K-State Wildcats vs. Oklahoma State Cowboys: Score prediction, game time, line, TV
THE DETAILS
Kickoff: 6 p.m. Saturday
Where: Boone Pickens Stadium, Stillwater, Oklahoma
TV: ESPN+ (online streaming service, subscription required)
Radio: KKGQ (92.3 FM) in Wichita, KCSP (610 AM) in Kansas City
The line: Oklahoma State by 6
PREDICTION
If Kansas State continues doing what it did well during all three of its nonconference victories, the Wildcats will leave Stillwater with their first victory over Oklahoma State during the Chris Klieman era.
Even without starting quarterback Skylar Thompson in the lineup for the past two games, K-State is averaging 5.3 yards per rush on offense this season while only allowing 280 yards and 15.7 points per game on defense.
That is a winning recipe.
But duplicating those numbers might not be so easy against the Cowboys. This is K-State’s first road game of the season. It is also the first time quarterback Will Howard has ever played in front of a capacity away crowd during his college career. There’s no telling how he will respond to the environment.
Oklahoma State also has a far superior defense than the first three teams K-State faced. The Cowboys are only allowing 2.6 yards per rush this season. That is drastically better than Nevada (4.8), Southern Illinois (5.2) and Stanford (5.9).
K-State won its last game against Nevada by running the ball 48 times and only attempting 13 passes. Offensive coordinator Courtney Messingham was first to admit this week that the Wildcats can’t follow the same formula against Oklahoma State’s stingy run defense.
The Cowboys are allowing a more reasonable 6.5 yards per pass this season, but the Wildcats don’t want to ask Howard to win this game with his arm. K-State may have to choose between two undesirable options in this game: running against a stacked defense or throwing with an unproven quarterback.
Oklahoma State will face a similar conundrum, as it would like to run the ball with Jaylen Warren, who had 218 yards at Boise State last week. But K-State is only allowing 1.9 yards per rush. The Cowboys have found some success throwing the ball this season, averaging 190 yards per game, and Spencer Sanders is a third-year starter. So maybe they won’t be afraid to pass. But this is no vintage Mike Gundy team. He would rather keep the ball on the ground.
Odds are this will be a low-scoring game in which an early lead could make a huge difference. The team that makes the fewest mistakes or pulls off an unexpected touchdown on special teams or defense will probably win.
The Cowboys get a slight edge, because they have an experienced quarterback and they will be playing at home.
Oklahoma State 14, K-State 13.
This story was originally published September 25, 2021 at 5:00 AM with the headline "K-State Wildcats vs. Oklahoma State Cowboys: Score prediction, game time, line, TV."