Final thoughts on Oklahoma Sooners primetime matchup with Kansas State Wildcats

The opponent gets tougher as the Oklahoma Sooners get set to face the Kansas State Wildcats on Saturday night. In front of a capacity crowd under the lights, the Oklahoma Sooners will look to put on a show in their first conference game of the Brent Venables era.

Despite who the Wildcats have faced, Kansas State is the toughest opponent they’ve faced thus far.

The Wildcats pose problems on both sides of the ball that could keep this game interesting into the second half, but the Sooners have the talent and the coaching staff to earn another statement win Saturday night.

Here are this week’s final thoughts.

Fast Start Offensively

Sep 17, 2022; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Dillon Gabriel (8) celebrates with offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby after the game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Memorial Stadium. Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Kansas State’s best chance to win this game is to keep it close. They don’t have the offensive firepower to keep up with the Oklahoma Sooners for four quarters. The Wildcats will want to slow the game down, take the air out of the football, and limit Oklahoma’s possessions.

The Sooners will have to maximize their opportunities every time they touch the ball. They need to come out of the tunnel firing on all cylinders.

In two of Oklahoma’s three games this season, they got out to fast starts. Though they were forced to punt on their first drive against Nebraska, the Sooners still finished the first quarter with a 14-7 lead, and they carried that momentum through to a 21-point second quarter.

If Oklahoma’s able to get an early two-score lead against the Wildcats, that will play right into what Brent Venables wants to do on defense. Get after the quarterback.

Crowd the line of scrimmage

Sep 10, 2022; Manhattan, Kansas, USA; Kansas State Wildcats running back Deuce Vaughn (22) runs away from Missouri Tigers linebacker Ty’Ron Hopper (8) during the fourth quarter at Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium. Scott Sewell-USA TODAY Sports

Kansas State running back Deuce Vaughn is the Oklahoma Sooners’ biggest threat in this football game. Adrian Martinez, D.J. Giddens, and Malik Knowles can make plays in the offense, but it all starts with Deuce.

This is a week that the Oklahoma Sooners can load up the box and get after the running game. Oklahoma’s done that relatively well in years past, even if Vaughn has been able to win in the passing game. The Sooners have held Vaughn to just 3.73 yards per carry in the two matchups. This is a better run defense than Vaughn has seen from Oklahoma.

Oklahoma should be able to dictate the game defensively.

Instead of opening with three defensive linemen and three linebackers like they did a week ago against the Cornhuskers, the Sooners can roll out their base personnel in more of a traditional 4-3 alignment.

Even if Adrian Martinez and the Wildcats come out with 11-personnel (3 WRs, 1 RB, 1 TE), you should still be thinking run and playing everyone within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage.

In 2022, Adrian Martinez hasn’t proven that he can win consistently beyond 10 yards down the field. According to Pro Football Focus, he’s just 5 of 16 on throws of 10 yards or more in 2022. Last week against Tulane, he was just 2 of 5 on throws of 10 yards or more. That was in a game that Kansas State was trailing late.

Adrian Martinez isn’t going to push the ball downfield much, allowing Oklahoma to play within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage and focus on stopping the run and the short area passing game.

Tackle Well

Sept. 10, 2022; Norman; Oklahoma Sooners linebacker Danny Stutsman (28) and Oklahoma Sooners linebacker David Ugwoegbu (2) celebrate during the first half against the Kent State Golden Flashes at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

For the most part, the Oklahoma Sooners have tackled well through three games in 2022. Brent Venables and Ted Roof would argue they’ve got room to improve, and this week will provide a stiff test in that department.

Opponents have forced 29 missed tackles against the Oklahoma Sooners. Some of that comes from the aggression and the speed with which the defense is playing. Also, a few of the players they’ve faced were just difficult to bring down.

Colin Schlee of Kent State created five missed tackles by himself in week two.

According to Pro Football Focus, Kansas State has only forced 16 missed tackles this season. Deuce Vaughn leads the way with eight, Adrian Martinez with four, and D.J. Giddens has three.

Martinez averages 2.4 missed tackles forced per game for his career, but in 2022, he’s averaging just 1.33. Martinez can beat you with his legs as a runner and by extending plays when under duress. When Oklahoma gets a chance to bring him down, they can’t miss.

Deuce Vaughn is going to get his yards, and he’s going to make people miss. The Sooners must get multiple players to Vaughn every time he touches the ball to limit his impact.

Play team defense

Nebraska wide receiver Trey Palmer (3) carries the ball against Oklahoma defensive lineman Ethan Downs (40) during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022, in Lincoln, Neb. (AP Photo/Rebecca S. Gratz)

The Oklahoma Sooners coaching staff has done a good job of instilling a focus on playing within the scheme. It shows up on Saturdays, as you don’t see players blowing assignments or coverages. When opponents have won on a play, it was simply that they executed the play well. It happens.

The one area where Oklahoma’s had some issues this season is in the read-option and quarterback run game.

In week one, the Sooners bottled up Gavin Hardison, limiting him to one carry for -10 yards on a designed quarterback run. In week two against Kent State, though, Collin Schlee made some things happen in the run game.  Schlee ran for 29 yards on four designed quarterback runs, according to PFF. Nebraska didn’t really have much of an opportunity to get the quarterback run game going as Oklahoma’s defense defended the read-option well, limiting Casey Thompson’s impact as a runner.

They’ll have to do the same thing this week as Kansas State is very read-option-heavy with Adrian Martinez and Deuce Vaughn. To defend the read-option well, the Sooners will have to play team defense.

If they’re assignment-sound and rally to the football, they’ll have another great day defensively.

Take Owen Field Back

Sep 10, 2022; Norman, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma Sooners fans light their cell phones during the second half against the Kent State Golden Flashes at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Each week is another opportunity for the Oklahoma Sooners to show the college football world this new era of Oklahoma Football under Brent Venables is different.

While Oklahoma is the prohibitive favorite, there still seems to be a bit of concern with the Wildcats coming to town. The last time they were in Norman, they walked away with a 38-35 win over the Sooners in 2020.

When you’re Oklahoma, you don’t lose at home. Yet, the Wildcats hold a 3-2 record over the Sooners in Norman since 2012. Time to take Owen Field back.

That stops now. Brent Venables and the Oklahoma Sooners will dictate the pace on both sides of the football and come away with another big win. As the challenges get tougher, the Sooners continue to rise to the occasion.

Under the lights, the Oklahoma Sooners have another opportunity to make a statement against the best team they will have faced to this point.

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Story originally appeared on Sooners Wire