Game Primer: OU vs. Kansas State

Saturday, September 26

Norman

11:00 AM

University of Oklahoma

Kansas State

Photo by: Josh Gateley

September 25, 2020 | Football

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^3/3 Oklahoma

Kansas State

Saturday, Sept. 26 / 11 a.m. CT / Owen Field

FOX / Radio / Live Stats / Game Notes

OPENING KICK

• No. 3/3 Oklahoma looks to avenge its only 2019 regular season loss when it hosts Kansas State on Saturday at 11 a.m. CT at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. The game will be televised by FOX with Gus Johnson, Joel Klatt and Jenny Taft announcing.

• OU has won seven straight Big 12 openers and 11 of its last 12. Its last Big 12-opening defeat came to No. 15 Kansas State in Norman in 2012 (24-19).

• Oklahoma (13) and Kansas State (two) have combined for 15 Big 12 championships in the league's first 24 years (they shared the 2012 crown).

• OU is the only program to win at least three straight Big 12 titles, and has done so twice (2006-08 and 2015-19). Its current streak of five straight outright league championships is the longest among Power Five programs since Alabama won five in a row from 1971 to '75 (Clemson is also riding a five-game outright streak [ACC]). The last time the Sooners won at least six consecutive conference championships was 1972-80 under head coaches Chuck Fairbanks (1972) and Barry Switzer. The last current Power Five program to win six straight outright conference titles is Oklahoma (12 in a row from 1948 to '59).

• OU is 19-1 (.950) at home under fourth-year head coach Lincoln Riley. Its only such defeat was a 38-31 decision against Iowa State on Oct. 7, 2017. The Sooners have won 17 straight at home since.

• Oklahoma owns a 76-20-4 (.780) all-time record and a 13-6 (.684) Big 12-era mark against Kansas State, the highest winning percentages by a Wildcats' opponent among current Big 12 programs. In fact, no other current Big 12 program has a winning record against K-State since the league began in 1996.

• OU's 76 all-time wins against Kansas State are its third most among all opponents (89 vs. Oklahoma State and 77 vs. Kansas). The Sooners have won 10 of the last 13 matchups vs. K-State and 13 of the last 17.

• The road team has won six of the last nine meetings in the OU-Kansas State series, but the home team has won three of the last four, including each of the last two.

• Oklahoma is 41-4 (.911) in regular season Big 12 play since the start of the 2015 season (when Riley arrived in Norman). The next best record during that span is 28-17 (.622) by Oklahoma State. OU is also 3-0 in Big 12 Championship games during the period.

• The Sooners are 70-13-2 overall and 32-3 at home as the No. 3 team in the AP poll. Against unranked opponents, OU is 47-6 (24-3 at home) as the AP's No. 3 squad.

Seth McGowan

KEY STORYLINES

• Oklahoma has won more Big 12 championships over the last 21 years (13) than it has lost home games. OU is 120-10 (.923) at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium since the start of the 1999 season, with all 130 of those games sellouts. It is the best home winning percentage among Power Five schools over the last 21 seasons (Ohio State is next at .892). OU has outscored its opponents by an average of 43-17 in those games. No school has won more than two Big 12 titles since the Sooners won their first in 2000.

• The Sooners will be looking to avenge their only 2019 regular season loss when they host the Wildcats. OU took a 10-0 lead last year in Manhattan but was outscored 48-31 the rest of the way, including 34-6 in the second and third quarters, in a 48-41 defeat that snapped OU's nation-leading 22-game true road winning streak and marked K-State's first home win in the series since 1996 (had lost seven straight).

• OU redshirt freshman quarterback Spencer Rattler will look to build on a highly successful first career start against Missouri State two weeks ago. In one half of action, Rattler, the consensus No. 1 QB in the 2019 recruiting class, completed 14 of 17 pass attempts (two touchdown drops) for 290 yards and four TDs without an interception en route to being named Big 12 Newcomer of the Week. His 303.3 passing efficiency rating is the best in the nation this season by 50 points and set Big 12 and OU freshman records.

• Oklahoma's defense made huge strides under first-year coordinator Alex Grinch last season and got off to a suffocating start in this year's opener vs. Missouri State. OU's 48-0 win represents one of just six shutouts nationally so far this year, and the Sooners rank first in the country in yards allowed (135.0), pass efficiency defense (67.3 rating) and opponent third-down conversion percentage (.000; 0 for 11), second in passing defense (81.0 ypg), third in yards per play (2.93) and fourth in rushing defense (54.0).

• The Sooners have won more Big 12 titles the last five seasons (five) than they have lost games against Big 12 opponents (44-4 record; includes three Big 12 Championship games).

UNITY GAME VS. K-STATE

• Earlier this year, OU Athletics created "Sooners For Humanity," a program designed to provide a framework to address issues that negate and suppress the human experience. This framework is built on five pillars of Civic Responsibility, Social Intelligence, Education, Accountability and Advocacy, and supports a continued tradition of excellence by addressing issues of humanity with student-athletes, coaches, staff and the wider athletics community. As part of the program, each team will host a Unity Game, which will highlight social justice awareness. This Saturday vs Kansas State will be the OU football team's Unity Game.

RECAPPING THE WIN OVER MISSOURI STATE

• Spencer Rattler's first collegiate start was one for the history books, as the redshirt freshman, in a 48-0 win over Missouri State, became the first OU freshman quarterback to throw four touchdown passes in his first start. Rattler was 14 for 17 through the air for 290 yards in only one half of work, staking the Sooners to a 31-0 lead after the first quarter and a 41-0 halftime advantage.

• Rattler set Big 12 and OU freshman records for passing efficiency rating (303.3; the next highest national figure this season is 253.3) and also set school frosh records for yards per completion (23.7) and yards per pass attempt (17.1). The 303.3 efficiency rating was the third best in OU history regardless of class. He also became the second OU freshman QB in his starting debut (Sam Bradford is the other) with two touchdown passes of at least 50 yards. Two of his four TD throws went to redshirt junior receiver Charleston Rambo (53 and 15 yards).

• Oklahoma started the game with seven straight three-and-outs on defense and seven straight scores on offense.

• OU held Missouri State to 135 yards of total offense, the fewest by an opponent since 2015 when Kansas State managed just 110 yards. The Bears averaged 2.9 yards per play, were 0 for 11 on third downs and punted nine times.

• The Sooners registered four sacks (1.5 by junior linebacker DaShaun White) and nine tackles for loss. Junior safety Delarrin Turner-Yell notched his first career interception and returned it 42 yards.

• Rattler was replaced in the second half by redshirt sophomore Tanner Mordecai, who was 14 for 17 passing for 157 yards. He threw a 16-yard TD pass to redshirt freshman receiver Finn Corwin (first career catch) and had one interception. Freshman QB Chandler Morris was 2 for 2 for 37 yards while rushing twice for 25 yards in his debut.

• Running back Seth McGowan and receiver Marvin Mims were two of 11 true freshmen who saw the field for OU. McGowan ran nine times for a game-high 61 yards (6.8 average) and a touchdown while turning his only reception into a 37-yard score. Mims caught three passes for a game-high-tying 80 yards, one of them going for a 58-yard TD. He also returned three punts for 68 yards (22.7 average, long of 34). His 148 all-purpose yards were the second most by an OU freshman in his career debut.

• Redshirt senior kicker Stephen Johnson, who played in place of preseason All-American Gabe Brkic, was named Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week after making both of his field goal attempts (42 and 22 yards) and all five of his PAT attempts. Johnson's only other career appearance was for an on-side kick attempt late in OU's loss at Kansas State last season.

• Attendance was a sellout of 22,700. The game was the first in the Missouri State head coaching career of Bobby Petrino, who suffered his first career shutout at the collegiate or NFL level. It was OU's first shutout since a 55-0 win at Kansas State in 2015.

• Sixteen members of OU's offensive and defensive depth charts did not play. Neither did Brkic.

LAST YEAR VS. KANSAS STATE

• Oklahoma's 22-game true road winning streak came to an end in a 48-41 loss at Kansas State on Oct. 26, 2019. It was the Sooners' first true road defeat in 1,848 days (Oct. 4, 2014) at TCU.

• After taking a 10-0 lead, No. 5/5 OU was outscored 48-31. The Sooners committed two turnovers, both of which resulted in K-State touchdowns, while the Wildcats had no turnovers. Entering the day, OU had not surrendered a touchdown on the possession following a turnover on the season.

• KSU held a 38:08-21:52 advantage in time of possession. The margin in the third quarter was 11:25 to 3:35.

• Jalen Hurts completed 19 of 26 pass attempts for 395 yards and a touchdown while running 19 times for 96 yards and three scores without a turnover. His 491 yards of total offense were the most by a Big 12 player in league play on the year.

• CeeDee Lamb finished with five catches for 132 yards, one of them a 70-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter. Nick Basquine also notched a 70-yard reception to set up OU's first TD of the day.

• Placekicker Gabe Brkic was 4 for 4 on field goal attempts to improve to 10 for 10 on the year. He hit from 44, 25, 50 and 39 yards to become the first OU kicker to make four field goals since Michael Hunnicutt went 4 for 4 against Iowa State in 2011. The 50-yarder was OU's longest since Austin Seibert's 51-yarder against West Virginia in 2017.

HUMPHREY, BRKIC NAMED PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS

• Redshirt junior center Creed Humphrey and redshirt sophomore kicker Gabe Brkic each landed multiple preseason All-America honors.

• Humphrey, from Shawnee, Okla., earned preseason first-team All-America honors from the Associated Press, Sporting News and the Walter Camp Foundation. The 2019 consensus second-team All-American and first-team All-Big 12 pick was the Big 12 Co-Offensive Lineman of the Year and a finalist for the Rimington Trophy for the nation's top center after registering 98 knockdowns and not allowing a sack in his 864 plays. He has made 25 starts over the last two years, including in all 14 games in 2019. Humphrey anchored the middle of OU's O-line unit that won the Joe Moore Award in 2018 and was a semifinalist last season.

• Brkic, who hails from Chardon, Ohio, and was the only placekicker nationally who made all of his field goal and extra point tries in 2019 (69 for 69 combined), is a preseason first-team All-American by Sporting News and a second-team selection by the AP. A 2019 Lou Groza Award semifinalist and a second-team All-Big 12 pick, Brkic took over kicking duties prior to the Sooners' fourth game of the season and went 17 for 17 on field goal attempts and 52 for 52 on PATs to earn freshman All-America honors from the FWAA and The Athletic, and first-team All-America honors from CBS Sports. His 103 kicking points were the most by an FBS player without a miss since at least 1996.

LEAGUE-HIGH SIX SOONERS EARN BIG 12 PRESEASON HONORS

• A conference-high six Sooners received Big 12 preseason honors and five were named to the 2020 Preseason All-Big 12 Football Team that was selected by media who cover the league.

• Redshirt junior wide receiver Charleston Rambo, redshirt junior offensive linemen Creed Humphrey and Adrian Ealy, junior defensive end Ronnie Perkins and redshirt sophomore placekicker Gabe Brkic were among the 29 players to earn preseason all-league recognition by position. Redshirt freshman quarterback Spencer Rattler was selected as the Preseason Big 12 Newcomer of the Year.

• Oklahoma's six overall player selections were the most in the league while OU and Texas tied for the most honorees on the preseason team with five. OU's four offensive players were also more than any other school (Oklahoma State had three).

Spencer Rattler

YEAR TWO OF SPEED D

• Hired in January 2019, coordinator and safeties coach Alex Grinch, who was a 2019 Broyles Award semifinalist, oversaw major improvement on the defensive side of the ball last season.

• Oklahoma ranked 17th nationally in opponent third-down conversion percentage (32.2; in 2018 [before Grinch's arrival] it ranked 119th at 46.4), 17th in tackles for loss per game (7.4; in 2018 ranked 79th at 5.6), 32nd in rushing defense (134.1 ypg; in 2018 ranked 59th at 159.8), 34th in sacks per game (2.6; in 2018 ranked 49th at 2.1), 38th in total defense (356.4 ypg; in 2018 ranked 114th at 453.8), 58th in passing defense (222.4 ypg; in 2018 ranked 130th at 294.0) and 64th in scoring defense (27.3 ppg; in 2018 ranked 101st at 33.3).

• In Big 12 play, OU led the league in total defense (330.6 ypg) and passing defense (190.4 ypg), and ranked second in rushing defense (140.1 ypg), pass defense efficiency (125.7 rating) and third- and fourth-down conversion percentage (33.3 each).

• OU forced a punt on its opponent's first possession in 12 of 14 games.

• The Sooners allowed more than 6.0 yards per play just twice in their 14 games last season. In the 41 games from 2016-18, OU allowed at least 6.0 yards per play 20 times.

• Seven of OU's top 10 tacklers last season were freshmen or sophomores. Three then-sophomore defenders (S Pat Fields, S Delarrin Turner-Yell and LB DaShaun White) started every game, and two others (DE Ronnie Perkins and DB Brendan Radley-Hiles) each started 13. Two then-redshirt freshmen (OLB Nik Bonitto [eight] and DL Jalen Redmond [three]) and two true freshmen (CB Jaden Davis and OLB David Ugwoegbu) each started at least one.

YOUNG RUNNING BACKS ROOM

• Oklahoma, which has produced a Big 12-leading six individual 1,000-yard-rushing seasons by running backs over the past five years (the next most in the conference during that span is three) and has led the Big 12 in rushing offense in all three of Lincoln Riley's campaigns as head coach, will divide its carries this season among a largely inexperienced group.

• OU returned just 20.4% of its rushing yards and only 18.4% of its rushing touchdowns from last season.

• Senior Rhamondre Stevenson is OU's leading returning rusher. He ran 64 times for 515 yards and six TDs in his debut season last year, and his 8.0 yards per rush led the nation among players with at least 50 carries.

• Junior T.J. Pledger carried 10 times for 65 yards and a score while redshirt freshman Marcus Major ran 10 times for 28 yards in his three contests.

• Freshman Seth McGowan is a consensus four-star recruit who was rated as the nation's No. 13 running back by Rivals and No. 16 by 247Sports and ESPN. He rushed for more than 3,700 yards and 45 touchdowns at Mesquite Poteet (Texas) High School.

IMPRESSIVE FOOT-NOTE

• During Lincoln Riley's three-plus-year head coaching career, Oklahoma ranks second nationally with its 87.3% success rate on field goal attempts (55 for 63). The Sooners trail only Florida, which has converted 91.2% of its tries (52 for 57). TCU is the next best Big 12 school in the category (81.5%; 53 of 65).

• During the same period, the Sooners rank third nationally in PAT conversion percentage among teams with at least 150 attempts, converting 250 of 251 tries (99.6%). Only Georgia (175 for 175) and Utah State (170 for 170) have higher success rates.

NO. 1 ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BALL

• The 2019 season marked the first in the 24-year history of the Big 12 the Sooners led the conference in both total offense (526.9 ypg; next most was 462.8) and total defense (330.6 ypg; next fewest was 357.6) in league play. The only other team to do it was co-national champion Nebraska in 1997.

Lead, Speed D

"AIR RAID" A MISNOMER

• Fans and media have often referred to Oklahoma's offense under Lincoln Riley as the "Air Raid." The label is not exactly accurate, however, as the Sooners have rushed more than they've thrown in each of the five years since Riley arrived in Norman, and that's counting plays in which the quarterback was sacked as pass plays (officially they are recorded as rushes). OU's rushing play percentage was 52.6 in 2015, 57.7 in 2016, 53.1 in 2017, 54.7 in 2018 and 57.3% last season.

RILEY'S FAST START

• The Football Bowl Subdivision's youngest head coach (33) at the time of his hiring, Lincoln Riley became just the fifth mentor in FBS history with no previous head-coaching experience at a four-year college to win at least 12 games in his debut season. At 24-4 and 36-6, he also holds the OU record for most wins by a head coach in his first two and first three seasons (Barry Switzer held the records of 21 and 32). No one in the last 125 years has won more games in their first three seasons as a college head coach (Penn's George Woodruff from 1892 to '94).

• Riley is one of just four FBS head coach since at least 1996 to win three conference titles in his first three years as a head coach. Marshall's Bob Pruett [1997-99], Miami's Larry Coker [2001-03] and Oregon's Chip Kelly [2009-11] also accomplished the feat.

OFFENSE HAS ROLLED UNDER RILEY

• Oklahoma owns the nation's most productive offense since the start of the 2015 season, which was Lincoln Riley's first year as OU's offensive coordinator. Riley still calls plays as head coach.

• Since the start of the 2015 campaign, OU ranks first nationally in scoring (44.7 ppg; next most is 41.5), total offense (555.6; next most is 518.1), yards per play (7.8), touchdowns from scrimmage (388), pass efficiency rating (189.8; next best is 168.1) and yards per pass attempt (10.8), second in completion percentage (69.3), third in passing offense (324.2) and 10th in rushing offense (231.4).

• In 69 games since the start of the 2015 season, OU has registered at least 500 yards of total offense 50 times (next most is 41), including in 40 of the last 52 outings, topped the 600-yard mark on 25 occasions and gone over 700 yards seven times. Similarly, OU has scored at least 30 points in 61 of 69 games since Riley's arrival, at least 40 points 45 times, at least 50 points 25 times and at least 60 points eight times.

HEISMAN U

• Quarterbacks Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray became Oklahoma's sixth and seventh Heisman Trophy winners in 2017 and '18, respectively, moving the Sooners into a tie with Notre Dame and Ohio State for the most Heisman winners. Other OU winners were QB Sam Bradford in 2008, QB Jason White in 2003, RB Billy Sims in 1978, RB Steve Owens in 1969 and RB Billy Vessels in 1952.

• Quarterback Jalen Hurts was the 2019 Heisman Trophy runner-up and became Oklahoma's 11th Heisman finalist, most of any school (finalists were first named in 1982). Miami (Fla.) ranks second with nine finalists, Alabama ranks third with eight and Florida ranks fourth with seven.

• Oklahoma boasts 10 Heisman finalists in the last 20 years (since 2000), which is four more than the program with the next most during that span (Alabama has six).

• OU is the first program to ever produce five Heisman finalists in a four-year period (Hurts, Murray in 2018 [won], Mayfield in 2017 [won] and Mayfield [finished third] and receiver Dede Westbrook [finished fourth] in 2016). With Mayfield's and Murray's wins, Oklahoma is the only program to produce different quarterback winners in consecutive seasons.

• OU is tied for the most Heisman runners-up, as well (six). OU's second-place Heisman finishers were Kurt Burris (1954), Greg Pruitt (1972), Sims (1979), Josh Heupel (2000), Adrian Peterson (2004) and Hurts (2019).

• Oklahoma has produced four Heisman Trophy winners in the last 17 years. Only three other programs have produced four winners ever.

• An Oklahoma quarterback has finished in the top four of Heisman voting in each of Lincoln Riley's five years with the Sooners (Mayfield fourth in 2015, third in 2016 and first in 2017; Murray first in 2018; Hurts second in 2019).

BIG 12'S BELL COW

• Since the first year of the Big 12 in 1996, OU has claimed 13 league titles and is followed by Texas (three), Baylor, Kansas State and Nebraska (two each), and Colorado, Oklahoma State, TCU and Texas A&M (one each). All 13 of the Sooners' titles have come since the start of the 2000 campaign, with no other program during that span winning more than two. OU is 140-29 (.828) in regular season Big 12 play since the start of the 2000 season. That's 25 more wins than the program with the next most victories during that period (Texas; 115-54) and 46 more than the program with the third most (Oklahoma State; 94-75).

COLLEGE FOOTBALL'S BEST

• During the modern era of college football (since the end of World War II), the Sooners are the nation's No. 1 team with more wins (665) than any other program (next most is 621 by Ohio State).

• Oklahoma is the highest-scoring program in college football history with 36,431 points (in 1,289 games).

• OU leads all FBS programs with 49 all-time conference championships. The rest of the top five includes Nebraska (46), Michigan (42), Ohio State (38) and USC (37). The Sooners' 13 league titles since 2000 are the most among Power Five programs (Ohio State ranks second with 10).

• No program has more all-time 10-win seasons than Oklahoma, which has 40 (including a nation-leading 17 since 2000). In addition, OU's 26 seasons with at least 11 wins are the most in college football history.

• Since former head coach Bob Stoops arrived in Norman in 1999, OU leads all Power Five conference programs in wins (227) and points scored (10,828).

• The Sooners have made 421 all-time appearances in the AP poll's top five, more than any other program (Alabama is next with 414 and Ohio State third with 388). That means OU has been in the top five in 36 percent of all AP polls (1,171 total polls), which started in 1936. OU has made 26 AP top-5 appearances since the start of 2017.

Lead, FB team

EXTRA POINTS

• First-year Oklahoma assistant coach Jamar Cain (outside linebackers and defensive ends) was an assistant coach (defensive ends) at FCS powerhouse North Dakota State during the 2014-16 seasons under current Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman. NDSU went 40-5 during Cain's tenure and captured the 2014 and 2015 FCS National Championships.

• Oklahoma is 41-4 (.911) in regular season Big 12 play since the start of the 2015 season, which coincides with Riley's arrival at OU. Oklahoma State ranks second during that period (28-17; .622), TCU and West Virginia third (25-20; .556) and Texas fifth (24-21; .533).

• Two of the OU's scoring drives against Missouri State in the season opener took one play. Spencer Rattler hit receiver Marvin Mims for a 55-yard score on OU's second possession (drive lasted 10 seconds) and then connected with running back Seth McGowan on a 37-yard TD on the team's fourth possession (drive lasted 11 seconds).

• Every Oklahoma freshman class since 1999 has won at least two conference championships. Baylor's 2011, 2012 and 2013 freshman classes are the only other ones in the Big 12 that have won two conference titles (the Bears won league crowns in 2013 and '14).

• Oklahoma has ranked in the top seven nationally in total offense each of Lincoln Riley's five years calling plays and in the top three each of the last four seasons (7th in 2015 [530.2 ypg]; 2nd in 2016 [554.8]; 1st in 2017 [579.6]; 1st in 2018 [570.3]; and 3rd in 2019 [537.6]).

• OU has been ranked in the AP's top 10 in 56 of the last 58 polls. The only times it wasn't during that stretch was following its 2017 loss to Iowa State (fell from third to 12th) and following its 2018 loss to Texas (seventh to 11th).

• The Sooners have won 53 straight games when leading after the third quarter. The last such loss came on Dec. 6, 2014, when they led Oklahoma State 28-14 entering the fourth quarter but lost 38-35 in overtime.

• Since Riley joined the OU program as offensive coordinator before the 2015 season, the Sooners rank third nationally by averaging 324.2 passing yards per game and lead the country in passing efficiency rating (189.8; next best is 168.1) and yards per pass attempt (10.8). During the same five-year span, OU paces the nation with eight individual 1,00-yard rushing seasons (Samaje Perine in 2015, Perine and Joe Mixon in 2016, Rodney Anderson in 2017, Kennedy Brooks and Kyler Murray in 2018 and Brooks and Jalen Hurts in 2019).

• In 69 games since Lincoln Riley arrived in Norman in 2015, OU has punted more than its opponent just eight times. On five of those seven occasions it was just one more punt.

• OU is the only program that has produced at least four NFL Draft picks each of the last 13 years.