Kansas State has been able to shock Oklahoma for the past couple seasons. Will the Wildcats win again this year?
So far this season, the Kansas State Wildcats and the Oklahoma Sooners have a combined 7-1 record. That’s not bad, but neither team has looked anywhere near as good as their record would suggest.
Kansas State started the season by taking care of the Stanford Cardinal, winning 24-7, but then toiled to beat Southern Illinois 31-23. The Wildcats responded to that underwhelming win over an FCS team by beating Nevada 38-17. But, after getting beaten soundly by the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Wildcats are now hosting the Oklahoma Sooners.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma is somehow inexplicably still ranked in the top ten despite doing little to deserve it. Sure, the Sooners are unbeaten and they’ve occasionally looked dangerous on offense, but to be ranked at No. 6 and to lack consistency while struggling against inferior competition makes little sense.
Make your pick now on WynnBET.
So far, OU has beaten Tulane 40-35, Western Carolina 76-0, Nebraska 23-16, and West Virginia 16-13. There’s nothing inherently wrong with winning close games, but Oklahoma hasn’t looked like the national title contender that they should be.
So, as the Wildcats seek a third consecutive win over the Sooners and Oklahoma tries to get back on track, will Kansas State be able to overcome the offensive struggles it has experienced so far? Or will Oklahoma’s talent overwhelm K-State’s defense?
Here are three bold predictions for the game between the Sooners and the Wildcats:
No. 3: Oklahoma quarterback Spencer Rattler throws for 300 yards
Seemingly each and every season, Oklahoma quarterbacks tend to either win or be in the discussion for the Heisman trophy. While that’s not always the case, it certainly seems to be true since Lincoln Riley took over as OU’s head coach. Riley is a genius who is routinely the architect for great offenses each and every season. Under his guidance, both Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray have won the Heisman while Jalen Hurts finished as a finalist for the award.
It was expected that Spencer Rattler, the latest in a long line of talented quarterbacks, would be capable of contending for, and possibly winning, the Heisman this season. However, while Rattler’s performance this season has been solid, it has been far from noteworthy or exceptional so far.
Through the first four games of the season, Rattler has only thrown for more than 300 yards once, when the Sooners were hosting Tulane, a game in which he threw for 304 yards as Oklahoma won 40-35. So far, Rattler is averaging 254.3 passing yards per game. That’s pretty good, but it’s far from being good enough to win a Heisman this year.
However, this week, Rattler should get an opportunity to rack up a few passing yards. Kansas State’s pass defense hasn’t proven to be all that great. As such, the Wildcats give up 255 passing yards per game. In the Wildcats’ 31-20 loss to Oklahoma State, Cowboys quarterback Spencer Sanders threw for 344 yards and two touchdowns while completing 64.7 percent of his passes.
Prior to that dominant passing performance, Sanders had thrown for 255 yards, two touchdowns and an interception while completing just 53.8 percent of his passes.
If Sanders is able to improve his production that drastically against Kansas State, Rattler should have a similar opportunity. Expect to see Oklahoma’s quarterback torch the Wildcats’ defense this weekend.
No. 2: Oklahoma’s defense holds Deuce Vaughn below 50 rushing yards
Deuce Vaughn is the focal point of Kansas State’s offense and one of the best running backs in the Big 12 this season. He’s incredibly underrated and often overlooked, but he’s been very productive for the Kansas State Wildcats so far this season.
Through the first four games of the year, the sophomore running back has gained 393 rushing yards and scored five touchdowns on the ground for the Kansas State Wildcats. But while he’s been productive, the Oklahoma State Cowboys have shown that it is possible to slow Vaughn down.
Against the Cowboys, Vaughn only managed to gain 22 rushing yards off of a paltry 13 attempts. In fact, Vaughn was more valuable to Kansas State’s passing attack than the Wildcats’ ground game against Oklahoma State as he caught five passes for 73 yards and a touchdown.
It’s almost certain that Kansas State will have to rely on Vaughn to get their offense going. With quarterback Skylar Thompson dinged up, the Wildcats will turn to their star running back to carry the load against the Sooners. Even is Thompson is able to play, the knee injury he suffered could impact his ability to make plays. That makes Vaughn an important asset for the Wildcats.
However, if Oklahoma is able to routinely slow Vaughn down early on in the game and can also get out to a decent lead over the Wildcats in the first half, just as Oklahoma State did, Kansas State may be forced to abandon their game plan that is centered around running the ball. And if that happens, there’s almost no way Deuce Vaughn can get more than 50 rushing yards.
No. 1: Oklahoma remains undefeated and beats Kansas State on the road
This shouldn’t be a bold prediction. This should be expected by just about everyone, but given how Oklahoma has played to get this season going, some doubts about OU’s ability to win are fair.
The Sooners haven’t exactly always been convincing in their victories over inferior foes. It’s also worth noting how Oklahoma has lost to Kansas State twice over the past two seasons. Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman has figured out how to shock the Sooners.
Kansas State hasn’t been able to really generate a ton of offense outside of Thompson. But, with Thompson’s injury issues, it’s not clear how good the offense will be even when he is eventually able to return.
Against Oklahoma State, Kansas State managed to gain a meager 260 total yards of offense. On the season, the Wildcats have managed to average just 345.5 total yards of offense per game. This is while Kansas State’s opponents have averaged 330.3 total yards of offense per game.
While they’ve proven to be inconsistent, the Sooners are more than talented enough to gain yards and put up points against K-State’s defense. Oklahoma State has shown to that its offense is far from being consistently efficient or explosive, but against the Wildcats, the Cowboys were able to gain 481 yards, well above their season average of 372.8 total yards of offense per game.
The Sooners should be able to get their offense back on track after back-to-back weeks of underwhelming performances. When you consider how much the Wildcats are struggling to score points at all, it seems fair to say that Oklahoma should be able to win this one with relative ease. Expect OU to win by a score of 37-21.
For more NCAA football news, analysis, opinion and unique coverage by FanSided, including Heisman Trophy and College Football Playoff rankings, be sure to bookmark these pages.