Oklahoma Football: 3 takeaways from Big 12 upset loss at Kansas State

3. Kansas State exposes holes in the Oklahoma defense

Kansas State welcomed Oklahoma to Manhattan and promptly displayed for the Sooners where they are deficient on defense. The Wildcats were especially punishing at the point of attack, as the offensive line consistently won its battles against the Oklahoma front seven and opened holes for their running backs.

James Gilbert led the way on the ground, gashing the Sooners for 105 yards on 13 carries. Right behind him was Jordon Brown, who earned 12 carries and churned out 63 hard-fought yards against the Big 12 leaders. Skylar Thompson was critical as a threat on the ground, running in three touchdowns and finishing with 39 rushing yards.

Thompson was also solid through the air, completing 18 of his 28 attempts for 213 yards. He did not throw any touchdowns, getting the ball across the goal line with his legs instead of his arm, but he also avoided turnovers throughout the contest.

It was the type of performance that exposes a College Football Playoff contender from a College Football Playoff pretender. While the Sooners still have a path to the four-team field if they manage to win out and regain a top-10 spot as a 12-1 Big 12 champion, they have a lot of work ahead of them after Kansas State revealed their deficiencies stopping a competent ground game.