K-State Wildcats vs. Oklahoma Sooners: Score prediction, betting line, TV, time
THE DETAILS
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Saturday
Where: Memorial Stadium, Norman, Oklahoma
TV: FOX
Radio: KCSP (610 AM) in Kansas City, KKGQ (92.3 FM) in WIchita
The line: Oklahoma by 12 1/2 with ano O/U of 53 1/2
Prediction
Recent trends suggest Kansas State will play Oklahoma tough and maybe even pull off a road upset on Saturday.
The Wildcats are 2-1 against the Sooners since Chris Klieman took over as coach. They are also 3-0 against the spread.
The last time K-State lost at home against a team from outside the power conferences, it bounced back from a 35-31 loss to Arkansas State by defeating Oklahoma 38-35 on the road in its next game. Can history repeat itself with the Wildcats now coming off a home loss against Tulane?
Maybe. If you believe that K-State lost to Tulane simply because it was hung over from beating Missouri while also looking past the Green Wave to Oklahoma, then you have to like their chances here.
But it’s also worth pointing out that K-State’s recent success against Oklahoma came with Skylar Thompson at quarterback. Over the past three years, he lit up the Sooners for 867 passing yards while playing a part in 10 touchdowns.
Can the Wildcats continue to cause problems for the Sooners without Thompson?
The offense hasn’t come anywhere close to matching that kind of production this season with Adrian Martinez at the controls. He is only averaging 4.6 yards per throw, which has forced the Wildcats to lean too heavily on star running back Deuce Vaughn.
Oklahoma is also different this season with Brent Venables now in charge. The Sooners are off to a 3-0 start and are coming off their most impressive victory of the year at Nebraska. Dillon Gabriel is now the quarterback.
The Wildcats should be able to challenge the Sooners with their defense. Oklahoma hasn’t seen anything close to K-State’s defensive line yet. But Martinez will need to play much better than he has in a purple uniform for that to matter.
I like K-State to play inspired football here with nothing to lose. If the offense can’t get more aggressive here, something is seriously wrong.
But that might only be enough to cover.
The Sooners are the most complete team in the Big 12, averaging 7.2 yards per play on offense and 4.1 yards per play on defense. I also think Venables is going to have a few tricks up his sleeve for his alma mater.
Oklahoma 31, Kansas State 20.
Last game prediction: Kansas State 42, Tulane 14.
2022 record on picks: 2-1.
2022 record vs. spread: 1-2.
2022 record vs. O/U points total: 2-1.
