Angel Rodriguez and Thomas Gipson each scored 13 points as Kansas State won its 10th straight season opener and started out new coach Bruce Weber’s tenure with an 85-52 victory over North Dakota on Friday night.

Martavious Irving added 11 points for the Wildcats.

Troy Huff led North Dakota with 12.

A veteran North Dakota team gave the Wildcats all they could handle in the first half and trailed just 36-27 at halftime, but Kansas State widened the gap quickly after the break.

Rodriguez scored eight straight for Kansas State to begin the second half, sinking a pair of 3-pointers and slicing into the lane for a layup.

Rodriguez’s first 3 gave the Wildcats their first double-digit lead of the game. After his scoring flurry, Kansas State got comfortable in the paint, getting buckets there from Will Spradling, Gipson and Rodney McGruder in addition to a couple of free throws. Seven minutes into the second half, the Wildcats led 54-36.

— Associated Press —

Kansas State senior Allen Chapman picked up his third honor following the Oklahoma State game as he was named the Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week, the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) announced Tuesday.

With the honor by the FWAA, Chapman has been added to the watch list for the 2012 Bronko Nagurski Trophy, extending K-State’s school record of awards candidates to 18. Earlier in the week, Chapman was named the Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week and the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week.

In the Wildcats’ 44-30 victory over the 24th-ranked Cowboys, Chapman pulled in three interceptions, batted away two other passes and tallied five tackles. His three interceptions were tied for the most in a single game in Big 12 history, while they were tied for the second most in school history and were the most by a Wildcat since 1995.

His first pick went 29 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter, while he had one later in the quarter that halted an OSU drive in K-State territory. His final interception of the evening came in the end zone late in the fourth quarter with Kansas State holding on to its 14-point lead.

Kansas State, ranked second in the current BCS standings, travels to Fort Worth, Texas, to face TCU on Saturday at Amon G. Carter Stadium. The game kicks off at 6 p.m., and will be shown to a national audience on FOX.

— KSU Sports Information —

Kansas State senior defensive back Allen Chapman and sophomore kick returner Tyler Lockett have been named the Big 12 Defensive and Special Teams Players of the Week for their performances in the Wildcats’ 44-30 win over Oklahoma State, the conference office announced Monday.

The two selections gave K-State a Big 12-leading eight player-of-the-week honors this season and pushed its total to 17 since the beginning of 2011, which is also a league best. It was the first honor of Chapman’s career, while Lockett was selected for the second time this year and fourth in his career.

Both players recorded non-offensive touchdowns as Chapman returned an interception 29 yards for a score late in the first half, while Lockett returned a kickoff 100 yards to give K-State a 24-10 lead with 7:35 left in the second quarter. The two scores represented Kansas State’s 86th and 87th non-offensive touchdowns since 1999 – which leads the nation – while the Wildcats are now 16-0 under head coach Bill Snyder when scoring on both defense and special teams.

Chapman, who was also named the Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week, intercepted three Oklahoma State passes as part of a five-turnover night for the Wildcat defense. The San Francisco, Calif., product tallied the second-most interceptions in a game in school history and the most by a Wildcat since Chris Canty’s three picks against Akron in 1995.

One of six players this year with a nation-leading three interceptions in a game, Chapman’s first interception was the pick-six, while he ended a Cowboy drive in K-State territory at the end of the first half and in the end zone with 2:06 left in the game and the Wildcats holding their 14-point lead.

Lockett carded the fourth kickoff-return touchdown of his career and his second of 100 yards. The Tulsa, Okla., native is now tied for second in school and Big 12 history in kickoff-return scores, just one shy of Brandon Banks’ five from 2009-08. It was the fourth 100-yard kickoff return touchdown in school history, while the return was a part of a 202 all-purpose-yardage night for Lockett as he added 27 yards on another kickoff return and 75 receiving yards on five catches.

Second-ranked K-State (9-0, 5-0 Big 12) will travel to take on TCU (6-3, 3-3) Saturday at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas. The game, which kicks off at 6 p.m.

— KSU Sports Information —

Following his three-interception game against No. 24 Oklahoma State, Kansas State senior defensive back Allen Chapman was named the Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week, the Walter Camp Foundation announced Sunday.

It is the Wildcats’ second honor of the year from the foundation as quarterback Collin Klein earned the offensive nod following the West Virginia contest.

Chapman led a K-State defense that picked off four passes and forced five Oklahoma State turnovers, which resulted in 21 points, in the Wildcats’ 44-30 victory. His three interceptions were tied for the second most in school history and were the most by a Wildcat since Chris Canty had three against Akron in 1995, while Chapman is one of six players with a nation-leading three interceptions in a game this season.

A product of San Francisco, Calif., Chapman’s first interception was returned 29 yards for a touchdown to give K-State a 31-17 lead in the second quarter. It was the second pick-six of his career, both coming against Oklahoma State as he returned one 60 yards for a score last year. His second pick of the evening halted an OSU drive in K-State territory towards the end of the first half, while his final interception was in the end zone late in the fourth quarter with the Wildcats’ clinging to the 14-point lead.

In addition to his interceptions, Chapman recorded five tackles and batted away two other passes.

No. 2 Kansas State will travel to Fort Worth, Texas, Saturday to take on TCU at Amon G. Carter Stadium. The contest, which kicks off at 6 p.m.

— KSU Sports Information —

Collin Klein piled up more than 300 yards of offense before leaving in the third quarter with an undisclosed injury, and No. 3 Kansas State remained unbeaten with a 44-30 victory over Oklahoma State on Saturday night.

Klein had thrown for 245 yards and run for 64 more before sneaking in for his 50th career rushing touchdown with 9:47 left in the third quarter. The Heisman Trophy front-runner didn’t return to the field on the Wildcats’ next offensive series.

Oklahoma State’s Wes Lunt also left with an injury after throwing his third interception in the third quarter. The freshman quarterback, who missed six weeks with a knee injury earlier this year, threw for 184 yards and a touchdown before giving way to Clint Chelf.

By that point, the Wildcats (9-0, 6-0 Big 12) simply had to protect a 38-17 lead.

Allen Chapman picked off three passes and returned one 29 yards for a touchdown, John Hubert had a pair of TD runs, and Tyler Lockett returned a kickoff 100 yards for another score as Kansas State kept alive its hopes of playing for a national championship.

The Wildcats entered the weekend No. 2 in the BCS standings behind Alabama.

Chelf finished 16 of 27 for 233 yards and a touchdown for the Cowboys (5-3, 3-2), who should know something about playing late-season spoiler to a team in title contention.

Oklahoma State was ranked No. 2 when it lost to Iowa State late last season, and got shut out of the BCS title game.

This one was just about as wild as last season’s matchup in Stillwater, when the Cowboys held on in the final minutes after the teams combined for 32 fourth-quarter points.

Oklahoma State struck first when Lunt hit Austin Hays for a 54-yard touchdown reception, but the Wildcats came back with 17 unanswered points – Hubert’s two touchdown runs were sandwiched around the first of Anthony Cantele’s three field goals.

Quinn Sharp added the first of his three field goals to get the Cowboys within 17-10 before the fireworks really started: Lockett field the ensuing kickoff deep in his end zone and went the distance for his fourth career TD return, and Desmond Roland answered by fielding a short kickoff by Kansas State and going 80 yards for another touchdown return.

Chapman’s pick-six made it 31-17 at halftime.

The Cowboys had the ball to start the second half, and Lunt appeared to get hurt while throwing an interception to Nigel Malone. He never returned to the game.

The Wildcats marched 93 yards before Klein’s touchdown plunge from a yard out made it 38-17, but he also left the game with an injury. Daniel Sams played the rest of the way for Kansas State while Klein watched from the sideline without his helmet.

Sharp and Cantele traded field goals before Chelf hit Charlie Moore for a 13-yard touchdown catch to get the Cowboys within 41-27. The two kickers traded field goals again before Cantele missed from 24 yards to give Oklahoma State the ball with 4 1/2 minutes left in the game.

The Cowboys marched to the Kansas State 8, but Chapman picked off Chelf in the end zone for his final interception of the night. The three picks were one shy of Jaime Mendez’s school record set against Temple on Sept. 26, 1992.

Kansas State ran out the clock to end the Cowboys’ three-game winning streak and lock up its first win over them since 2006. The Wildcats have scored at least 44 points six times this season, and this time did it against a team that had allowed 38 total over its last three games.

— Associated Press —

Kansas State opened the Bruce Weber era with a win Tuesday night, beating Washburn, 81-61 in exhibition play.

The Wildcats had four players finish with double digit scoring totals, with sophomore Nino Williams leading the charge with a game high 14. Senior Jordan Henriquez added 13 points along with nine rebounds to just miss posting a double-double.

The Wildcats looked impressive early, racing out with a 19-0 run to take a 28-7 lead in the opening seven minutes of the first half. Near the end of the half, K-State went on another run, this time a 12-5 run to go into halftime leading 50-30. Williams scored 10 of his points in the first half, while bringing in six rebounds. Senior guard Rodney McGruder added a pair of 3-pointers in the half. The Wildcats shot an outstanding 54.5 percent from the floor.

A slow start in the second half, saw the Ichabods cut the lead to 13 points, after a pair of free throws from Christian Ulsaker. With the score sitting at 53-40 in favor of the Wildcats, the home team used yet another run to extend its lead to 66-41 and hold a 25-point advantage. From that point on, the Wildcats were able to switch to cruise control for the remainder of the game. Freshman D.J. Johnson was impressive in his Wildcat debut, scoring 10 points while adding seven rebounds.

With the win, K-State improves to 53-18 in exhibition games including 41-9 at home.

Bench depth proved to be a factor Tuesday night as the Wildcats bench outscored more than half the team’s points with 44. Washburn’s bench contributed 30 points.

K-State returns to action on Sunday, as the Wildcats play host to Emporia State in their final exhibition game of the season. The game is set for a 1 p.m. tipoff and can be seen on K-StateHD.TV.

— KSU Sports Information —

For the third time this season, Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein has been named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week, the conference office announced Monday.

It was Klein’s fourth career honor and second in as many weeks. The Wildcats now have a Big 12-leading 15 player-of-the-week honors over the last two years, more than double the amount of the second-place team.

Last week against No. 14 Texas Tech, Klein accounted for four touchdowns (two rushing, two passing) and 316 total yards against the nation’s seventh-ranked defense entering the contest. Klein passed for 233 yards on 19-of-26 aim while rushing 12 times for 83 yards.

With his performance, Klein moved to 19-4 as a starting quarterback and has led the Wildcats to five games of 50-plus points this season, the most since 2000. In eight games this year, Klein has accounted for 28 touchdowns (16 rushing, 12 passing) to rank sixth nationally in touchdown responsibility, while he leads the Big 12 and ranks second nationally in pass efficiency (175.47).

No. 2 Kansas State takes on 24th-ranked Oklahoma State on Saturday in a primetime matchup at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. The sold-out contest kicks off at 7 p.m., as part of ESPN’s Saturday Night Football on ABC.

— KSU Sports Information —