. Lots of fun.
It was a fitting end to his K-State career. Thompson never had the best of injury luck in a purple uniform, but he played this game at full strength and added a bowl win to his resume.
Even after starting so many games for the Wildcats during his long college career, it was one of his finest outings.
LSU deserves kudos for playing this game
Five bowl games were canceled this postseason because one or more teams didn’t have enough healthy players. The Texas Bowl easily could have been No. 6, given how limited LSU was for this game. It didn’t have a single scholarship quarterback available on Tuesday and came to Houston with fewer than 50 scholarship players.
With Brian Kelly taking over as the new head coach, LSU is in a state of transition. The Tigers could have easily backed out of this game like other teams did earlier during the bowl season. But they insisted on playing and allowed the Wildcats to have a memorable bowl experience.
Malik Knowles reminded us what he’s capable of
It was a mostly quiet season for Knowles, but the junior receiver put that behind him by erupting for 42 yards and two touchdowns against LSU. He also nearly returned a kickoff return for a touchdown in the second quarter but ended up getting tackled at midfield by the LSU kicker.
His first touchdown came on an impressive catch and run when he beat a pair of defenders to the pylon with some nifty moves. Later, he helped Thompson extend a play and got open in the back of the end zone.
Knowles and Thompson haven’t been healthy at the same time all that often during their college careers, but it happened in this game and good things happened.
Record-setting game for Deuce Vaughn
K-State has been a bowl regular since Snyder took the Wildcats to the Copper Bowl in 1993. So it’s impressive that Vaughn was able to break a school record in his first bowl appearance. Vaughn became the first player in K-State history to score four touchdowns in a postseason game. He had three rushing touchdowns and also caught a short pass from Thompson to put another six points on the scoreboard. LSU could do nothing to stop him. It’s easy to see why he was an all-purpose All-American this season.
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