The rest of the roster piled on. Rodney Fields Jr. ran for 101 yards and a score, and Brandon White turned a punt return into a 65-yard touchdown that had Kansas State up 22-0 before the first quarter ended. Once the margin got that far out of hand, Klein leaned on his depth chart, and the final was Kansas State's highest point total in a game since it hung 76 on Ball State back in 2000.
None of it tells Kansas State much about the Big 12 grind ahead. The real measuring stick comes September 12, when Washington State visits Bill Snyder Family Stadium for a game that will actually test the new staff against a team not overmatched from the opening whistle.
Nicholls, for its part, never found a rhythm on either side of the ball. The Colonels didn't score an offensive touchdown, managing only a field goal against a Kansas State defense that could afford to play loose with a five-touchdown cushion, and they surrendered 559 total yards in the process.
It's one data point against an outmatched opponent, but it's also the loudest possible first impression for a new coaching staff trying to win over a fan base. Klein wanted his offense playing fast and his record book rewritten in the same night, and he got both.