Burkhart's Breakdown: Oklahoma sets record straight; puts K-State in its place

By Jeff Burkhart


Whatever thoughts Kansas State had of contending for a Big 12 championship were effectively put to rest just before 6 p.m. Saturday afternoon. The ninth-ranked Oklahoma Sooners came into Bill Snyder Family Stadium with a large chip on their shoulders and dominated the Wildcats 58-17. The Sooners gained the edge early and never looked back. The game was played at the pace in which Oklahoma thrives: fast and frenetic. Nothing fazed the Sooners. Oklahoma looked like a team on a mission on Saturday, and for the first time all season, K-State looked like it didn’t belong. 

Offense: D- 

K-State’s approach was going to be virtually identical to the one it took in games against Baylor, Missouri, and Texas Tech: Control the clock, slowly but surely move the chains, and, above all else, slow the game down. Possession 1: 1-yard run, 5-yard pass, sack, and punt. It was evident after the first series that Oklahoma was more than prepared for whatever K-State was going to throw at them. 

The Sooners defense was back to nearly full strength with the return of linebacker Tom Wort and it showed. As Oklahoma has done all season, the Sooners made a living in the Wildcats’ backfield. All told, Oklahoma finished with 10 tackles behind the line of scrimmage, resulting in 57 total yards being lost by K-State ball carriers. Quarterback Collin Klein was sacked seven times by Oklahoma’s defense (had only been dumped 14 times through the ‘Cats first seven games). K-State followed up its best offensive output of the season (466 yards vs. Kansas) with its worst (240 yards vs. Oklahoma). 

The Sooners athleticism was what allowed them to impose their will on K-State in the second half. Even without starting cornerback Jamell Fleming, the Sooners back end was far superior to the Wildcats wide receiving corps. Oklahoma defensive coordinator Brent Venables showed ZERO respect for the K-State passing game in the second half, which proved to be a shrewd move. Down after down the Sooners brought additional defenders on blitzes, leaving secondary players on an island. It didn’t matter. The ‘Cats ran 29 plays for a grand total of 32 yards in their seven possessions of the second half. I shutter to think how bad this game could have been had that been Oklahoma’s approach from the start of the ballgame. 

Nigel Malone's two interceptions were about
the only bright spot for the KSU defense.

The positives are few and far between for K-State’s offense. The ‘Cats had been great at third down conversions (48.6 percent) through their first seven games but only managed to convert 4-of-13 against the Sooners. The running game was effective for much of the first half but K-State failed to counter Oklahoma’s half-time adjustments, hence the six straight punts to finish the game. K-State’s margin for error was the smallest it had been all season and the need for each player to win his individual match-up was paramount. That happened for approximately 10 minutes of game-time. The remaining 50 minutes, well, I think the final score speaks for itself. 

Defense: D 

Records were broken inside Bill Snyder Family Stadium on Saturday, and not the kind of records K-State wanted broken. Oklahoma quarterback Landry Jones threw for a school record 505 yards and five touchdowns. The Wildcats also gave up a stadium record 690 yards of total offense to the Sooners (9.4 yards per play). 

The Sooners looked like a finely tuned offensive machine against the K-State defense. Oklahoma penetrated K-State territory on each of its 13 possessions. Going into the game, Oklahoma’s offense had struggled in the red zone, converting only 21 of 38 opportunities into touchdowns. Against K-State, the Sooners cracked the ‘Cats 20-yard line five times, scoring touchdowns on each occasion. 

You cannot single out one unit as the reason behind this loss. Defensive coordinator Chris Cosh came out with a plan of playing soft zone coverage in hopes of limiting passing windows and preventing the deep ball. The problem was that K-State’s defensive line failed to generate any sort of pass rush to disrupt the timing of Oklahoma’s offense. Consequently, Jones rarely had to look beyond his first option.  

The game obviously got away from K-State in the second half. The Sooners scored five consecutive touchdowns to open things up after intermission. Keep in mind that Oklahoma was working with a short field in the third quarter – average starting field position was Oklahoma’s 35-yard line – due in large part to the abysmal play of K-State’s offense. Additionally, Oklahoma scored its five touchdowns in an average drive time of 1:25. K-State’s offense was giving the ball back just as quickly (2:23). No rest for a defense going against a no-huddle team is always a recipe for disaster. 

It was a day of worsts for K-State. The ‘Cats surrendered season-highs in passing (520), rushing (170), and total yards (690). I know I may be alone in this but I don’t believe K-State’s defense is as bad as it looked against Oklahoma. Cosh’s strategy put the ball in Oklahoma’s court right at the beginning of the game, thus making what was already going to be an uphill battle that much more difficult. K-State may not have the horses to run with Oklahoma’s face-paced offense, but in my mind the game plan attributed to the poor performance more than anything else.  

Special Teams: B 

Snyder needed special teams to come up big in this game. Non-conventional scores are always great but K-State needed short fields more than anything else. Tramaine Thompson and Tyler Lockett delivered in that respect. Thompson’s 32-yard return set up the K-State offense for its first score of the game. There were no sensational returns by either Thompson or Lockett but both were solid. 

The punting game played a much bigger role in this game than most people might have thought going into the game. Mother nature brought some heavy gusts into Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Give punter Ryan Doerr credit. The South Carolina transfer was called on several times to punt into a stiff wind coming out of the south and still managed to average 42 yards per kick. That part of the kicking game was acceptable. The fieldgoal unit was another story. 

Bob Stoops definitely got the better of Bill Snyder
on Saturday in Manhattan.

Anthony Cantele knocked in a career-long 54-yarder for the ‘Cats first points of the game. But when the junior was called upon for a chance to tie the score at 20-20 with 4:27 left in the first half, he shanked a 25-yarder. It seemed that one play drained all of the momentum K-State had gained to that point in the game. That was ‘Cats last legitimate scoring threat… the eerie thing was it seemed as if the team knew it. 

Parting Thought: Forget about it 

The game against Oklahoma was a chance to prove that the program was back. K-State had passed every test up to that point in its season. But it is abundantly clear that the Wildcats are not up to Oklahoma’s level. 

I don’t think anyone expected that kind of a beatdown. The Wildcats didn’t just lose. They were embarrassed on their homefield. That’s always going to stick with a team. The question is will this team use it as a motivator or will it dwell on their 41-point loss to the Sooners? Each of the past two seasons the Wildcats have endured brutal losses (2009: 66-14 L @ Texas Tech | 2010: 48-13 L vs. Nebraska) and followed those performances up with convincing victories the next week (2009: 62-14 W vs. Texas A&M | 2010: 59-7 W @ Kansas). That’s going to be a big challenge this coming week. 

Next up is a road trip to Stillwater, Okla., to take on the 3rd-ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys (8-0). Just what the doctor ordered, right? Another spread offense that likes to speed up the game. One thing’s for sure, K-State’s coordinators have plenty of examples of what not to do against a high-octane, no-huddle offense. 

Now, 19th-ranked K-State is faced with a tall order this week. How the Wildcats approach the game against Oklahoma State will be evident early in the contest. K-State coach Bill Snyder has done a great job at getting his teams to refocus after a loss. Will he be able to do it this week? We shall see. This will be a true test of K-State’s character.