Roadmap to an Upset: Kansas State vs Oklahoma 9/26/20

An upset can happen in a lot of ways, the journey is just as fun as the destination. In this feature we look at the key moments and trends that led to Kansas State‘s upset of Oklahoma.

Setting The Stage

Oklahoma’s freshman running back Seth McGowan ran in a touchdown with 2:46 to play in the third quarter and gave the Sooners a 35 – 14 lead. The loss to Kansas State a year ago was a thing of the past and Oklahoma appeared to have the game in hand. At this point, Sooners quarterback Spencer Rattler had completed 24 of 27 passes for 312 yards, 4 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. He had just led his team down the field for scores three of the last four drives and the Oklahoma offense was humming. The fat lady was warming up her vocal chords and Oklahoma was well on it’s way to avenging last year’s loss.

Big Plays Make Way For A Big Comeback

In the last 17 minutes of the game, something clicked for the Wildcat’s offense. The unit that had scored just 14 points in the first 42 minutes of the game woke up and started making big plays. On the ensuing drive after the McGowan touchdown, after a false start and incomplete pass the Wildcats faced Second and fifteen from their own 20. Quarterback, Skylar Thompson sat in the pocket and scanned the field for what felt like an eternity. Finally, he unleashed a deep pass down the left sideline to the completely uncovered Keyon Mozee. Mozee waited for the ball, secured the catch and ran down the sideline to the two yard-line for a 78 yard gain. Thompson would punch in the touchdown on the next play and the Wildcats began the journey to an unlikely comeback.

On the next Oklahoma possession, the Sooners picked up a quick first down on their first play from scrimmage. On their second play of the drive, running back Seth McGowan ran behind the left side of the offensive line but was hit at the line of scrimmage by Jahron McPherson. McPherson got his helmet on the football and the ball popped loose and was quickly recovered by defensive tackle Drew Wiley. The momentum of the game was clearly swinging towards the Wildcats and the Oklahoma faithful were starting to feel it too. Kansas State went on a seven play drive culminated by another Skylar Thompson touchdown run to cut the lead to seven.

Oklahoma’s next drive was marred by penalties, and though the Sooners moved the ball some they were forced to punt the ball away. Unfortunately the punt never got away, Kansas State made the third big play on their comeback journey as star cornerback, AJ Parker, came off the edge untouched and laid out to block the punt. The Wildcats recovered the blocked punt setting them up with the football on the Oklahoma 28. A big play by the offense, a big play by the defense and now a big play by the special teams, Kansas State was playing well in all facets of the game now and Oklahoma did not have any answers.

The very next play it was the offense’s turn to make a big play and they did not disappoint. Running back Deuce Vaughn ran through a hole on the left side, the Oklahoma defender overran the play allowing Vaughn to make a subtle cut and race in for the 28 yard score. The play was well schemed and well blocked, leaving Vaughn with one man to beat, and Vaughn was able to get past defensive back Brendan Radley-Hiles for the score. The comeback was complete, the game was tied and the focus shifted from getting back in the game to winning the game.

After another failed Oklahoma drive, the Wildcats took over after fair catching the Oklahoma punt at their own 39 yard line. Kansas State picked up a quick first down on a 22 yard catch, and it appeared they hit another big play one play later when they hit a play action pass for a long touchdown, but unfortunately the play was called back due to the receiver being ineligible. Nonetheless, the Wildcats special teams had one more big play in them, this time it was senior kicker Blake Lynch. He had missed two field goal attempts last week, but was set up this week with a 50 yard attempt on the road to put his team ahead late. Lynch drilled the kick right down the middle with room to spare putting the Wildcats ahead for good. In 13:11 of game time the Wildcats had gone from down three touchdowns to up by three points.

After trading punts, Oklahoma had one last chance to tie the game or get ahead. Things were not looking good for the Sooners with 41 seconds left to play and the ball at their own 24 yard line, and as it turned out, the Kansas State defense made the last big play of the game. Rattler stepped up in the pocket and fired a pass over the middle, but the throw overshot his receiver and McPherson was in position to make another big turnover, securing the interception and sealing the win.

Kansas State made nearly a month’s worth of big plays in a little over a quarter Saturday night. The Wildcats made big plays in a variety of ways, a long pass, a long run, a fumble forced, an interception, a blocked punt and a fifty yard field goal. For an improbable come from behind win like this to happen, someone has to either make plays to win the game, or the opponent has to make plays to lose the game. Kansas State took matters into their own hands and made the big plays to win the game. The big plays alone did not win the game, the Wildcats defense had to stop a high powered Oklahoma attack, and stop them they did.

A Strong Finish By The Defense

The Kansas State defense was incredible in the come from behind victory. The same team that had allowed 35 points in a little less than three quarters, flipped the switch and shutdown the Oklahoma offense. Oklahoma had the ball five times after they scored the McGowan touchdown, but the five drives resulted in two turnovers and three punts, one of which was blocked. The defense was excellent in every way, allowing a total off 119 yards on those five possessions. If Oklahoma scores on any of those drives, or really even maintains an extended drive on any of them the Wildcats offense probably does not have enough time to make the comeback.

Oklahoma quarterback, Spencer Rattler was playing an excellent game before those five possessions, but the Wildcats were able to pressure him and force him into mistakes. The Wildcats only recorded one official sack during this stretch, but they were able to get good pressure on Rattler forcing him to move off his spot and throw off balance. The results were telling, Rattler only completed 6 of his last 14 passes for just 75 yards. The last of those incomplete passes was the interception that effectively ended the game.

The Wildcats improbable come from behind win was one of the more unlikely upsets we will see this year. Not because Kansas State can’t beat Oklahoma, they appear to be making a habit of that, but because of the way the game played out. Normally, when a big favorite jumps out to a 21 point lead, that’s all she wrote and they cruise for the easy win. The Wildcats were able to turn the tide and not only get back in the game, but finish with a big win. In the end, that was the difference in this game, Kansas State finished, Oklahoma didn’t, now the Wildcats are 1 – 0 in conference play with a big tiebreaker in their favor.

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ksu football helmet (1) image taken by K-State Research and Extension is licensed under CC BY 2.0.