Oklahoma Football: Preview, prediction, live stream vs. Kansas State in Week 8
Oklahoma football hits the road and travels to Manhattan to play Kansas State in Week 8. Here’s everything you need to know.
The Sooners’ Playoff resume took a hit with an upset loss at the hands of Iowa State. That loss doesn’t disqualify them, but it does put them on high-alert entering this weekend’s road trip. Kansas State is a disciplined football team and Bill Snyder is a good coach. This one has all the makings of a letdown game following OU’s close win over rival Texas last weekend.
Kansas State enters this game with a two-game conference losing streak. Outside of beating Baylor, the Wildcats have yet to defeat another Big 12 opponent. And Baylor hasn’t beaten anyone at all. Downing the Sooners would be the crowning achievement of the season and yet another feather in Snyder’s cap.
According to ESPN’s FPI, the Sooners should have this one in the bag. They’re being given a 79.9 percent chance of emerging victories. Then again, they had a 96.6 chance of beating Iowa State at kickoff. Anything can happen
Here’s how to watch Saturday’s game between Oklahoma and Kansas State:
Date: Saturday, Oct. 21
Time: 4:00 p.m. ET
Location: Manhattan, Kansas
Venue: Bill Snyder Family Stadium
TV: Fox
Live Stream: Fox Sports Go
Keys to Victory
Kansas State has to come into this game with one objective: limit Baker Mayfield. That’s something that no one has been able to do this year. Even in defeat, Mayfield threw for 306 yards and two touchdowns with another on the ground against Iowa State.
The Wildcats are also not built to rally from a two touchdown deficit. They need to find a way to slow the game down, grind out drives and keep the score within a touchdown when the fourth quarter begins. After that all bets are off and the Wildcats have their chance to make the plays that count.
Oklahoma needs to get rid of whatever gremlins got to them against Iowa State and the second half of the Texas game. The Big 12 isn’t known for their defense as a whole, but the secondary has looked particularly suspect over the past two weeks. That’s going to be attacked on Saturday. They need to find some answers and keep the Wildcats from big plays in the passing game.
Prediction
Oklahoma has some warts, but Kansas State lacks the explosiveness on offense that it’s going to take to upset the Sooners. If Oklahoma loses again it’s going to be with a score of 44-41, not 24-20. That latter is a much more feasible score in this game, assuming the Wildcats can come close to their 8th ranked 31.7 points per game.
Next: NFL Mock Draft 2018: First round entering Week 8
Baker Mayfield has another big game and the Oklahoma secondary works out some of its kinks. Two interceptions give the Sooners the edge in the turnover battle and on the scoreboard.
Final Score: Oklahoma 31, Kansas State 17