Oklahoma (-20) at Kansas State - 9:00am Pacific

Last season Oklahoma was thought by many to be one of the best college football teams of all time.  Winning the national championship seemed to be a foregone conclusion until facing Kansas State in the Big 12 championship game.  The Wildcats shocked the world with a convincing 35-7 upset.  The vaunted Oklahoma defense was shredded for 519 total yards.  The Wildcats had four plays go for 60 yards or more, all four longer than any other play the OU defense had given up all season.  It was the last game coached by defensive coordinator Mike Stoops who had taken the head coaching job at Arizona before the game.  He insisted his situation would not effect the play of the team but the defense looked uninspired throughout the game.  Meanwhile, this might as well have been the Super Bowl for Kansas State and fans.  It was clearly one of if not the biggest win in school history.  The school sold videos of the Big 12 championship game, head coach Snyder received standing ovations at KSU basketball games, and everything was great in Wildcat land.  The Wildcats went on to lose their BCS bowl game to Ohio State 28-35 as a 7 point favorite and are 2-3 this year with wins over Lafayette and Western Kentucky (I-AA). 

 

Only 9 of Kansas State's 22 starters that beat Oklahoma last year are starting this year.  QB Ell Roberson, 1000+ yard receiver James Terry, and 3 100+ tacklers are among the departed.  The Wildcats are 0-3 vs respectable opponents and have given up an average of 39.3ppg in these three outings.  Meanwhile, the offensive line has been generating very little push and even with a standout RB like Darren Sproles, KSU has averaged just 1.8 (Fresno State), 2.7 (Texas A&M), and 1.8 (Kansas) yards per carry vs respectable opponents.  Strong defense and running the ball have been staples of KSU's success over the last decade.  So far this season they have not been present.  Sophomore QB Dylan Meier has shown improvement passing the ball in come from behind situations the last few weeks but has received criticism all week for opting not to start last week vs Kansas due to an undisclosed shoulder injury.  He entered the game in the second half but it was too late and toughness has been questioned.  He is listed as probable for this game but has still reported some pain in his shoulder.  KSU coach Snyder himself said it is unfortunate they play Oklahoma this week because there are many things they need to work on. 

 

As good as Oklahoma was last year, they are every bit as good if not better this year.  Some pundits questioned the strength of their defense this year but they showed they are in fine shape by holding Texas Tech to just 13 points two weeks ago and last week shutting out a very good Texas team.  No one can question an offense that averaged 42.9ppg last year and returns 10 starters plus has added super freshman RB Adrian Peterson who may already be one of the nations best backs.  This team is more experienced than last year and destined to get another shot at a national championship.  Oklahoma is 4-0 straight up and 3-1 ATS the week after beating Texas under Stoops and should have no need for extra motivation with last years Big 12 championship game fresh in memory.  OU cornerback Eric Bassey: "We remember what happened last year and we felt that we had something taken away from us that we thought we deserved.  The Big 12 championship was taken away from us by a team that we didn't think should have beaten us."  The Sooners had two revenge situations last year beating Oklahoma State 52-9 and Texas A&M 77-0.  They covered the spread in those two situations by an average margin of 37!  A three touchdown victory here is well within their comfort zone.

 

Oklahoma   1 UNIT