MANHATTAN, Kan.—Kansas State senior Morgan Burns ran the opening kickoff back 100 yards for a touchdown to set the tone in a 34-0 Wildcat win against South Dakota Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
A sellout crowd of 53,297 – sixth-largest in KSU history – watched the Wildcats improve to 23-2 in season openers under head coach Bill Snyder. Kansas State led 24-0 at halftime and outgained South Dakota 332-266. The only downer for KSU was that starting quarterback Jesse Ertz was injured on the game's opening possession and did not return.
Instead it was junior backup Joe Hubener who passed for 147 yards and ran for 38 more. Hubener threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Deante Burton with five minutes to go in the first half to make it 24-0. He completed 9 of 18 passes to four different receivers.
South Dakota junior quarterback Ryan Saeger completed 18 of 30 passes for a career-high 205 yards. He connected with Eric Shufford six times for 79 yards. Brandt Van Roekel had a career-best 56 yards on four catches.
Special teams played a considerable role in this one. In addition to the opening kick return, the Wildcats got two short field goals from Matthew Crane and gained 52 yards on three punt returns from redshirt freshman Dominique Heath. The Coyotes missed field goals of 55 and 42 yards and lost a fumble during a punt return. A 13-yard punt in the first half also led to a Kansas State 45-yard touchdown drive.
The ground game also told the story. Kansas State gained 185 yards and averaged 4.6 yards per tote. South Dakota carried 36 times for 61 yards. Two Kansas State sacks for 17 yards also played into the numbers.
Redshirt freshman Winston Dimel ran eight times for 29 yards and scored two short touchdowns. His 2-yard plunge with 9:18 to go in the second quarter gave the Wildcats a 17-0 lead. His 1-yard dive with 7:28 left in the fourth was the final score of the game.
Kansas State's average drive started from its own 40. Despite the field position, South Dakota's defense stood firm in the red zone, allowing two touchdowns on the Wildcats' five trips. Safety Tyson Graham forced a fumble near the goal line midway through the first quarter and defensive end Andrew Van Ginkel recovered at the 1. Graham had five tackles in the game. Fellow safety Jacob Warner led the team with seven.
South Dakota returns to action next Saturday against UC Davis in California. The Coyotes' home opener is Sept. 19 against Drake.
