Central Arkansas Bears vs Kansas State Wildcats Match Player Stats On Sep 02, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Sep 2, 2017

No. 20 Kansas State withstood an early challenge from FCS opponent Central Arkansas to claim a 55-19 victory to open the season Saturday night in front of 51,043 at Bill Snyder Family Stadium in Manhattan, Kansas.

The Wildcats scored 21 unanswered points to pull away at the end of the first half.

Kansas State quarterback Jesse Ertz finished 10 of 16 for 333 yards and four touchdowns.

Quarterback Hayden Hildebrand was 27 for 35 for 198 yards with a touchdown and an interception for Central Arkansas. The Bears finished with 201 yards rushing.

Central Arkansas (0-1) came into the game ranked No. 15 in FCS.

The Wildcats outscored the Bears 38-3 after the 8:53 mark of the second quarter.

Kansas State started quickly. D.J. Reed returned the opening kickoff 96 yards to Central Arkansas' 4-yard line, and Alex Barnes punched it into the end zone two plays later.

The teams traded field goals before Central Arkansas responded with an eight-play, 75-yard touchdown drive. Brandon Cox ran the final 37 yards for the tying score.

The first quarter ended with the score knotted at 10-10.

Kansas State quickly answered with a 25-yard pass from Ertz to Isaiah Harris, followed by a Byron Pringle sweep for another 15 yards that led to an 8-yard touchdown pass from Ertz to Isaiah Zuber. That put the Wildcats back up 17-10.

But the Bears responded with another 75-yard drive, this one taking 12 plays and capped by a 7-yard pass from Hildebrand to Roman Gordon. However, Matt Cummins' extra point clanged off the right upright.

Ertz hit Pringle on a 55-yard scoring strike to put the Cats up 24-16 with 5:38 left in the half. Following a Central Arkansas three-and-out, Reed returned the punt 62 yards, untouched around the left side for K-State's 107th non-offensive touchdown since 1999, 15 more than any other FBS program in that span.

Reed then picked off Hildebrand, setting up K-State for one last scoring chance. On third-and-5 at the Wildcats' 30, Ertz hit a wide-open Dalton Schoen behind the secondary and Schoen had his first career touchdown for a 38-16 halftime lead.

The bad news for K-State was the 158 rushing yards allowed in the first half. Last season, the Wildcats led the Big 12 in rushing defense (115 yards per game), by more than 47 yards per game.

NOTES: Kansas State is now 24-2 in home openers under Bill Snyder. ...The Wildcats are now 72-5 all-time in non-conference home games under Snyder. ... Wildcats QB Jesse Ertz became the 21st Kansas State quarterback to throw for at least 2,000 yards. ... Central Arkansas held a 37:13-22:47advantage in time of possession. K-State led the Big 12 in time of possession last season. ... Central Arkansas is now 2-11 against FBS opponents since 2006. ... K-State was the first ranked opponent the Bears ever faced.