Oklahoma @ Kansas preview

Oklahoma at Kansas

Last Meeting ( Oct 15, 2022 ) Kansas 42, Oklahoma 52

Oklahoma coach Brent Venables likes to run a scout-team quarterback against his defense during practice.

He had some help earlier this week as the No. 6 Sooners prepared to visit Kansas in Big 12 play Saturday in Lawrence.

General Booty split reps with starter Dillon Gabriel as Oklahoma (7-0, 4-0) got ready to face either Jalon Daniels or Jason Bean at quarterback for the Jayhawks (5-2, 2-2).

"They've got two, we've got two," Venables said.

Kansas coach Lance Leipold said Monday that Daniels, who hasn't played since Sept. 23, was "doubtful to questionable" to play against the Sooners.

"He's making progress," Leipold said. "It's still not where it needs to go. ... I would expect Jason Bean to be the starting quarterback. and that's the direction we're heading."

The Jayhawks are coming off a bye week after dropping two of their last three without Daniels, though Bean did throw for 410 yards and five touchdowns in a shootout loss at Oklahoma State on Oct. 14.

"I feel that sometimes when I answer these questions because when you're talking about someone like Jalon it's like, 'Hurry up and get back here because this other guy can't get it done,'" Leipold said. "I don't feel that's the case (here)."

The Sooners escaped with a 31-29 win over UCF last Saturday.

Venables said last week that the Knights and Jayhawks were two of the best teams in the country at deception.

Oklahoma didn't always handle UCF's deception well.

"What I like is that we found a way to win and overcome some of our mistakes," Venables said. "But we've got great ownership of both the good and the bad, and that's allowed the growth process to take place. ... Our job is to fix some of those mistakes and the issues that we had and make sure our guys are comfortable with what we need and want them to do to execute at a high level."

Oklahoma has won 18 consecutive games in the series, with Kansas' most recent victory over the Sooners coming in 1997.

There have been some close games recently, though, including the last time Oklahoma played in Lawrence.

In 2021, the Jayhawks led 10-0 at halftime and 17-14 going into the fourth quarter before the Sooners stormed to a 35-23 win.

In that game, Kansas opened the gates at halftime, hoping to draw fans in for the second half after the first half was played in front of a small crowd.

That doesn't figure to be the case Saturday, when the Jayhawks are looking to pull off a big upset and clinch bowl eligibility for the second consecutive season.

"It's a testament to how much they've improved over the last two years," Oklahoma wide receiver Drake Stoops said. "People like watching good football, and they're a good football team, so it's gonna be a sold-out stadium."

The Sooners figure to have running back Tawee Walker back after Walker missed last week's game due to an in-house suspension.

Leipold said Tuesday that two players -- backup tackle Logan Brown and safety Andrew Russell -- had undergone season-ending surgeries.

--Field Level Media