A top-of-the-table clash will come our way this coming Saturday as the Oklahoma Sooners and the Kansas State Wildcats square off in a crucial Big 12 showdown. Both teams scored contrasting victories this past weekend and they will look to score a vital conference win this coming weekend that will further bolster their case for a spot in the four-team College Football Playoff.
Read on for a preview of this matchup and while you’re at it, you can check out our preview of the Notre Dame vs. Florida State game.
[sc:NCAAFArticles ]Kansas State Wildcats vs. Oklahoma Sooners Betting Preview
Where: Memorial Stadium, Oklahoma
When: Saturday, October 18, 2014, 12:00 PM ET
Line: Kansas State Wildcats (+8) vs. Oklahoma Sooners (-8) – view all NCAA Football lines
Betting on the Kansas State Wildcats
The Kansas State Wildcats head into their big clash with Oklahoma with confidence soaring as they trounced Texas Tech 45-13 to improve to 4-1 for the season.
[sc:NCAA240banner ]Quarterback Jake Waters was in dominant form, completing 24 of 31 passes for 290 yards and four touchdowns. As if that wasn’t good enough, he also rushed for 105 yards and another TD as the Wildcats remained undefeated against Big 12 opponents this season (2-0).
They will face their toughest test, however, this coming Saturday, when they face No. 11 Oklahoma in a battle of top Big 12 teams. Kansas State will be fancying their chances against Oklahoma, though, as the Sooners are struggling with their game at the present time.
The Sooners lost to TCU two weeks ago and were lucky to escape with a win against rivals Texas last Saturday. Oklahoma struggled offensively, particularly in the match against Texas where they were dominated in almost every department especially in the passing game where Texas outgained Oklahoma 334-129.
With Oklahoma quarterback Trevor Knight struggling for form at the present time (26-of-55 passing the last two games), the Sooners may elect to go with their running game against the Wildcats this coming weekend. Kansas State will certainly hope that they will do just that as the Wildcats defensive line are the fourth best team in the FBS in terms of rushing defense, allowing just 81.4 yards on the ground this season.
Still, K-State head coach Bill Snyder is wary of Knight who torched the Wildcats for 171 yards and a touchdown on 14-of-20 passing in the Sooners’ 41-31 win against them last year. Snyder had a different view point on Knight’s recent struggles saying, “To me, he looks every bit as good. There’s all the talk about his efficiency throwing the ball, in other words his completion percentage, which I think is about 54 (55.1) percent. But you look at the throws he’s making, they’re the hardest throws you can possibly make.”
The onus then is on the Wildcats secondary to prevent Knight from rediscovering his form against them this coming Saturday. They are 64th this season in passing defense with teams averaging 234.4 yards per game against them.
The Wildcats are unbeaten in their three previous away games dating back to last season.
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Betting on the Oklahoma Sooners
The Oklahoma Sooners bounced back from their upset loss to TCU the week before with a 31-26 win over rivals Texas but not before surviving a huge scare against the Longhorns last Saturday.
Believe it or not, the Sooners had control of the football for only 22 minutes and two seconds as the Longhorns controlled the majority of the possession. As a result, the Longhorns had 13 more first downs (24-11) and built a 482-232 advantage in total offense. Still, the Sooners somehow managed to pull off the win thanks to big returns from Alex Ross and Zack Sanchez that gave Oklahoma the lead in the early going, one that they will never relinquish.
Still, it was a far from a convincing win for a team that was desperate for a big statement game after their shocking 37-33 defeat to TCU two weeks ago. Instead what they got was another poor offensive performance highlighted by quarterback Trevor Knight’s struggles once again.
Knight completed just 12 of 20 passes for a measly 129 yards and a touchdown as he was thoroughly outplayed by opposing QB Tyrone Swoopes. This was the second straight outing in which Knight has disappointed, as he threw for 309 yards on just 14 of 35 passing with two costly picks in the loss to TCU the game before.
He will need to get his act quickly and must step up his game against the Kansas State Wildcats this coming Saturday. The Wildcats are not an easy foe, though, as they are 15th in the FBS in total defense with opponents averaging just 315.8 total yards against them this season.
Still, the Sooners will be confident that they will get the desired result as they are still unbeaten at home this season. They have outscored their opponents by an average of 20.6 points on their way to assembling a perfect 3-0 home record so far. In fact, their excellent form at Memorial Stadium stretches back to August of last year as they are currently in the midst of a nine-game home winning streak.
Writer’s Prediction
The Sooners (-8) extend their winning streak at home to 10 with a win over the Wildcats.
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