We’ll gladly take a win. It’s now OU-Texas week!

After experiencing another too-close-for-comfort affair, the Oklahoma Sooners improved to 5-0 on the season with a 37-31 win over the Kansas State Wildcats. Yes, OU made some mistakes in this one that made us pull our hair out, but the performance of QB Spencer Rattler should give fans a bit more reason for optimism entering the Red River Shootout/Showdown/Rivalry/Whatever against the Texas Longhorns.

By the end of the day, the embattled Rattler completed 22 of 25 passes 243 yards and a pair of touchdowns to go with one INT. With Oklahoma’s defense repeatedly failing to get stops on third or fourth down, the redshirt sophomore’s clutch throws kept this one from becoming a third consecutive loss to the Chris Klieman’s program. This could have easily turned into an embarrassing blowout, but OU’s QB showed some much-needed mettle in front of a hostile crowd in Manhattan. He was able to do some nice things on the run and under pressure that give should give you a bit of hope that he can lead this team to the promised land provided that the offensive line continues to improve,

Speaking of the O-line, the group was far from perfect, but 4.1 yards per carry is certainly an improvement over what we saw last week. On a related note, OU needs to feed Kennedy Brooks the rock much more frequently.

The defense’s inability to consistently get pressure in a hampered Skylar Thompson was puzzling, and the inability to corral Deuce Vaughn in the open field was about as frustrating as one could expect. Actually, that’s probably an understatement. I think many of us are still livid about some of those third and fourth down conversions. At the same time, you have to recognize greatness, and Vaughn seems to fit that description even in the early stages of his career.

With all of that being said, this group made timely stops that simply would not have been made three years ago. Additionally, past issues with this K-State offense have a way of putting this into perspective, and I think most crimson-clad observers are just thankful for an improvement.

After struggling to a 13-10 halftime advantage, Rattler and the Sooners were able to put together a pair of fantastic TD drives to seemingly make this one comfortable. Sadly, ‘comfortable’ is not a word that ever really describes an OU lead, and late K-State kickoff return TD actually made this one come down to a late onside kick.

Anyway, we’ll gladly move onto the next one.

Boomer Sooner, and TEXAS SUCKS!

Lincoln Riley’s Sooners are trying to get into championship form as they look to break a streak against the Kansas State Wildcats.

The meat-and-potatoes, mistake-free identity of the Kansas State Wildcats seems to have been underscored by Chris Klieman, and it has unfortunately left Lincoln Riley without a win in two matchups against Bill Snyder’s successor. A clean performance should flip the script for the Oklahoma Sooners, who are trying to finally look like a championship-caliber team in their first road contest of the season.

Take it away, Toby.

Time & TV: Saturday, Oct. 2 at 2:30 p.m. CT on FOX

Commentary: Aaron Goldsmith and Brock Huard

Streaming: FoxSportsGO

Line: Oklahoma -11.5 (as of Saturday at 9 a.m. CT)

O/U: 52.5

OU-Kansas State Game Primer

Lincoln Riley Week Five Presser Notes

Allen Kenney examines how opponents are countering OU’s D-line

Week Five Gambling Picks from Allen

Nike drops the new Pegasus 38 Oklahoma shoe collection

My Gambling Picks

Arkansas +16.5 at Georgia

Texas -4 at TCU

Michigan +2 at Wisconsin

Wake Forest -7 vs. Louisville

Notre Dame +2 vs. Cincinnati

West Virginia -7 vs. Texas Tech

Alabama -14.5 vs. Ole Miss

Oklahoma State -4 vs. Baylor

Indiana +12.5 at Penn State

Clemson -15 vs. Boston College

LSU -3 vs. Auburn

UCLA -3 vs. Arizona State

Final Thoughts

Oklahoma being in the SEC by 2023 seems like the best bet, so this could be the last time the Sooners visit the Little Apple for the foreseeable future. While Bill Snyder Family Stadium’s size pales in comparison to the behemoths of OU’s future conference, this venue’s pound-for-pound electricity will always leave me impressed. Losing in that place only once in the 21st century will always be noteworthy, so let’s hope it stays that way.

The recent history of this series has essentially come down to the turnover battle. In K-State’s last four wins against the Sooners (2012, 2014, 2019, 2020), the Wildcats hold a combined 11-0 advantage in this department. In the 2021 tussle, the OU offensive line will need to win in the trenches in order to ensure that this doesn’t happen again. A clean pocket and a reliable run game should alleviate some of Spencer Rattler’s issues and lower the frequency of unnecessary risks.

On the other end, will we see Skylar Thompson today? ‘Unlikely’ has been the word of the week, but ‘out’ has not. The closer we get to kickoff, the more improbable an appearance seems, but I don’t think it will surprise people if he tries to give it a go. What we do know is that we’ll see plenty of dynamic playmaker Deuce Vaughn, whose similarities to Darren Sproles will always give OU fans some anxiety.

As much as we’d like to see a dominant performance today, I think we’d all settle for a W. I’m expecting a nail-biter, but if Bill Bedenbaugh’s group can assert itself to any extent, I like OU’s chances. Breaking even in the turnover battle wouldn’t hurt, either.

Prediction

Oklahoma 31, Kansas State 21