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The Road Warrior Report - Kansas State Review - October 22, 2017

The Road Warrior Report - Kansas State Review - October 22, 2017



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MANHATTAN, KANSAS – For several weeks now, the question has been why the Sooners cant manage to stand prosperity, repeatedly running out to double-digit leads early only to cough them up in the second half. They certainly fixed their second-half problems against Kansas State – but only by moving the same issues to the first half. OU fell behind KSU 21-7 in the second quarter before mounting a second-half comeback that ultimately resulted in a 42-35 win on a Rodney Anderson TD run with 7 seconds left.

Baker Mayfield had another stellar day, slicing up the KSU defense for 410 yards on 32-41 passing for two TDs and a pick. He also added that 69 yards rushing and two TDs on the ground. Anderson had a breakout game, carrying the ball for 147 yards on 19 carries and one game-winning TD. He also had four catches for 30 yards and a TD.

Thunderstorms were expected in Manhattan around game time, and, sure enough, the kickoff was delayed for 30 minutes due to lightning, although no lightning was ever seen in the vicinity of the stadium. There was a brief heavy downpour about 45 minutes before the originally scheduled kickoff time of 3:00, but after that cleared, it was a beautiful afternoon/evening for football.

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Not that the beautiful part extended to the game. KSU took the opening kickoff, and on the second play of the game busted a 75-yard touchdown run straight up the gut of the Sooner defense. This was an inauspicious start to what would be an inauspicious half of football on both sides of the ball.

OU tied it up on their first possession with a 78-yard drive highlighted by a 32-yard Mayfield run down to the Wildcat 6-yard line. Mayfield would hit Dmitri Flowers on the next play for the TD. KSU then resumed moving the ball at will, utilizing the same archaic single-wing QB run offense that they have used forever. And the Sooners couldn’t stop it. Simply couldn’t. Fortunately, Steven Parker stripped a KSU receiver after a completed pass and recovered the fumble at the Sooner 12 to snuff out the threat.

The Sooners could do nothing with the turnover, going three-and-out. KSU then retook the lead with a 68-yard drive that featured exactly one pass, a 39-yard completion to the OU 15. The Wildcats led 14-7 with 1:26 to play in the first half. OU tried to answer, moving the ball to the KSU 6 behind a 31-yard pass to Jeffrey Mead and a 32-yard pass to Mykel Jones. However, CeeDee Lamb was stripped of the ball going down after a catch and it was ruled an interception instead of a touchdown, and it was KSU’s ball on the 20.

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Things only got worse after that, as KSU continued their 1940’s offensive assault. They went 80 yards in 7 plays, with 59 of those yards coming on straight QB runs, and took a distressing 21-7 lead with 10:15 to play in the second quarter. The Sooners would again move into scoring position, using a clutch 16-yard scramble from Mayfield on fourth and four from the KSU 44 to keep the drive alive. OU moved to third and one at the KSU 19. However, some mystifying play calling by Lincoln Riley took the ball out of Mayfield’s hands on two consecutive plays, both of which were stopped short. The Sooners turned it over on downs trailing 21-7 with 4:36 to play.

Then, KSU did us a favor. They decided to go away from the QB run game that had eaten up chunks of yardage all afternoon. A horribly thrown deep ball down the left sideline was picked off by Jordan Thomas and returned to the KSU 10, and the Sooners were in business. Two runs moved it to the KSU 1-yard line. OU then lined up in the wildcat formation that had been stuffed earlier. Riley took a time out to think it over, then puzzlingly came back out in the wildcat, which was promptly stuffed for a yard loss. Instead of coming away with no points again, the Sooners settled for a field goal to make it 21-10 with 38 seconds to play in the half.

Things weren’t over, though. A squib kick gave KSU the ball at their 34, and running plays of 9, 6, and 8 yards, sandwiched around a couple of times out, left KSU with the ball at the Sooner 43 with six seconds left. With a strong wind behind them, they elected to try a 59-yard field goal. It was a good thing that it wasn’t a 58-yard field goal, as the ball squarely hit the crossbar and bounced out no good. The Sooners went to the locker room trailing 21-7, their first halftime deficit since last year’s Ohio State game.

The second half was, mostly as lopsided as the first, only on the crimson side. The Sooners took the opening kickoff of the second half and marched 80 yards for a TD. A 31-yard pass to Jones and a 16-yard pass to Anderson set the Sooners up at the Wildcat 25. Two plays later, Mayfield ran it in from 14 yards out, and it was 21-17 with 12:16 to play in the third quarter.

The Sooner defense forced a three and out, and OU took the ball back over on their own 13. They moved to the KSU 18, where a third and six pass to Marquise Brown very nearly resulted in a circus touchdown. However, the ball hit the ground, and the Sooners were called for offensive pass interference anyway. They had to settle for a 36-yard field goal, and it was 21-20 KSU with 5:57 to play in the third quarter.

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KSU picked up one first down on the ensuing possession before punting the Sooners down at their own seven-yard line. Anderson got them out of the hole with a 36-yard carry around the left side on first down. Mayfield then hit Mark Andrews for 15 yards, Jordan Smallwood for 5 yards, and Brown for 18 yards, and OU was at the KSU 19. Three plays later, Mayfield found Andrews again on third and three, and OU had it first and goal at the KSU 7. Mayfield scored the TD from the three, and OU had its first lead of the day with 14:19 to play in the game. The two-point pass to Flowers was good, and the lead was 28-21.

The Sooner defense forced another three-and-out, and OU took over with 12: 51 to play, looking to potentially seal the game with a TD. However, Riley got cute again, calling a first down flea flicker from the KSU 49. There was no open receiver, and Mayfield threw the ball away. However, apparently the rule about throwing it away when the QB is out of the pocket doesn’t apply when the QB has given up the ball and received it back. The intentional grounding penalty left OU in a hole at second and 18. Two running plays picked up two yards, and the Sooners lined up to punt from their own 45. That’s when things went wonky.

A high, but catchable, snap went through Austin Seibert’s hands, and he ended up falling on the ball at the OU 13. Five running plays later, it was tied at 28 with 6:40 to play.

It didn’t take Mayfield long to remedy that. He hit a wide open Brown for 66 yards on the first play of the ensuing possession to put the Sooners at the KSU eight. Two plays later, Anderson took a swing pass and dove into the end zone to make it 35-28 with 5:16 to play. The Sooner defense, which had played so well in the second half, couldn’t stand the prosperity, however. They allowed a pair of ugly, underthrown passes to be completed – the first for 40 yards and the second for 30 – to put KSU at the Sooner 6. Two plays later, it was tied again at 35 with 2:25 to play.

Fortunately, this was plenty of time for the Sooners to finish it off. Just barely plenty of time, as it turned out. Anderson runs of 5 and 10 yards, plus an 8-yard catch, made it third and two at the Sooner 47. A three-yard Anderson carry converted. Mayfield then hit Jones for 13 yards and a first down at the KSU 37. After a five-yard Anderson run, the Sooners took a time out with 24 seconds to play. Mayfield then hit Brown for 10 yards to the KSU 22. A spike stopped the clock with 16 seconds to play. Mayfield then gave the ball to Anderson around the left side. He was bottled up in the backfield, but got loose down the sideline and took it in for a TD with only seven seconds to play. A flag flew on the corner during the run, and given the current state of Big 12 officiating, you just knew it was a hold that was not only going to negate the TD, but make it close to a 50-yard field goal to try to win the game on the last play. Instead, the officiating gods smiled down, and it was a face mask on KSU. Anderson’s TD stood, ad the Sooners won it, 42-35.

If this team can ever start putting four quarters together in the same game, they will be tough for anyone in the country to deal with. They did that in Columbus, but haven’t done it since. So, we are left with inconsistent game after inconsistent game, on both sides of the ball. But the name of the game is winning, and in all likelihood, a 12-1 Big 12 Champion OU team still goes to the playoff. But that’s a long way off right now.

Next up – Texas Tech in a prime time matchup Saturday night in Norman. See you there.

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