Saturday NCAA: Kansas State Wildcats at Oklahoma Sooners
Quick, what team is in first place in the Big 12 North? Nebraska? Kansas? Missouri? Nope, it’s unheralded Kansas State. But look at who the Wildcats have beaten so far this season: UMass, Tennessee Tech, Iowa State, Texas A&M and Colorado. Not a good team among that group.
K-State has yet to play a ranked opponent and Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska — the teams originally picked to win the North — are still to come. Some would point to a 66-14 loss at Texas Tech as evidence that K-State is overachieving.
We should certainly find out of KSU is really a North contender on Saturday when it visits Oklahoma, which is a 27.5-point favorite on WagerWeb.com.
Whether KSU can hang will pretty much be determined by if it can run the ball – the Wildcats have rushed for more than 200 yards in the past two games and are second in the conference in rushing; senior RB Daniel Thomas leads the Big 12 with 814 yards, 165 attempts and nine TDs on the ground. KSU can’t pass much, ranking just No. 104 in the nation.
The Sooner defense is second in the nation in scoring and third in rushing defense. The Sooners have allowed only three points in the first quarter of their last 13 games and have held their opponents scoreless in the first quarter in nine consecutive games. That unit held high-powered Kansas 200.5 total yards and 28.5 points below its season averages in last week’s blowout. OU is on a school-record 27-game home winning streak and must win to have any shot, albeit unlikely, for a fourth straight Big 12 title.
The only chance KSU has for the upset is to force turnovers. It forced four Colorado turnovers and has a total of 10 takeaways in the last two games. For the season, the Wildcats are plus-10 in turnover margin, tied for first in the Big 12.
Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops was an assistant coach at KSU under current Wildcats coach Bill Snyder from 1989-95. OU leads the series 69-17-4 overall, 36-6-3 in Norman. The Sooners have won the last three including 58-35 at Manhattan last season.
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