Kansas State at Oklahoma: Open Game Thread

Well, that didn’t work out as planned, did it?

The season opener was definitely as tough as advertised, and the final was not in the Kansas State Wildcats favor. We discussed what happened, how it happened, and how to move forward. Let’s face it, it’s going to be a tough season.

And it doesn’t get any easier today. The Wildcats are in Norman to face to Oklahoma Sooners, currently ranked #3 in the country and fresh off a shout-out win over Missouri State two weeks ago. The Sooners have a powerful offense led by Spencer Rattler, a redshirt freshman out of Arizona who appears to be Lincoln Riley’s next masterpiece at quarterback. Rattler had thrown for 290 yards and four touchdowns before he was pulled at halftime, and will be looking for similar results against a depleted K-State secondary.

Oh, and it’s not enough that the Sooners will be good. After last year’s incredible upset win by the Wildcats, expect OU to be out for revenge. It could get bloody.

For Kansas State, it appears as though an offense that was weakened for the ASU game will be back to nearly full strength, with Skylar Thompson and Noah Johnson reportedly recovering well from their injuries in game one, and several key players, like Joshua Youngblood, back and up-to-speed. While the Wildcats defense is still struggling with injuries and COVID, it appears as though the offense, at least this week, may be able to turn the corner and look more like we had expected they might look before craziness happened.

And while shutting out Missouri State is still decently impressive, it’s not like the Sooner defense has been especially great since Brent Venables left town a decade ago. Assuming the offense is healthy and clicking (that’s a pretty big assumption), they shouldn’t have too many issues scoring points. This could end up being a barn-burner, with a score very similar to last year’s 48-41 Wildcat Victory (which, for you bettors, would destroy the over/under of 61).

Though if the Wildcats haven’t figured out much in the past two weeks, this could end up like the 2018 game, and that would be suboptimal.

For two games in a row, the Wildcats have leaded spot on FOX with an 11am CDT kickoff being aired for a national audience for the Big Noon Kickoff show. We’ve got (presumably in Norman) Gus Johnson (play-by-play), Joel Klatt (analyst), and Jenny Taft (sidelines) on the call. The game should also be available streaming via Fox Sports Go. Be sure and check out Jon’s complete How To Watch guide for more info.

If for some reason you don’t get FOX, or can’t access the stream, the game can be heard across the 39-station K-State Sports Network with Wyatt Thompson (play-by-play), former K-State quarterback Stan Weber (analyst), and Matt Walters (sidelines) calling the action. The game will also be on Sirius channel 121, XM Channel 380, and available on the TuneIn app. Live stats are available at k-statesports.com, and Twitter updates (@KStateFB) will also be a part of the coverage.

Go Cats!