K-State Wildcats vs. Oklahoma Sooners: Score prediction, game time, betting line, TV
THE DETAILS
Kickoff: 2:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Bill Snyder Family Stadium, Manhattan
TV: Fox
Radio: KKGQ (92.3 FM) in Wichita, KCSP (610 AM) in Kansas City
The line: Oklahoma by 12
PREDICTION
Chris Klieman and Skylar Thompson have been like Kryptonite to Oklahoma the past two seasons.
The Wildcats have gone 2-0 against the Sooners since Klieman took over as head coach and he named Thompson as Kansas State’s full-time starting quarterback. That is quite the winning streak, considering Oklahoma has gone 17-1 against the rest of the Big 12 during that time span.
Can K-State make it three straight upset victories over Oklahoma this weekend?
Never say never in this series, but there are several factors working against K-State in this year’s matchup, even though Oklahoma is off to a lackluster start that has seen the Sooners drop in the national polls despite a 4-0 record.
For starters, Thompson has been injured and hasn’t played in nearly a month. His status for Saturday’s game remains uncertain, though he has been practicing with the Wildcats all week and is close to a return. If he suits up, will he be rusty? If he doesn’t play, can Will Howard and Jaren Lewis lead the offense to enough points to seriously challenge Oklahoma?
Much like Oklahoma State did a week ago, the Sooners boast a strong defense that is only allowing an average of 16 points per game. They are at their best against the run, where they allow just 2.4 yards per rush.
That is bad news for the Wildcats.
K-State has dominated against weak run defenses this season. But when it went toe-to-toe with a bigger and stronger defensive front last week, the Cowboys held the Wildcats to 62 rushing yards.
Oklahoma State quarterback Spencer Sanders also busted out of a slump and threw for 344 yards against the Wildcats.
Oklahoma quarterback Spencer Rattler, who is completing 74.1% of his passes this season, is likely eager to throw against K-State’s defense after watching replays of that game. Rattler hasn’t lived up to preseason Heisman expectations, but he hasn’t been bad either. He has thrown for 1,017 yards and eight touchdowns.
Still, the Sooners have only scored a grand total of 39 points in their past two games. K-State can be effective against Oklahoma if it shores up a few things on that side of the ball.
The Wildcats have beaten the Sooners in the past by creating turnovers on defense and making big plays behind Thompson on offense. If they can jump out to an early lead and find a way to score on defense or special teams, theyw ill once again have a chance to beat Oklahoma.
But Oklahoma’s defense seems more equipped than ever to prevent a K-State upset.
Oklahoma 33, K-State 23.