Even after 71-3 victory, Collin Klein wants more from Kansas State

MANHATTAN — In the aftermath of a 71-3 victory to open the season, Kansas State coach Collin Klein hasn't allowed himself to get too high. In fact, the first-year coach is quick to point out the mistakes the Wildcats made and what they need to do to improve. There is no room for fumbling the ball, nor can the Wildcats kick the ball out of bounds twice on kickoffs. It doesn't matter if they held Nicholls to 30 yards passing or beat them by 68 points. "I just try to be as fact-based as possible," Klein said. "It's easy to let emotion flower things up when they're good and overcloud things when they're not. I think walking in the middle of 'Hey, these are the facts, this is actually what happened, and I'm going to shoot you straight' and that there's good and bad always with that. As long as that's our focus, I think it'll create a consistent process and approach." It hasn't been all sunshine and rainbows from the coach since his first career win. Immediately after the game, he said the Wildcats didn't win the turnover margin, while also noting other small things that needed to be cleaned up. During his Monday presser ahead of the Wildcats' 11 a.m. game on Saturday, Sept. 12, against Washington State (0-1) at Bill Snyder Family Stadium, he even pointed the finger at himself and his staff for the mistakes they made. "The little things didn't catch us, but when we make mistakes, we have to get them shored up," Klein said. "We have a big week ahead of us." We continue to learn more about Klein's approach as a young, first-year head coach. Longtime reporters in the room laughed and gave Klein a hard time, saying he sounded exactly like the legendary Bill Snyder, who Klein played for and coached under. It's how Klein is wired. He was locked in from start to finish. Up 57-3 heading into the fourth quarter, Bill Snyder Family Stadium debuted its new light show, which included pyrotechnics. Klein said he didn't really notice because he was looking at his playsheet and trying to plan the next play. He did notice, however, that the Wildcats got a holding penalty on the first play after it. That, too, needs to be cleaned up. After the game, Klein got splashed with water by his team in the locker room to celebrate his first victory, but that's when the party stopped for him. There was no time to reflect on what it meant to be back in Bill Snyder Family Stadium while living out his dream. The coach said he flipped the page to Washington State shortly after, knowing the Cougars had a game the following afternoon and they would be a much more formidable opponent. "The mentality that has helped me, the team and the program truly is that we take care of the next thing that's right in front of you," Klein said. "That's the mindset. I'm proud of our players for the good start, but I told the team this morning that it's 0-0 and we gotta go." Wyatt D. Wheeler covers Kansas State athletics for the USA TODAY Network and Topeka Capital-Journal. You can follow him on X at @WyattWheeler_, contact him at 417-371-6987 or email him at wwheeler@usatodayco.com