The Kansas State Wildcats have been a massive thorn in the side of the Oklahoma Sooners for the last few seasons. If they keep it up again on Saturday, it'll be a huge blow to Bob Stoops, who could suddenly find himself on a very toasty seat in Norman.
ODDS ANALYSIS
Unlike last week when it was a complete shock that they lost to Texas in the Red River Rivalry, the Sooners are most certainly on upset alert this weekend. The No. 19 team in America is favored, but the margin is only five points.
The total has been lined at 58.
KEY MISMATCH
Last season, Trevor Knight called upon Sterling Shepard quite a bit. The Oklahoma City native had 15 catches for 197 yards and a touchdown, and he was able to both stretch the field out and make things work in the short passing game, too.
Has Kansas State learned anything from last season? It's not just Shepard that needs to be worried about. Knight went 26-of-32 in that game, and now, Baker Mayfield has taken over as the starter and is far more efficient and dangerous.
If the Wildcats can't stick with Shepard in this one, he'll surely be the game's top playmaker.
KEY STAT
35.3 – Oklahoma's third down conversion percentage this season, ranking just No. 96 in the country. Third down is what got the Sooners in so much trouble last week against Texas, as they converted just 3-of-12 on the most pivotal down in football.
BETTING ANGLE
The Sooners are now just 2-5 ATS in their last seven games played away from home. Those two wins came against Iowa State and Tennessee, and the second of those victories probably never should have come to fruition.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
Bill Snyder has always seemed to have the number of all of the top coaches in the Big XII, and this might not prove to be an exception. By definition, Kansas State is just a 3-2 team, but it was awfully close to upsetting TCU last week, and it probably should have had Oklahoma State the week before as well.
If judging by talent alone, this game shouldn’t be close. The Oklahoma defense is far superior to what the Wildcats are going to be throwing out there on the offensive side of the ball, and theoretically, Joe Hubener shouldn't be able to get a heck of a lot going. That should open things up for the OU offense, one which is most certainly capable of scoring 30+ against anyone in America.
However, we don't think it's going to play out that way. There's something wrong with this Oklahoma team right now, and we think it was exposed last week by Texas. Justin Silmon could be in for a huge game on the ground for Kansas State, and if he and his mates can rumble for 250+ yards in this one, there's a real chance for the upset.
The Sooners have a lot of talent, but for our money, that talent is being badly underused. We'll see another example of that this weekend when Oklahoma falls out of the Top 25 after a second consecutive SU loss to an unranked opponent.
Kansas State 31, Oklahoma 24
BookMaker opened the spread for this Saturday game at -5 in favor of the Oklahoma Sooners and a total of 58. Minute-by-minute spreads, totals and props are available for this game using the live betting platform at BookMaker.
Access live betting lines from your mobile device at BookMaker Sportsbook! You can wager on sporting events as they unfold on your television with BookMaker's live betting platform. Real-time spreads, totals, props and moneyline odds are all available by clicking here, so start betting with BookMaker today! The game between the Oklahoma Sooners and the Kansas State Wildcats will go down Saturday, October 17, 2015 at 3:30 p.m. ET at Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium. The matchup will be televised on ABC.
