Adrian Martinez's Kansas State football debut was efficient, if not spectacular

MANHATTAN — Kansas State didn't bring Adrian Martinez to Manhattan just to be a distributor and facilitator.

The Wildcats were looking for a dynamic playmaker to take new coordinator Collin Klein's offense to another level.

And yet there were no complaints when Martinez, the fifth-year graduate transfer from Nebraska, left after three quarters of work Saturday night in a comfortable season-opening 34-0 victory over South Dakota.

Sure, the sellout crowd of 50,469 at Bill Snyder Family Stadium might have clamored for more than Martinez's rather pedestrian stat line of 53 passing and 39 rushing yards. But the perspective inside K-State's locker room was much different.

What the yardage totals failed to show were Martinez's efficiency — 11 of 15 passing with at least two drops — and the fact that there were no turnovers.

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"I thought he handled everything really well for the first time," K-State coach Chris Klieman said of Martinez's debut. "We changed a lot of things offensively. We were not what you saw last year or even some in the (Texas) Bowl.

"We were (up) tempo most of the time, and I thought our operation was really good. I thought Adrian did a really good job with the operational stuff."

Martinez did take three sacks, but also scrambled for first downs when his protection broke down. And given that the Wildcats averaged 6.6 yards per carry in the running game, there was no need to air it out.

"I felt really good. First experience in The Bill and just taking what they gave us," Martinez said. "I think they weren't wanting us to take deep shots and kind of playing off (the receivers) a lot, and the run game was working really well.

"You've always got to stay patient and take what they give you."

Sure enough, 297 of K-State's 392 total yards came on the ground, led by Deuce Vaughn's 126 yards. Backup running back DJ Giddens added 57 yards on six attempts and picked up his first career score.

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As a result, Martinez played it safe most of the night with his longest completion going for 10 yards on a pass over the middle to tight end Sammy Wheeler. He only threw deep on a couple of occasions.

"Let the machine work, right?" Martinez said. "We've got a lot of great playmakers.

"We've got Deuce (Vaughn), we've got Malik (Knowles) and Phil (Brooks). We've got dudes, so if I need to distribute or I need to make a big play, I think those things will happen naturally."

Klieman, for one, remained confident that the passing attack will come along.

"It didn't quite find its footing, but I think we can shore that up and clean that up," he said. "I'm not concerned about it at all because I've seen us operate at a really high level throwing the football all through fall camp.

"It's something we'll just keep working on, but I'm not concerned about it. We can need to throw the ball, and we need to continue to be more efficient."

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A fast start allowed the Wildcats to pick and choose in the passing game. Wide receiver Malik Knowels' 75-yard touchdown run on an end around 10 seconds in, and a Desmond Purnell's 17-yard scoop and score off Seth Porter's blocked punt had K-State up 14-0 less than halfway through the first quarter.

Vaughn added a 39-yard touchdown run to complete at 20-point first quarter and the defense took it from there with its first shutout since a 52-0 victory over Bowling Green in 2019.

Vaughn was more than satisfied with what he saw from Martinez.

"I think he did well," Vaughn said. "He was a game manager and he made plays with his legs with the football in his hands, and when we brought him in we told him that's what he's going to have to do.

"He did a great job, I feel like, and we're only going to build on this first game."

And by keeping the ball on the ground — they attempted just 19 passes in 64 plays — the Wildcats showed very little of the passing game to Missouri, which visits Manhattan next week.

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"We were able to run the ball pretty well to the point of where, if it ain't broke, don't fix it," Vaughn said. "To be able to keep some of those things in the shadows going into next week — keep some of the plays that we could have run tonight in the shadows, a way from a team like Missouri — is big time."

Martinez was only too happy to hand the ball off to Vaughn instead of trying to stretch the defense.

"I think our offensive line was doing a really good job up front, creating good holes in the run game, and Deuce was obviously doing a great job as well," he said. "And that's what the game called for."

What's more, it was a clean game for Martinez, whose biggest knock at Nebraska was his penchant for turning the ball over.

"That's definitely a point of emphasis and something that Kansas State is known for," he said. "And I want to stay true to that.

"We had some mental errors tonight, but as long as we don't beat ourselves, I think we have a really good chance against anybody."

Klieman agreed.

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"We probably missed a couple of chances. Sometimes there was protection issues and sometimes maybe we didn't locate a receiver," he said. "But I thought (Martinez) played really well and I thought he played within himself.

"The one thing is, we didn't turn the football over, and if you don't turn the football over and you block a punt and rush the ball for 297 yards, good things are going to happen."

If that means Martinez has to wait to showcase the skills that led him to pile up a school-record 10,000 yards of total offense at Nebraska, then so be it.

"If that's what the game calls for and that's what this team needs, then that's what I'm going to be," Martinez said. "I think we have a lot of playmakers, and I don't need to put the team on my back per se.

"I've got to do what coach CK (Klein) wants me to do and what this team needs, and tonight maybe it was a little bit more of a distributor, game manager type. But we got the win and that's what matters."

Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett network. He can be reached at agreen@gannett.com or on Twitter at @arnegreen.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Quarterback Adrian Martinez a winner in Kansas State football debut