Nelson shines in Kansas State's 61-10 win

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) – Senior Jordy Nelson set single-game school records with 15 receptions for 209 yards, catching one touchdown pass and throwing another in Kansas State's 61-10 victory over Missouri State on Saturday night.

James Johnson ran for 114 yards and three touchdowns for Kansas State (2-1), which scored touchdowns on its first three possessions against the Bears (2-1) and opened the second half with three straight TD drives and a punt return for another score. Deon Murphy caught Nelson's touchdown pass on a trick play and returned a punt 80 yards early in the fourth quarter for a 54-10 lead.

Nelson's 18-yard catch from Josh Freeman late in the third quarter, putting the Wildcats up 47-10, was the senior's 14th reception of the game. That broke Michael Smith's record of 13 catches against Missouri in 1989 and gave Nelson 207 yards receiving, breaking Darnell McDonald's record of 206 yards set against Syracuse in the 1997 Fiesta Bowl.

He also took a reverse handoff from Leon Patton on Kansas State's first possession and threw 24 yards to a wide-open Murphy for a 7-0 lead. It was his second TD pass -- on as many attempts -- this season.

Johnson's 11-yard carry and Patton's 4-yard run later in the first quarter put the Wildcats up 21-0. Johnson added scoring runs of 11 yards and 1 yard on Kansas State's first two possessions of the third quarter for a 41-7 lead.  

Terry Petrie ran 3 yards for Kansas State's final score in the closing minutes. The Wildcats broke the 60-point mark for the first time since a 64-0 win over Kansas in 2002.

Freeman was 26-for-39 for 287 yards and didn't throw an interception, breaking a string of five games in which he threw at least one pick.

Missouri State came in leading the Football Championship Subdivision -- the former NCAA Division I-AA -- at 56.6 points per game.

On Saturday, though, the Bears managed only one touchdown on King Washington's 9-yard run in the second quarter. That came with the help of two roughing-the-passer penalties against Kansas State.

They were held to 69 yards rushing after averaging 320.5 in their first two games, and outgained 546-191 in total offense.

Brooks Rossman hit two 24-yard field goals in the first half for K-State. Nathan Stokes kicked a 29-yarder for Missouri State in the third quarter after the Bears failed to punch the ball in on first-and-goal from the 1.

Missouri State coach Terry Allen lost for the sixth straight time against Kansas State. He coached Northern Iowa to a 10-8 victory in Manhattan in 1989 -- the last time Kansas State lost a home opener -- but was 0-5 against the Wildcats as Kansas coach from 1997-2001.