Kansas State @ Oklahoma preview
Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
Last Meeting ( Oct 29, 2011 ) Oklahoma 58, Kansas State 17
The fifth-ranked Sooners host No. 13 Kansas State on Saturday in an early Big 12 Conference showdown. The contest is the conference opener for both teams. Oklahoma is coming off a bye after drubbing Florida A&M 69-13 on Sept. 8 while Kansas State heads on the road for the first time after holding off North Texas 35-21 last week. Last season at Kansas State, Oklahoma quarterback Landry Jones threw for a school-record 505 yards and five touchdowns as the Sooners scored the final 44 points en route to a 58-17 victory over the then-eighth-ranked Wildcats. Both teams entered that game at 7-0. Oklahoma has won five straight and eight of the last nine meetings with Kansas State. Bill Snyder is in his fourth season as the Wildcats' coach after returning to Kansas State in 2009.
TV: 7:50 p.m. p.m. ET, FOX. Line: Oklahoma: 13.5
ABOUT KANSAS STATE (3-0, 0-0 Big 12): Quarterback Collin Klein leads a Wildcats' offense that is averaging 46.0 points, 13th-best in the FBS. Klein is averaging 203 passing yards and 70 rushing yards per game and has accounted for nine touchdowns on the season (4 rushing, 5 passing). Junior running back John Hubert is averaging 98.6 yards per game on the ground. Tramaine Thompson is Kansas State's top receiving threat with 13 receptions for 211 yards and three TDs. The Wildcats, however, are susceptible to the pass, which is something Jones will try to exploit. Kansas State is ranked only 80th against the pass, yielding 251.3 yards per game. The Wildcats haven't beat the Sooners since 2003, when they upset top-ranked Oklahoma 35-7 to win the Big 12 title. Kansas State has not won in Norman since 1997. Kansas State is allowing only 93 yards per game on the ground. Senior linebacker Arthur Brown tops the Big 12 in tackles with 28.
ABOUT OKLAHOMA (2-0, 0-0 Big 12): Jones has completed 62.5 percent of his passes for 474 yards and four touchdowns while connecting with 10 different receivers in just two games. The primary target is Kenny Stills, who is second in the Big 12 with 120.5 receiving yards per game. Junior college transfer Damien Williams leads the Big 12 in rushing yards (129.5 per game) and touchdowns (five). He is seventh in the FBS in rushing yards per game and tied for fifth in touchdowns. He scored four of the Sooners’ eight rushing touchdowns in the win over Florida A&M. The Sooners are 11th in the FBS in scoring, averaging 46.5 points per game. With a career mark of 31-8, Jones needs one win to tie the school record set by Steve Davis from 1973-75. The Sooners are 11-2 in Big 12 openers under coach Bob Stoops, who has a career mark of 7-1 against Snyder. Stoops previously served as Snyder's offensive coordinator during Snyder's first stint at Kansas State.
EXTRA POINTS
1. The Sooners lead the all-time series 71-17-4 and own a 35-6-3 advantage in games played in Norman.
2. Jones is 11th on the NCAA's all-time list in career pasing yards with 12,853. Next up are Central Michigan's Dan LeFevour (12,905) and Houston's Kevin Kolb (12,964).
3. Klein leads all active quarterbacks in the FBS with 31 rushing touchdowns since the beginning of last season.
PREDICTION: Oklahoma 38, Kansas State 21