K-State pulls off epic comeback in road victory over No. 3 Oklahoma. How it went down
Kansas State pulled off one of the greatest come-from-behind victories in school history and defeated Oklahoma 38-35 on Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
The Wildcats upended the No. 3 Sooners despite trailing 28-7 early in the third quarter while playing without a handful of key players on defense.
Just like that, a season that begin with a disappointing loss to Arkansas State is now filled with hope following a signature win over the defending Big 12 champions.
“This one just meant a lot,” senior quarterback Skylar Thompson said. “We came off an uspet loss at home and there were a lot naysayers outside our locker room that said a lot of things that raised my eyebrows a little bit. There was a lot of stuff going on.
“We could have easily given up and come out and laid an egg today, but we didn’t.”
A 77-yard pass from Thompson to freshman running back Deuce Vaughn shifted momentum in K-State’s favor in the second half. All of a sudden, a game that had been dominated by the Sooners was controlled by the Wildcats the rest of the way.
K-State scored touchdowns on four straight drives to tie the game at 35 and then took the lead for good on a 50-yard field goal from Blake Lynch with 4:32 remaining.
Jahron McPherson clinched victory for the Wildcats when he intercepted a pass from Oklahoma quarterback Spencer Rattler on the Sooners’ final drive of the afternoon.
This is the second straight season K-State has pulled off an upset against Oklahoma, both under new coach Chris Klieman. He is one of the few active coaches out there with an undefeated record against the Sooners.
This game was more surprising than the first, because the Sooners were favored by 28 and the Wildcats were not at full strength. And Oklahoma was in complete control for much of the game.
K-State players wildly celebrated the victory by trading hugs and high-fives with a small contingent of fans who made the trip to Norman to watch them play.
The Wildcats (1-1, 1-0 Big 12) bounced back beautifully from a loss to Arkansas State in their opener. The Sooners (1-1, 0-1) have a lot of work to do if they hope to return to college football’s playoff this season.
Here are some key takeaways from the game:
Another signature win for Skylar Thompson
You have got to hand it to K-State quarterback Skylar Thompson after this one. He has a real knack for defeating highly ranked teams.
“I live for big games,” he said afterward.
No one is going to doubt him on that one. Much like last season, when he threw for more than 200 yards and rushed for four touchdowns against Oklahoma, he once again put up a monster game on national television.
Thompson completed 18 of 25 passes for 335 yards and a touchdown, while also adding three touchdowns on the ground.
It was an especially good game for Thompson considering he was dealing with some lingering injuries and appeared to be limping at times throughout the afternoon. He showed great poise to lead K-State to victory after a disappointing first half and had the Wildcats humming in the second half.
He showed big-play potential by getting the ball to his running backs in the open field and letting them create.
“There is something about this guy,” Klieman said. “When people want to count him out, he makes plays.”
He showed up big time today he was a warrior
Deuce Vaughn impresses … again
It’s hard to ask for much more from a freshman running back than what Deuce Vaughn has provided for K-State in his first two college games.
Two weeks after K-State coach Chris Klieman described Vaughn as the team’s best player against Arkansas State, he kept making big plays against Oklahoma. Vaughn delivered one highlight after the next during the second half of K-State’s comeback against Oklahoma, finishing with 174 all-purpose yards and a touchdown.
The 5-foot-5 running back sparked the Wildcats with a 77-yard catch and run midway through the third quarter, then caught a pass over the middle and made five defenders miss on his way to a 35-yard gain. And then he ran for a 38-yard touchdown that tied the game at 35 in the fourth quarter.
Klieman said he was not surprised.
“He is so quick and so shifty,” Klieman said. “He has a much stronger lower body running the ball than people want to give him credit for. And he has got really good hands.”
K-State coaches got creative with Vaughn in this one, lining him in the backfield and at receiver. Those moves paid off big-time. With four years of games still in front of him, Vaughn’s potential ceiling seems very high at the moment. Perhaps fans comparing him to Darren Sproles weren’t jumping the gun.
How about that defense?
The biggest question mark for K-State coming into this game was in the secondary, where the Wildcats were dealing with the loss of key players like Kiondre Thomas, Lance Robinson and Ryan Henington.
But defensive back was arguably a KSU strength in this one. Defense, overall, was the least of Chris Klieman’s worries Saturday.
Even though Oklahoma churned out 517 yards behind Spencer Rattler, Marvin Mims and Seth McGowan, the Wildcats won the turnover battle 4-0. They made a pair of key interceptions and then came up with a fumble and another interception in the second half.
Elijah Sullivan came up with the first interception when the Sooners tried to catch the Wildcats off-guard with a misdirection play. K-State’s defensive line helped him out by tipping the pass at the line of scrimmage.
Justin Gardner made the second pick on a deep ball from Rattler in the second quarter.
Then McPherson came up with a pair of turnovers in the second half. He was the guy who came up with a monster hit to force a fumble in the third quarter and then he clinched the game with an interception on the final drive.
What were his emotions at that moment?
“Too many,” McPherson said. “I can’t even explain it. People dream about these moments all the time and I dream about this all the time. I was so happy and happy for my team. I do everything for my team, so I was happy for all of us.”
No one could have reasonably asked for more from K-State’s defense, considering how shorthanded it was in this game.
Offensive line continues to struggle
If there was a disappointing aspect of this game for K-State, it’s the inexperience of K-State’s front five.
It’s been a long time since the Wildcats were penalized this regularly for committing false-start penalties. It’s also been a while since we saw them hand the ball to a running back for a nice gain up the middle.
Even with Noah Johnson back at center against Oklahoma, K-State was unable to run for significant yardage between the tackles. A week after rushing for 91 yards against Arkansas State, the Wildcats managed just 66 yards on the ground against OU.
Perhaps some of that can be attributed to the absence of starting running back Harry Trotter, who did not travel for this game. But K-State also appeared soft at the line of scrimmage in other areas.
One play that illustrated their struggles occurred in the second quarter, when the Wildcats tried to give the ball to Phillip Brooks on an end-around handoff and he was immediately tackled in the backfield by a hoard of OU defenders for a loss of eight yards.
But they were solid in pass protection, and that greatly helped Thompson connect with receivers on some big plays in the second half.
Bright future ahead
K-State fans were understandably upset after a season-opening loss to Arkansas State, but the future seems much brighter after this upset.
The Wildcats can begin to dream a little about what they may accomplish this season.
Defeating the defending Big 12 champions can change the trajectory of a season that quickly.
This story was originally published September 26, 2020 at 3:08 PM with the headline "K-State pulls off epic comeback in road victory over No. 3 Oklahoma. How it went down."