The Numbers
OFFENSE
RUSHING: KSU - 213.9 (18th) OU - 166.6 (51st)
PASSING: KSU - 140.9 (104th) OU - 379.0 (4th)
PPG: KSU - 33.6 (34th) OU - 44.3 (7th)
Overall Offense: KSU - 86th OU - 4th
DEFENSE
Rushing: KSU - 93.9 (13th) OU - 116.6 (26th)
Passing: KSU - 243.3 (85th) OU - 237.0 (76th)
Points Allowed per Game: KSU - 19.7 (23rd) OU - 19.4 (22nd)
Overall Defense: KSU - 30th OU - 41st
PREVIEW
Oh Jeeze, the one we have all been waiting for and worried about is now upon us. That giant, Oklahoma, is coming to town and they sure are pissed after losing a game at home against Texas Tech. Landry Jones (when is this guy gonna disappear, i feel like i have heard his name for the last 6 years!) is one heck of a quarterback, and that entire offense is just one big monster. Sure, he's no Robert Griffin, and he doesn't have the numbers that Case Keenum puts up year after year (Houston as a school is a quarterbacks dream), but Landry sure knows how to play and he gets it done week after week. With that set of running backs, it almost doesn't matter who is in for their run game either, Whaley is a stellar former walk on who has really turned it up a notch this season. Ryan Broyles is one of the best wide recievers in all of college football, and OU even has their own under rated and under appreciated fullback in Trey Millard. On a side note, some of us Kansans must know of Marshall Musil, of Lacrosse, KS. who is a backup fullback for Oklahoma. I would be lying to you if I said that I sometimes don't wish that Millard would get injured, just so I could see Marshall get in the game. I had the priviledge of playing against him in high school, and we beat him (barely), and the kid is good!
Anyways, on to the game. As stated, Oklahoma's offense is a seemingly unstoppable machine at times. However, Kansas was able to hold them for an entire two quarters and keep the game close. Yes, thats right, KANSAS. Only the last place defense in almost every statistical category. This goes to show that OU can be slowed down and even stopped. Some of the things that scare me, though, is that a team as good as Oklahoma RARELY loses two games in a row. Also, a team that just came off a close loss at home is gonna be extremely angry and fired up, and much more focused on their next game in order to avenge their loss. Therefor, i'm worried that OU is gonna come into this weekend fired up and ready to roll on us. But, seeing as they lost to Texas Tech, and we beat Texas Tech, our guys should gain alot more confidence stemming from that. And we all know ol' Bill is gonna have them as focused and ready to play as ever. Oklahoma has yet to play a team with a mobile quarterback like Collin, and our mix of players does cause matchup problems with just about anyone. You can take away our run game, and we will find ways to hurt you with the pass. You can take away our pass game, and Klein and Hubert will just tear you apart. You can take away both of them to a certain degree, and Collin Klein will still find ways to tear you up running the ball. We have some tight ends with incredible hands that are also very good at blocking. All in all, each spot on the field can potentially cause matchup problems.
Against Kansas and Texas Tech, Oklahoma's Defense looked like they had never played the game of football at times. As a matter of fact, for most of the Tech game, Oklahoma's defense looked like high school kids. Look for Klein to take advantage of that weak link in the OU defensive backfield, Gabe Lynn, who single handedly gave Tech an entire drive in 3 consecutive plays (defensive pass interference, unsportsmanlike conduct, then allowed a pass completion for td. in 3 plays.) The linebackers for OU, however, are pretty good. Lewis is a good player and he will be a tough guy to go up against. He's smart, he's fast, and he's a future NFL player, mark my words.
For us, our pass defense doesn't look too good, but our statistics in that have been somewhat screwed. I mean come on, we had to face some of Colleges best quarterbacks this year. Harris, Griffin, Franklin, Doege. And now Jones. And after that, Weeden. Then after that, Tannehill. Then we end it on Steele Jantz. I mean honestly, we have the roughest schedule in terms of good quarterbacks we have to face. So of course our Pass Defense is gonna look a little bit bad, but really, its done well against high caliber, most likely future NFL quarterbacks. The keys to this are, bend and don't break. Landry is gonna make some passes on us, of course he is. Just don't let him put it in the endzone too much. Garrett needs to be man to man with Broyles all game, while Malone needs to play maybe some zone, or QB read type positions. Put him in a position to make a big play on the ball, because it is what he is good at. Our Defensive ends MUST maintain pressure on Jones all game long, do not allow him to set up comfortably play after play or else it will be a long day for us. Arthur needs to just keep being Arthur, flying to the ball every play and making the big stops when its critical. Our safeties must not let anyone beat them deep, keep everyone underneath them so that they can make the play before it breaks into a huge gain. I believe if we do all of this, we have a good chance of pulling this game out.
Offensively, we must keep doing what we have done all season. Nothing too flashy, nothing to big. Just make no mistakes, keep a nice mix of run and pass, and always have the defense on their heels wondering what the true The Chamber Collin Klein is gonna do next. Harper needs to play at the level he has been at all season, and Broderick needs to consistently be our deep threat. Make use of Braden Wilson a little more again this game, and that just gives us one more way of keeping Oklahoma on the tips of their toes. Again, Oklahoma hasn't really faced an offense quite like ours yet this season, so this should be a fun game to watch, and one of the best games of the college football season.
COLLIN KLEIN DARK HORSE HEISMAN??!!
Haha, no. But I wish he was. Honestly, if Klein was a Running Back, he might actually be a dark horse candidate.
35th in the nation in rushing yards.
4th in the nation with Rushing Touchdowns.
And 4th in the nation in Points Scored.
Pretty good numbers if he was a running back right? But he's a quarterback, and i wouldn't have it any other way.
FINAL PREDICTION:
I believe that if we do all the things I talked about, we win this game 42-35. Thats ONLY if we do what I discussed....
