Defending Big 12 Champion #16 K-State thwarted Southeast Missouri State 45-0 on Saturday.

Will Howard picked up where he left off and looked like he hasn’t skipped a beat. Apart from an interception, he effortlessly went through his progressions and made some impressive throws in tight windows.

Howard finished his day with four total touchdowns, going 18-for-26 with 297 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, a rushing touchdown and a receiving touchdown on a trick play thrown by Treshaun Ward.

Howard became the sixth quarterback in Big 12 history to pass, run and catch a touchdown with him being the first to do it since 2019.

Running backs DJ Giddens and Treshaun Ward got a fairly even split of carries. Giddens got 15 carries compared to Ward’s 11 carries. Giddens was much more efficient with his workload, getting 128 rushing yards for an average of 8.5 yards per carry. Ward had 56 yards and a touchdown averaging 5.1 yards per carry.

The numbers speak for themselves, but Giddens looked like the more dynamic back on Saturday. He exploded through gaps and made nice maneuvers around SEMO defenders, whereas Ward’s ability to avoid tacklers was not nearly as impressive.

The wide receiver room was an area of intrigue going into this game. Keagan Johnson didn’t suit up due to a non-serious injury. In his place was Jadon Jackson alongside Phillip Brooks and RJ Garcia II.

He looked great in his season debut after not playing much last year. Jackson had two catches with one being a 33-yard touchdown in the first quarter.

The wideouts looked great with Garcia II leading the team in receiving with 119 yards on five catches with a touchdown in the second quarter. Tight end Ben Sinnott hit the century mark with 100 yards exactly, all of which came in the first half.

The defense pitched another shutout which they did twice last year (South Dakota, Oklahoma State). It’s also their sixth game since last year not allowing a touchdown in the first 59:59 of the game (allowed a touchdown to Missouri with :01 left in the game in 2022).

Linebacker Austin Moore continued his domination after leading the team in tackles last year. He had a team-high six tackles along with a sack and three tackles for loss.

The front seven combined for four sacks and 11 tackles for loss. Arguably the most impressive defensive stat from Saturday’s win is they only allowed six total rushing yards. They bottled up Redhawk running back Geno Hess, limiting him to ten carries for -4 yards.

In the fourth quarter, third-string true freshman quarterback Avery Johnson came into the ballgame and showed off his elite athleticism and gave fans a taste of what is to come in the future.

He went 3-for-4 over the air with 55 yards, and he got his first touchdown in his collegiate career with a rushing touchdown. Johnson had five carries for 32 yards and ended up as the team’s third-leading rusher for the night.

Another point of emphasis going in was special teams. Nothing of note happened in the return game since Phillip Brooks fair caught all of his punts and they only returned one kick return since they didn’t allow any points.

Chris Tennant won the starting job for the second straight year, and he was perfect after a rough 2022 season. He went 5-for-5 on his extra points and drilled a 51-yard field goal as well. They brought Leyton Simmering to make their final extra point.

Marysville alum Jack Blumer only had to punt twice, and he put them both inside the 20-yard line.

It’s hard to complain about anything if you’re a K-State fan after Saturday’s performance. They played well on all phases of the game and executed their game plan to perfection.

Next week, K-State takes on Sun Belt Champion Troy at 11:00 a.m.