Oklahoma @ Kansas State preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 15, 2016 ) Kansas State 17, Oklahoma 38

Ninth-ranked Oklahoma is one of five teams in a 2-1 logjam for second place in the Big 12 Conference behind TCU. The Sooners, who still have their sights set on a Big 12 title and garnering one of the four College Football Playoff spots, can ill afford another slip-up when they travel to Kansas State on Saturday.

Bill Snyder's Wildcats come in off back-to-back losses at Texas (40-34 in double-overtime) and last week against then-No. 6 TCU (26-6) with starting quarterback Jesse Ertz on the sideline nursing a knee injury suffered against the Longhorns. Ertz, who averaged 186.0 passing yards and 67.2 rushing yards through the first five games, warmed up before the loss to the visiting Horned Frogs, but was replaced by sophomore Alex Delton who struggled in his first college start, completing just 11-of-29 passes for 146 yards and rushing for 39 yards on 19 carries. "Jesse will be able to play," Snyder said during Monday's weekly Big 12 teleconference. "I don't know when exactly it's going to be. He'll be back on the field." Kansas State has won two of the last five meetings with the Sooners but both of those wins surprisingly came in Norman with Oklahoma blasting the Wildcats 55-0 in the their last meeting in Manhattan.

TV: 4 p.m. ET, FOX. LINE: Oklahoma -14

ABOUT OKLAHOMA (5-1, 2-1 Big 12): The Sooners are coming in off a 29-24 win over Texas in the Red River Showdown in Dallas on Saturday, blowing an early 20-0 lead before quarterback Baker Mayfield hit tight end Mark Andrews for a 59-yard game-winning TD with 6:53 to go. Mayfield, who finished fourth in Heisman Trophy balloting a year ago, has completed 117-of-161 passes for 1,937 yards, 17 touchdowns and one interception while Andrews leads the team with 23 receptions for 459 yards (20.0 avg.) and three touchdowns. Trey Sermon leads OU in rushing (81 carries, 469 yards, 3 TDs) and coach Lincoln Riley hinted that explosive sophomore starter Abdul Adams, who is averaging 10.6 yards per carry and had a school-record 99-yard touchdown run in a wild 49-41 win at Baylor, could return this week from an ankle injury suffered in a Oct. 7 loss to Iowa State.

ABOUT KANSAS STATE (3-3, 1-2): Ertz ranks second in the nation in yards per completion (16.9) and leads the team in rushing with 336 yards so his absence would be a big one if he can't return this week. The Wildcats rank 15th in the nation in turnover margin (plus-6) and 39th in scoring defense (21.0) and are led by linebacker Trent Tanking, who is seventh in the Big 12 with 50 tackles, and All-Big 12 tackle Will Geary, who has a team-best 6.5 tackles for loss and three sacks. The big question is how well the secondary, led by Kendall Adams (two interceptions, one fumble return for TD) but ranked just 88th nationally allowing 238.2 yards per game, holds up against Mayfield and Co.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Oklahoma has won 13 consecutive true road games which is tied with No. 1 Alabama for the longest active streak in the country.

2. Mayfield has completed 45-of-58 passes (77.6 percent) for 628 yards, nine touchdowns and one interception in two previous games against Kansas State.

3. Kansas State is 21-8 in Big 12 home games since the 2011 season but hasn't defeated a top-10 team at home since defeating No. 4 Texas in 2006.

PREDICTION: Oklahoma 38, Kansas State 17