Oklahoma vs Kansas State in Review
Oklahoma simply refuses to play up to its potential. The Sooners needed a fortuitist fumble and two game-changing instant replay overturns to squeak out another one-possession win 37-31 over Kansas State. In contrast, an undermanned Wildcat squad played with heart and determination for 60 minutes. Kansas State had several key players out with injuries, not to mention the victim of some questionable replay decisions.
Despite the fact that head coach Lincoln Riley states every week how close Oklahoma is to putting everything together, this simply isn’t the case. The Sooners just are not getting any better. It would be difficult to imagine a more overrated top 25 team.
Consequently, if any of the Sooner faithful feels like this is a good college football team it’s time to remove those crimson-colored glasses.
With this in mind, let’s dive into what will be the controversial subject of Oklahoma vs Kansas State in review.
Kansas State
The Wildcats came within a couple of instant replay reversals and a turnover deep in Oklahoma territory from a third consecutive upset of the Sooners.
Kansas State fought valiantly for four quarters. The Wildcats simply ran out of time and gas.
Offense
To virtually no one’s surprise, Skylar Thompson started and played the entire game. Despite clearly not at full strength, Thompson kept the Wildcats in the game, with 309 yards and three touchdowns through the air. Equally important, Deuce Vaughn was stellar. Vaughn rushed for 51 yards on 15 carries and 94 yards on 10 receptions.
The Wildcats controlled the ball for most of the first half limiting the Sooners to only three offensive possessions. The Oklahoma defense only forced one punt the entire game.
Defense
While the Wildcat defense was undermanned, they were able to limit three Sooner drives to field goals. At the end of the day, Oklahoma just had too much offense for the beleaguered Wildcat defense.
Oklahoma
Arguably, this was the best performance of the year for the Sooner offense. On the contrary, the Oklahoma defense did everything they could to give the game to Kansas State. Could it possibly be time for defensive coordinator Alex Grinch to scrap speed D and get some hard-nosed tough players?
Offense
Without question, this was the best performance of the season for the offense. For the most part, quarterback Spencer Rattler played really well. With the exception of a couple of mental errors, Rattler played like many expected coming into the season. The offense line played well, with the exception of Tyrese Robinson. Robinson was guilty of four penalties, the last of which was a cheap shot personal foul following Gabe Brkic’s last field goal. The 15-yard penalty was marked off on the ensuing kickoff, which allowed a Kansas State return for a touchdown.
Defense
Somewhat out of character, the defense was a definite negative. The Sooner defense was able to only force one punt the entire game. The defense simply can not get off the field on third or fourth down. The defense allowed the Wildcats to control the ball and the clock in the first half. To this point, the offense had only two first-half possessions.
This defense can’t cover well in the secondary. The opposing quarterback seldom feels any pressure. Another key point, the defense is fundamentally unsound and a very poor tackling group. After so much pre-season hype, the defense has been a big disappointment.
The Final Word
On the whole, this was a very unimpressive performance especially defensively. Contrary to what you may hear on Tuesday, this team is not getting close to anything positive.
As can be seen, the defense is soft and a very tackling group. Granted the offense took a step forward, the defense took two giant leaps back.
All things considered; Oklahoma is clearly not a top 10 football team. The Sooners have struggled week after week against inferior opponents. Quickly, the schedule gets much more difficult and that doesn’t bode well.
In conclusion, there is much cause for concern from the Sooner faithful. There will be a few disappointing Saturdays over the horizon.
