Kansas State Wildcats: By the Numbers

Oklahoma opens Big 12 play this weekend against the Kansas State Wildcats.

NORMAN — Oklahoma’s Big 12 opener lost a little shine last weekend.

The Kansas State Wildcats (2-1) fell victim to Tulane, dropping the contest to the Green Wave 17-10 in Manhattan.

Before last weekend, Chris Klieman’s team had enjoyed a dominant start to the season with a pair of easy wins over South Dakota and Missouri, but the offense sputtered against Tulane.

Still the Wildcats were a popular dark horse pick to play for a Big 12 Championship in the offseason for a reason, and the KSU defense is still one of the best units Oklahoma (3-0) will see all year.

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Kansas State linebacker Daniel Green has two interceptions already this season for the Wildcats :: Troy Taormina / USA TODAY Sports

Kansas State’s defensive front is the strength of the team, but the Wildcats have played great on the back end of the defense through three games.

The KSU secondary has plucked seven interceptions already this year, the second-best mark in the country.

On top of being opportunistic on the back end, the Wildcats still get to the opposing quarterback 2.3 times per game.

OU quarterback Dillon Gabriel and the Sooner offensive line are going to face their stiffest test of the year by far.

Gabriel has yet to turn the ball over, though he’s played three lackluster defenses in UTEP, Kent State and Nebraska.

Regardless of who the opponent is, taking care of the football is always a high priority for the Hawaiian quarterback.

“(I try) being super stingy with the football,” Gabriel said on Tuesday. “We talk about that every day in the quarterback room and just trying to continue to do that. Just be smart with it. You know, don't do anything unnecessarily and throwing away the ball when you need to, not taking sacks and not putting the ball in jeopardy.”

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Wildcat running back Deuce Vaughn is the engine to Kansas State's explosive rushing attack :: Scott Sewell / USA TODAY Sports

With talented running back Deuce Vaughn leading the charge, the Wildcat rushing attack is always formidable.

Throw Nebraska transfer quarterback Adrain Martinez into the mix and Kansas State has been dominant on the ground.

Klieman’s team averages 239.3 rushing yards per game, which ranks 12th in the country.

In KSU’s first two games, Vaughn rushed for a combined 271 yards and three touchdowns, though he was held to just 81 yards on the ground against Tulane.

Oddly enough, Vaughn has done most of his damage against the Sooners the last two years in the passing game.

Despite rushing for a combined 86 yards against the OU defense in 2020 and 2021, Vaughn has 233 receiving yards.

This year’s Wildcat passing attack has been lethargic, but Vaughn represents a major threat once he gets into the open field.

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Adrian Martinez has struggled as a passer since transferring to Kansas State from Nebraska :: Scott Sewell / USA TODAY Sports

All across the country, transfer quarterbacks have made huge impacts with their new schools.

But Kansas State is still waiting for any kind of production through the passing game from Martinez.

The Nebraska transfer has thrown for 304 total passing yards and one touchdown this season, and is only completing 62.1 percent of his passes since arriving in Manhattan.

Kansas State has an impressive collection of skill position talent between Vaughn out of the backfield and wide receivers Malik Knowles and Phillip Brooks, but the longest passing play all season for the Wildcats has been a measly 28 yards.

Klieman said Martinez met with offensive coordinator Collin Klein this week to urge the quarterback to let it fly, but Oklahoma’s Brent Venables is trying to combat complacency within his defense.

“With Adrian… I want to make sure these guys remember,” Venables said on Tuesday. “We had a little cutup made of Adrian against the Sooners from a year ago so they could get a really good picture of what that looks like, just a reminder. We weren’t trying to embarrass anybody or needing extra motivation. This is a dude, now.

“… Big, strong, really fast, incredibly mobile, keeps his eyes down the field, does a great job in a dual threat. He has a terrific touch on the deep ball. He has really good weapons as well and a really good scheme to help him be successful.”

The Sooner will open up conference play at 7 p.m. on Saturday, and the game will be broadcast on FOX.