The Wildcats storm into Norman
It’s hard to believe that the venerable Bill Snyder, dean of Big 12 coaches and 78 years young, is returning to the sideline in 2018. In fact, Kansas State administrators extended Snyder’s contract for another five years to continue as the Wildcats’ football coach. Snyder is an ageless wonder who continues to coach at a high level.
If there’s one game where the 2017 Sooners showed resiliency, it was the exciting Big 12 matchup in Manhattan against the Kansas State Wildcats last season.
Trailing 21-10 at the half, the Sooners rallied to take a 28-21 lead early in the fourth quarter. But K-State would not go quietly, and it took a 22-yard Rodney Anderson touchdown run with seven seconds left in the game for the Sooners to break a 35-35 tie and come out of Manhattan with a hard-fought victory.
Flashing forward to 2018, the Sooners will host the Wildcats in Norman. K-State will be without the services of departed quarterback Jesse Ertz. Sophomore Skylar Thompson will take the reins of the Wildcat offense in 2018, and he comes in with plenty of game experience, having seen a lot of game action in Kansas State’s last six games in 2017.
Kansas State offenses will never dazzle anyone passing the football, so they rely on the running game to kick the sticks moving and score points. Alex Barnes returns in 2018 and will provide some continuity to the Kansas State ground game.
But someone else on the roster will need to step up and produce. Justin Silmon and/or Dalvin Warmack must up their production in 2018 to provide the Kansas State rushing attack with a bit more balance.
Last season, Barnes led the team in rushing, followed by the three quarterbacks on the roster, namely Alex Delton, Jesse Ertz, and Thompson. Relying on the quarterback position to generate the bulk of offensive rushing yards can be costly in terms of injuries, and that was certainly the case for Kansas State in 2017. Delton gashed the Sooners a year ago with 142 yards on the ground and three rushing TDs.
Kansas State ran for 250 yards and three scores against the Oklahoma run defense in last year’s contest. It would behoove the Sooner defense to step up and have a better game against the Wildcat running attack, because their quarterbacks are not exactly known for prowess in the passing game. Forcing the Wildcat offense to win the game through the air is the best recipe for Sooner success in this one.
Defensively, the Kansas State pass defense was next to last nationally but 13th against the run. If the Oklahoma Air Raid attack is going well by the time the Wildcats come to Norman, the Sooner offense can exploit K-State’s weakness defending the pass. If the Oklahoma offense struggles through the air, however, the ground game will need to have success, and yards on the ground may be tough to come by.
Prediction: Oklahoma 42, Kansas State 21