Oklahoma-Kansas State: One Big Thing
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NORMAN — UTEP wasn’t very good. Kent State didn’t present a lingering problem. Nebraska was a bad football team, wounded and weak.
What, then, is Kansas State?
The Wildcats come to Norman a little emotionally bruised after dropping a 17-10 home loss to Tulane last week. K-State was a popular dark horse pick to contend for the Big 12 Championship — and maybe they still will — but they looked more than vulnerable at the hands of the Green Wave.
OU coaches and players say it all the time: the opponent doesn’t matter. The standard is the standard. Take care of business by taking care of yourself.
If that mantra holds up this week, the Sooners — a 12.5-point favorite and the No. 6 team in the country, according to the AP Top 25 and the USA Today Coaches Poll — should be fine.
But if the players have fallen in love with their performance in Lincoln or their rankings or their undefeated record and somehow lose sight that Kansas State enjoys a 60-minute fist-fight, then the Sooners’ winning streak might be in jeopardy.
Brent Venables is a new head coach, but he’s been around the business long enough to spot a trap.
Oklahoma has notoriously played down to its competition in recent years. Fans were frequently frustrated by such unforeseen stumbles.
Venables seems made of sterner stuff than his predecessor. Maybe this game is the litmus test for whether that bears out on the scoreboard.
