KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Ticker) -- Ell Roberson and Darren Sproles made the Black Coaches Association Classic their personal showcase.
Roberson passed for three touchdowns and ran for another and Sproles rushed for a career-high 175 yards as fifth-ranked Kansas State defeated pesky California, 42-28, in Saturday's opener of the college football season at Arrowhead Stadium.
With the rest of the country waiting at least another week before opening the season, Saturday was expected to serve as a showcase for Roberson, who is being touted as a Heisman Trophy candidate, and Sproles, who ran for a school record 1,465 yards last season.
Both opened the season in style. Roberson completed 9-of-18 passes for 205 yards and threw TD passes to Travis Wilson, James Terry and Davin Dennis. He also ran for 145 yards on 18 carries.
"He had a little trouble with his option game and that had a lot to do with the University of California," Wildcats coach Bill Snyder said of Roberson. "They know we run the option and opponents spend a lot of time working against it. But overall it was good, I thought he had good command and presence."
Sproles carried 22 times, scored Kansas State's first TD on a five-yard run, and posted his 10th straight 100-yard game.
"It was a lot of fun with family and friends here," said the 5-7 Sproles, a native of Olathe, Kansas who had a 53-yard run on Kansas State's opening drive. "That really helped me. It set the tone for the night. It helped get me into a zone."
California lost 24 seniors from a team that made huge strides in its first season under Jeff Tedford, improving from 1-10 to 7-5. The Golden Bears managed to maintain their poise and stayed within striking distance, trailing by 13 points at halftime and by 14 points early in the fourth quarter.
The Wildcats could not feel comfortable until Roberson threw a 28-yard TD pass to Dennis with 10:14 left to make it 42-21.
"We didn't fold like a tent. That's a tremendous football team that we played," California coach Jeff Tedford said. "They had two guys with the ball in their hands that are good as anyone in the country. I thought it was a good game for some of our young guys."
Kansas State won its last seven games dating to last season and has captured its last 14 season openers.
The Wildcats gained 535 yards, but one of the more important plays of the game was by linebacker Brandon Archer, who stopped California quarterback Reggie Robertson for no gain on fourth down at the Kansas State 2 early in the second quarter.
Kansas State responded by marching the length of the field, with Roberson throwing a five-yard touchdown pass to Wilson to make it 17-7 with 6:17 left in the quarter.
Joe Rheem kicked a 37-yard field goal and Roberson found Terry on a 57-yard scoring strike to increase the lead to 27-7.
Robertson answered with a 65-yard TD pass to Geoff McArthur with 1:58 left in the first half to make it 27-14 at halftime. McArthur caught eight passes for 169 yards.
Robertson, who took over for the departed Kyle boller at quarterback, was 16-of-29 for 257 yards and three scores. He was replaced in the third quarter by Aaron Rodgers, but returned when a hard hit knocked Rodgers out of the game.
Sproles broke from the gate quickly, breaking loose for a 53-yard run on Kansas State's opening possession before scoring on a five-yard run.
Robertson threw a 34-yard TD pass to Vincent Strang to tie it at 7-7 before Rheem kicked a 22-yard field goal to give the Wildcats a 10-7 lead after one quarter.
California managed 440 yards against the respected Kansas State defense.
"We know we have a great team and we played a great team and did well against them," Strang said. "If we can hang in there with K-State, we'll be fine in the Pac-10."
Roberson scored on an 11-yard run for the only score of the third quarter.
California cut the deficit to 35-21 on a 22-yard TD pass from Aaron Rodgers to J.J. Arrington. Arrington caught a four-yard TD pass from Robertson with 4:27 left to cap the scoring.
Saturday marked the first meeting between the schools.
