Sooners Fall to Wildcats

Saturday, October 26

Manhattan, KS

11:00 AM

University of Oklahoma

7-1 , 4-1

Kansas State

5-2 , 2-2

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Oklahoma

Kansas State

Photo by: Ty Russell

October 26, 2019 | Football

Box Score Highlights Box Score Photos Final Stats Notes Quotes Replay Riley Postgame Photo Gallery

By: John Rohde

MANHATTAN, Kan. – While accumulating 22 consecutive true road victories, Oklahoma coaches and players repeatedly spoke of how difficult it was to keep that streak alive.

Those sentiments were no different when their impressive run came to an abrupt halt in Saturday's 48-41 loss at Kansas State.

"Winning on the road's hard. It's always hard," Sooners third-year head coach Lincoln Riley said afterward. "You've got to play good. You've got to be mentally tough. Give Kansas State a ton of credit. They beat us."

It was the OU's first true road loss in 1,848 days (Oct. 4, 2014, at TCU).

Amazingly, Saturday marked the first time this season Sooner fans were definitively outnumbered away from home. OU supporters pretty much equaled the opposing team's fanbase in previous games away from home against UCLA, Kansas and Texas.

"We hadn't really been quite in a road atmosphere like this yet this season, and they're different," Riley said. "You've got to be ready to handle them and embrace that."

The No. 5-ranked Sooners (7-1 overall, 4-1 in Big 12) jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first 5½ minutes, but the sellout crowd of 50,394 at Bill Snyder Family Stadium came alive when the Wildcats (5-2, 2-2) outscored OU 24-13 to take a 24-23 lead at intermission.

"We know what the environment is like coming in here," Riley said. "You know if they make some plays, there's going to be some momentum in that stadium… We talked all week about how this was going to be a battle, and it was."

Riley said his team having to settle for three first-half field goals kept KSU close and confident.

"We had a chance to really separate early in that game and we didn't do it," Riley said. "We let a good team in it. And they whipped us in the third quarter (17-0)."

Riley said he believed his team was emotionally ready to start the second half, but the unranked Wildcats instead ran off 24 straight points to take a 48-23 advantage with 12:54 to play.

After its opening drive of the game, KSU scored on eight consecutive possessions.

OU previously had not surrendered a touchdown on the possession following a turnover this season, but the Wildcats scored 14 points off two turnovers. Meanwhile, the Sooners have now gone four straight games without a takeaway.

"I thought our mentality, especially in the first half and even some in the third quarter, was a little too based on what was happening instead of just playing," Riley said. "In these games you've just got to play through the momentum swings."

OU scored 18 unanswered points to pull within a touchdown with 1:45 remaining.

The Sooners recovered the ensuing onside kick, but Big 12 replay officials ruled the ball was touched by Trejan Bridges before the ball had traveled the required 10 yards.

Riley adamantly pleaded his case with officials when the play was overturned, but officials ruled Bridges was not blocked into the ball.

"I was certainly under the impression that if they engage your player into it (the ball) there's no illegal touching. I may be wrong," Riley said. "It was a 50-50 call and it didn't go our way."

Riley said his defense, which had been much improved from last season, turned in its least-effective performance of the season.

"They ran the ball well," Riley said of KSU's perfectly balanced offensive attack that finished with 213 yards rushing and 213 yards passing. "They got out of tackles and we made I would think more mental mistakes than we've made all year. Not think, I know we did."

Riley also noted his team's poor defense in second- and third-and-long situations were costly. KSU converted 6 of 13 third downs and was 1 for 1 on fourth down.

Trailing by 25 points with less than 13 minutes remaining, the Sooners suddenly surged.

"I just knew we had a spark," Riley said. "I felt like the whole time we were going to make a run. It was just can we make it early enough?"

OU senior Jalen Hurts completed 19 of 26 passes for 395 yards and one touchdown (213.4 passer rating). He also rushed a season-high 19 times for 96 yards and three touchdowns.

Junior receiver CeeDee Lamb caught five passes for 135 yards and a 70-yard touchdown. It was his fourth 100-yard receiving game of the season and the 11th of his career.

Redshirt freshman kicker Gabe Brkic was 4 for 4 on field goal attempts (44, 25, 50 and 39 yards) and made all four PATs. He is 10 for 10 on field goals and 28 for 28 on PATs this season.

The Sooners are off next week and host Iowa State (5-3, 3-2) on Nov. 9.