Kansas State at Oklahoma Preview

By Chuck Bednar  |   Friday, September 30, 2005  |  Comments( 0 )

College Football
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Remember when a game between the Kansas State Wildcats and Oklahoma Sooners had a major impact on the Big 12 standings? It wasn't that long ago, but it seems like an eternity for these two currently unranked schools, who meet this Saturday for a 7:00pm game in Norman, Oklahoma.

The Oklahoma Sooners are this season's biggest surprise, and not in a good way. They are 1-2 on the season, with their sole win coming against Tulsa, and are fresh off of an embarrassing 41-24 loss to UCLA. Sophomore RB Adrian Peterson, who entered the season at or near the top of just about everybody's Heisman lists, has only run for 341 yards and five scores in three games, with 220 of those yards and three of those scores coming in OU's lone victory. In each of the team's two losses, the former freshman phenom has failed to gain 65 yards and is averaging less than 3.0 yards per carry. Likewise, the team's quarterbacking duo of freshman Rhett Bomar and junior Paul Thompson have connected on just 52% of their combined pass attempts for 411 yards, no touchdowns and three interceptions. The offensive line has allowed eight sacks while the defense is giving up 365 yards and 24 points per game. Definitely an un-Bob Stoops-like performance thus far in 2005.

They face an undefeated yet untested Kansas State Wildcats team this week. Kansas State has blown out Florida International and North Texas this year, while surviving a September 10 scare against Marshall. They are averaging 272 rushing yards and 477 total yards per game offensively, thanks largely to the efforts of junior RB Thomas Clayton and junior QB Allen Webb. Webb has thrown for 543 yards and six touchdowns on the season, while Clayton, who is expected to play Saturday despite recent legal trouble, ran for more than 150 yards in each of his first two games and is averaging more than 7 yards per carry. Plus, you have to add to the equation a Wildcat defense that has allowed just over 250 yards per game. The question is, are these statistics indicative of how good K-State is, and will it even matter against a Sooners team that is struggling woefully? We'll find out on Saturday.
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