No. 6 Oklahoma Outlasts Dangerous K-State

Spencer Rattler bounces back and Oklahoma finds its running game as the Sooners withstand another Wildcat rally.

Spencer Rattler / Scott Sewell-USA TODAY Sports

MANHATTAN, KS — Oklahoma encountered some of the same early speed bumps that had slowed them down early this college football season, but the Sooners quickly found a higher gear on Saturday.

Most importantly, No. 6-ranked Sooners remained undefeated after Saturday’s 37-31 victory at Kansas State, and may have figured a few things out along the way — and just in time for the Red River Rivalry.

Facing a hostile road crowd for the first time this season, quarterback Spencer Rattler opened the game by completing 22-of-25 passes for 243 yards, getting better seemingly on each drive before a late third-quarter interception.

Rattler put together a field goal drive to end the first half for a 13-10 lead, then directed two long touchdown drives — 9 plays, 75 yards (Kennedy Brooks cashed it in with a 2-yard TD run), and 9 plays, 90 yards (Rattler threw 14 yards to Mike Woods) — as the Sooners built a 27-10 lead midway through the third quarter.

Rattler looked comfortable and confident and in control of the offense from start to finish for the first time this season — never more so than on his 40-yard pass on a deep crossing route to Marvin Mims, the Sooners’ third-longest pass of the year.

Chris Klieman’s Wildcats responded with an emphatic touchdown drive of their own to cut it to 27-17 on Deuce Vaughn’s 7-yard TD run, then shocked the 47,690 purple-clad crowd with a deftly executed surprise onside kick — kicked and recovered by Ty Zentner.

But OU coach Lincoln Riley challenged the play, and replays showed Zentner inadvertently touched the ball twice, giving Oklahoma the ball at midfield. The Sooners gave it back almost immediately, however, when Rattler was intercepted by Julius Brents inside the K-State 10-yard line.

The Sooner defense got a fourth-down stop, and Rattler put together another touchdown drive — this one capped by an underhand touchdown pass to Jeremiah Hall — that stretched the lead to 34-17.

K-State added another TD from senior quarterback Skylar Thompson Landry Weber to make it 34-24 with 4:15 to play, but the Sooners put it away with a late field goal and recovered an onside kick in the final 90 seconds.

It was more than just another conference victory and first road victory for OU. It was also redemption for suffering shocking upset losses to the Wildcats in both 2019 and 2020.

The Sooners improved to 5-0 overall and 2-0 in Big 12 play, while K-State fell to 3-2 and 0-2.

It wasn’t a perfectly clean performance for Oklahoma. The Wildcat offense converted seven third downs and three fourth downs (including a handful of long-yardage plays) as Thompson returned from injury and gave the Sooners fits. Thompson finished with 320 yards passing, completed 29-of-41 passes and frustrated OU pass rushers all day by escaping trouble.

The Sooners also had early trouble running the football against the No. 9-ranked run defense in the country, but Kennedy Brooks took over in the second half and finished with 91 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries.

Hall, a senior H-back, scored his first career rushing touchdown in the first quarter, then added his 10th career receiving touchdown in the fourth quarter.

The Sooners also got three more field goals from Gabe Brkic, including a 47-yarder with 1:33 to play that almost put it out of reach.

But the Wildcats didn’t go quietly. After Brkic’s kick, Malik Knowles took the kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown that made it 37-31 with 1:20 to play, setting up K-State’s final onside kick that was recovered by Jadon Haselwood.