Kansas State Football: 3 keys to victory vs. Oklahoma State in Week 5

2. Win the time of possession

One of the main ways that Kansas State can keep Oklahoma State’s trio in check is by winning the time of possession battle. If they can control the clock and keep their offense on the field, they can keep Oklahoma State’s offense off it.

Oklahoma State can score quickly and does not need much time to do it, so the chance of Kansas State having the ball more than Oklahoma State is fairly high, purely due to style of offense. However, Kansas State will look to dominate time of possession as opposed to just having the ball longer than Oklahoma State.

Sometimes it can take an offense like Oklahoma State’s a few drives to get “clicking”, so the less opportunities the Cowboys have, the higher the chances are that Kansas State can come away with a victory.

Kansas State has three running backs with at least 20 carries, and their leading rusher James Gilbert has 277 yards rushing on 43 carries and three scores. They will rely on their running backs to eat clock, as well as their quarterback Skylar Thompson to make throws when needed. He has yet to throw an interception through out the first three games of the season and has looked efficient throwing the ball. He will need to continue playing like he has in order for the Wildcats to win.