Oklahoma football: Eleven penalties put Sooners behind the numbers
By Chip Rouse
It’s like a recurring nightmare — deja vu all over again — when Kansas State comes to Norman, usually as a double-digit underdog, to go up against a ranked Oklahoma football team.
Whatever it is, the Sooners just don’t match up well against the guys in purple and white.
On Saturday night at the sold-out Palace on the Prairie, Kansas State took the opening kickoff and stormed out to a 14-0 first-quarter lead, scoring on its first two possessions. The visiting Wildcats never trailed from there.
Although Oklahoma managed to draw even at 14-14 early in the second quarter on a 50-yard touchdown pass from Dillon Gabriel to Marvin Mims, it never really appeared that the Sooners had command of this game. In fact, Oklahoma never led in the game. That hasn’t happened playing at home since a 45-24 loss to No. 3-ranked Ohio State in 2016.
The Sooners had every opportunity to come back and win this game, despite being out-played and out-coached for most of it. OU actually generated 550 yards of offense but wasn’t able to make enough big plays when they needed them.
While everyone knows about how explosive and dangerous K-State running back Deuce Vaughn is, it was quarterback Adrian Martinez that was the difference maker in the Kansas State victory on Saturday night, the Wildcats’ fourth in the last five trips to Norman.
Here are a dozen more numbers that help tell the story of this game:
0 — There were no turnovers in the game. Oklahoma has only committed one in four games; Kansas State has two in the same number of games.
5 — This was the fifth time since the 2006 season that Oklahoma has lost its Big 12 opener.
11 — Penalties on Oklahoma resulting in 87 yards, and several at pivotal points in the game.
29 — Oklahoma has won 29 of its last 31 home games. Both losses were to Kansas State.
40 — Marvin Mims had a 50-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter to tie the game at 14 apiece. He now has 15 catches of 40 or more yards in his OU career.
44 — Zach Schmit’s 44-yard field goal to trim K-State’s lead to 24-20 early in the third quarter was the longest of the season.
51 — Kansas State had two 100-yard rushers against the Sooners on Saturday. Deuce Vaughn rushed for 116 net yards; Adrian Martinez gained 148 yards on the ground. It has been 51 games since the Wildcats had two 100-yard rushers in the same game (2017 Cactus Bowl).
80 — Kansas State tight end Ben Sinnott had four receptions for 80 yards against OU. His previous high was 12 yards.
100 — Eric Gray had 114 rushing yards for Oklahoma. It was the third time in
130-2 — Oklahoma’s record now when gaining at least 550 yards of total offense.
137 — K-State quarterback Adrian Martinez entered Saturday night’s game averaging 151 yards of total offense through the first three games. He had 137 yards of offense in the first quarter on Saturday night and ended the game with 382 yards of offense, including five touchdowns.
509 — Kansas State’s 509 yard of offense against OU on Saturday were its most since the 2019 season against Bowling Green.