ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -- Kansas State sixth-year quarterback Skylar Thompson ran for two touchdowns, bulling into the end zone for the first one after missing most of last season with a shoulder injury, and the Wildcats opened the season with a 24-7 win over Stanford on Saturday.
Deuce Vaughn sprinted 59 yards for a touchdown and finished with 124 yards rushing on 13 carries for the Wildcats, who finished last season with a five-game losing streak.
Stanford was down 24-0 before Tanner McKee's 14-yard touchdown pass to Brycen Tremayne with 3:16 left on its last offensive snap. The Cardinal, who last year won the last four games of their pandemic-shortened 4-2 season, have played 180 games since last being shut out.
Thompson, who later had a 13-yard TD run, opened the scoring when he put his left shoulder down and knocked cornerback Kyu Blu Kelly to the ground on a 6-yard TD run in the first quarter.
On the possession before the first TD, Kelly had an impressive interception in the end zone, leaping and reaching back over Phillip Brooks and then managing to get one foot down inbounds. But Stanford went three-and-out, setting up the two-play TD drive, Thompson finding a wide-open Brooks for a 56-yard pass to the 6.