Oklahoma returns from its early-season bye on Saturday when it hosts Kansas State in the first Big 12 matchup of its current campaign. A year ago, the Wildcats shocked the Sooners, defeating them 48-41 and earning the distinction of being the only team to beat Oklahoma during the regular season.
Kansas State will look to spoil the party again this weekend, but its chances of pulling off another memorable upset appear slim.
Here's all you need to know ahead of Saturday.
- Kickoff time—Oklahoma hosts Kansas State at Memorial Stadium in Norman, Oklahoma. Kickoff is scheduled for 12 p.m. ET on Saturday, September 26.
- TV channel—FOX
- Live stream—FOX's digital platforms, fuboTV.
- Odds—Oklahoma is a 28-point favorite with DraftKings and 9/10 to cover the spread, while the over/under line in terms of total points scored is set at 60. In moneyline terms, Kansas State is a 19/1 underdog.
- Series history—Oklahoma leads the all-time series 76-20-4, but Kansas State pulled off a shock win in the most recent meeting last season.
Oklahoma hit the ground running in its season opener two weeks ago, thrashing Missouri State 48-0 with Spencer Rattler dazzling in his debut. The redshirt freshman completed 14 of his 17 passes for 290 yards and four touchdowns, despite playing just two quarters before being taken off the field at halftime with the Sooners leading by 41-0. Having begun the season as the No. 5-ranked team in the AP Top 25 Poll, Oklahoma has moved up to third place and it's the only non-SEC program in the top six of the AP Poll along with No. 1 Clemson.
Rattler's performance against Missouri State doesn't bode well for a Wildcats defense that was shredded for 330 yards and five touchdown passes in a 35-31 loss against Arkansas State in its season opener two weeks ago. On the other side of the ball, the Wildcats' hopes of repeating last season's upset rest again on Skylar Thompson, who stunned Oklahoma's defense 12 months ago, throwing for 213 yards and notching four rushing touchdowns in Kansas State's 48-41 win.
The result highlighted some lingering issues in an Oklahoma defense that ranked 34th in total defense and 46th against the run last season and Oklahoma defensive coordinator Alex Grinch will be eager to make amends for the performance.
Whether he can remains to be seen as the coronavirus pandemic continues to pose a major threat across college football. Ahead of their season openers two weeks, both programs admitted their games had been put in jeopardy because of players testing positive for COVID-19.
"It hung in the balance for a little bit, but we were able to do it," Sooners head coach Lincoln Riley said after the win over Missouri State. "Thankfully we were able to."
Kansas State faced a similar scenario before its game against Arkansas State, with coach Chris Klieman indicating the team was without 40 players because they had either tested positive or had been in contact with someone who had.
Both teams, however, should be ready to go for the weekend.
"If we feel like we've got any potential issues for being able to play the game, then we'll try to communicate those to a conference opponent and all that as soon as we possibly can," Riley said earlier this week.
Klieman echoed his colleague's stance: "I know everybody is kind of waiting on a day-to-day basis and that's the tricky part that all of us are dealing with," he added.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Dan Cancian is currently a reporter for Newsweek based in London, England. Prior to joining Newsweek in January 2018, he was a news and business reporter at International Business Times UK. Dan has also written for The Guardian and The Observer.
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