Oklahoma football: Sizing up Oklahoma vs. Iowa State statistically

Oklahoma's Justin Broiles (25) brings down Iowa State's Xavier Hutchinson (8) beside David Ugwoegbu (2) during a college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the Iowa State Cyclones at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., Saturday, Nov. 20, 2021. Oklahoma won 28-21.Ou Vs Iowa State Football
Oklahoma's Justin Broiles (25) brings down Iowa State's Xavier Hutchinson (8) beside David Ugwoegbu (2) during a college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the Iowa State Cyclones at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., Saturday, Nov. 20, 2021. Oklahoma won 28-21.Ou Vs Iowa State Football /
facebooktwitterreddit

The 14th-ranked Oklahoma football Sooners are heavy favorites over Iowa State on Saturday. Why wouldn’t they be, having won 79 of the 88 games played between the two teams?

But if you look at the results of the last six or seven games played between OU and Iowa State, you might not be so sure. Discounting Oklahoma’s 27-13 win last season in Ames, the average margin of victory in each of the last six games is 6.3 points, and the Cyclones came away with the win in two of those contests.

Oklahoma is 36-8 in Big 12 home games since the 2012 season, but five of the eight losses have come in Big 12 home openers, including a 41-34 loss to Kansas State last season.

Examining Saturday’s Oklahoma-Iowa State matchup by the numbers

1 — Sacks allowed by the Iowa State offensive line, best in the Big 12 and No. 1 in the country.

8.8 — Points per game attributed to OU kicker Zach Schmit this season. The Sooner defense is allowing opponents just 8.5 points a game.

15 — Number of different OU receivers who have caught at least one pass this season

16Dillon Gabriel has 16 games in his career with more than 300 yards passing (six in two seasons at OU).

19 — Consecutive games Iowa State has not allowed an opponent to pass for 300 or more yards.

23 — Oklahoma has won 86 of its last 87 games when holding opponents to 23 of fewer points.

48.3 — Punting average for Iowa State’s Tyler Perkins, second in the Big 12. and fourth nationally.

307 — Receiving yards by OU’s Andrel Anthony, No. 3 in the Big 12.

321 — Total offense accounted for per game by Oklahoma QB Dillon Gabriel, No, 2 in the Big 12.

348 — Passing yards by Iowa State true freshman quarterback Rocco Becht last weekend against Oklahoma State. He is just the fourth Iowa State QB to throw for 300+ passing yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions in a game.

Statistical comparison between OU and Iowa State

(National ranking in parentheses)

                                                                              OU                    Iowa State

Scoring offense                                             46.8 (4)               21.0 (108)

Scoring defense                                              8.5 (2)               16.5 (25)

Rushing offense                                           157.8 (65)            83.2 (123)

Rushing defense                                            94.0 (26)          115.2 (47)

Passing offense                                          349.0 (6)             225.0 (22)

Passing defense                                         215.5 (60)          177.2 (47)

Total Offense                                              506.8 (10)          308.2 (119)

Total Defense                                             309.5 (32)          292.5 (19)

3rd-down conversion offense                58.5% (4)             31.6 % (120)

3rd-down conversion defense               27.9% (11)          30.5% (18)

Red zone offense                                       90.9% (31)          71.4% (113)

Red zone defense                                      71.4% (25)          81.8% (47)