Kansas State used a big-play offense and a stingy defense to down UTSA, 41-17, in non-conference action on Saturday afternoon at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
The Wildcats (2-1) piled up 449 yards of offense and averaged 7.1 yards per play, and they limited the Roadrunners (0-3) to 300 yards in the second meeting between the two teams.
K-State quarterback Skylar Thompson completed 13-of-18 passes for 213 yards and two touchdowns and he ran for 66 yards and an additional score. His favorite target was Isaiah Zuber, who caught seven passes for 144 yards and a pair of TDs.
UTSA signal-caller Cordale Grundy completed 14 passes for 108 yards and a touchdown, while Jalen Rhodes and B.J. Daniels paced the ground game with 53 and 47 yards, respectively. Greg Campbell Jr. led the receiving corps with six catches for 41 yards and a TD.
Defensively, Darryl Godfrey led the way with eight tackles, including 2.5 for loss and a sack. Les Maruo added six stops, while C.J. Levine posted five. Josiah Tauaefa registered four tackles, two behind the line of scrimmage, and he forced a fumble.
The Wildcats got on the board first when they marched 78 yards on 10 plays capped by Alex Barnes' 3-yard plunge on the game's opening possession.
UTSA responded with a touchdown march of its own later in the opening quarter. Rhodes got the drive started with a 14-yard dash up the middle and into K-State territory. After 7- and 11-yard completions from Grundy to Tykee Ogle-Kellogg and Kirk Johnson Jr., respectively, a defensive pass interference call in the end zone set up the Roadrunners at the 3-yard line. On second down and goal from the two, Grundy hit fullback Halen Steward in the right flat for his second career TD reception.
K-State then responded with 20 unanswered points and took a 27-7 lead into the locker room.
Blake Lynch drilled a 33-yard field goal as time expired on the first quarter, Dalton Schoen hauled in a 42-yard pass in the corner of the end zone with 6:59 left until halftime and Lynch connected again from 42 yards out with 43 ticks left on the clock.
The Wildcats got a break when they recovered a fumble at the UTSA 34 with 34 seconds left. Two plays later, Thompson hooked up with Zuber for a 23-yard touchdown pass.
Thompson broke free for a 27-yard touchdown scamper early in the third quarter and Alex Delton hit Zuber on a 72-yard TD pass down the left sideline later in the frame to help increase the lead to 41-7.
UTSA place-kicker Jared Sackett spit the uprights from 37 yards with 5:16 left to play to make it 41-10.
Following a fumble recovery by UTSA safety Brenndan Johnson at the KSU 11, D.J. Gillins found Campbell all alone in the end zone for the senior wide receiver's first career TD reception. Sackett's extra point provided the final margin.
The Roadrunners will return to San Antonio to host Texas State in the 2018 edition of the H-E-B I-35 Showdown next Saturday, Sept. 22, in the first of back-to-back home games at the Alamodome. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.
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