In Bill Snyder’s return to coaching, the Wildcats improved as the season went along, showed incredible toughness following a lopsided loss at Texas Tech and brought excitement back to the gridiron before finishing with a 6-6 record.

K-State got better in several aspects this season, and when Missouri and Nebraska were playing sub-par football while the Wildcats were sitting all alone atop the North standings, it really looked they were going to win the division.

But as it turned out, they were simply the first North team to get its act together.

Snyder and his tireless work ethic gave K-State an early jump on the field, but once Nebraska found its groove and took down Oklahoma, the Cornhuskers became the team to beat in the North.

Once Missouri got Blaine Gabbert and Danario Alexander healthy and on the same page, the Tigers had way too much offense for K-State to handle.

Both teams out manned K-State in the talent department, and it showed during the final two games of the season. The Wildcats put up good efforts in both contests, but goal-line fumbles and other red-zone miscues were too much to overcome.

There were better games before that ending. But there were worse moments too.

There were plays that cost the Wildcats a trip to a bowl game this season. But there were also plays that gave them reason to look positively ahead to next season.

So in the end, perhaps it is best to break down the season into three parts.

1. The Beginning

The beginning was tough because an avoidable loss at Lousiana-Lafayette cost the Wildcats a trip to a bowl game. Talk about playing two Division I-AA teams all you want, but if K-State hadn’t lost to a Sun Belt opponent it would be 7-5 today and headed to a nice bowl.

And it wouldn’t have taken much to win that game. Another field goal, an extra second on the clock, a different quarterback … Any one of the three could have swung the game K-State’s way.

2. The Middle

Once Snyder made the transition from Carson Coffman to Grant Gregory, K-State became a much, much better football team.

It beat Iowa State in his first game as a starter, it stopped making silly mistakes and went on a roll defeating Texas A&M, Colorado and Kansas in the next few weeks.

Though he won’t be considered for the Big 12’s All-Conference team, Gregory was serviceable all season long.

At one point, the Wildcats won five of seven games behind his leadership. If not for falling behind by 21 or allowing Oklahoma to pick up a first down despite facing a 1st-and-45 in the second half, they would have won six of seven. (Aside from the loss at Louisiana-Lafayette, that was the moment I think K-State would like back more than any other).

Jeffrey Fitzgerald started to look like a pro on the defensive line, Emmanuel Lamur and Tysyn Hartman shined at the safety positions, Daniel Thomas became the Big 12’s leading rusher and morale improved across the board.

It really is remarkable how much of an impact his toughness/leadership had.

3. The End

Some will call the end of K-State’s season disappointing, and by not earning a spot in the postseason bowl lineup that is a fare assessment. But I would label it understandable.

The Wildcats went winless in true road games this year, and they were double-digit underdogs in Lincoln.

Missouri was out to prove something having just lost to Baylor, and played its best game of the season against K-State.

Without a disastrous series of plays, starting with a Brandon Banks fumble at the goal line, maybe K-State could have beaten Missouri. But it still would have been tough.

K-State’s toughest North games came in the final two weeks. It was just the draw of the schedule.

Everybody knows about Ndamukong Suh, the senior Nebraska defensive tackle who is a sure-fire bet to earn All-America status at the end of the season.

But the Cornhuskers have another defensive tackle who is pretty good, too. He actually leads the team in tackles with 60, four more than Suh.

His name is Jared Crick (pictured above on the right) and as a sophomore he has recorded nine sacks, 13 quarterback hurries and three pass breakups this season.

K-State center Wade Weibert said he’ll be paying just as much attention to Crick as Suh on Saturday.

“All year you’ve only really heard about Suh,” Weibert said. “He’s dominant and he’s strong, but Crick is good in his own right.”

Some have suggested that Crick, who Nebraska is pushing for All-Big 12 and All-America status in addition to Suh, only has such great stats because he benefits from all the double and triple teams opponents give to Suh.

But K-State coach Bill Snyder said he thought Crick would be an excellent player with or without Suh.

“I’m not sure that the other one (Crick) isn’t very far behind (Suh),” Snyder said. “The other one gets all of the numbers.”

Offensive lineman Nick Stringer agrees. He said he’s not sure if K-State has faced a better defensive tackle than Crick all season.

It will be his job, along with the rest of the Wildcats blockers, to keep Suh and Crick away from Gregory and running back Daniel Thomas.

It might not take a lot of points to beat Nebraska, but it will be difficult to score. The Cornhuskers’ defense has allowed 11 points a game this season.

Suh may be the main reason why. But Crick has been there every step of the way, too.

Kansas State beat a mid-major opponent by more than 30 points and no one, from coach Frank Martin on down, was thrilled about the performance.

But K-State looked much tougher during its 82-50 win over Western Illinois on Sunday, and outrebounded the Leathernecks 48-31.

After being beaten in that category by Loyola-Chicago, that was a nice sign of improvement.

So was Jamar Samuels scoring 19 points and snaring seven rebounds, and Jordan Henriquez-Roberts’ stat line of 10 rebounds, seven points, five blocks and two assists.

But players insist they could have done much better. In particular, they could have prevented Western Illinois from grabbing 13 offensive boards and rotated more quickly on defense.

Martin said the Wildcats need to get a lot better in those areas before they head to Puerto Rico if they hope to have success in their upcoming early season tournament.

And he will be asking his players to work a lot harder this week in practice to make that improvement happen. Those who don’t bring high energy to practice, he said, won’t be in uniform for this week’s games.

Emptying the notebook: Had this game been for a spot in the NCAA tournament, Martin said he would have played center Luis Colon. But he is making sure Colon’s hand fully recovers before he puts him on the floor. Ideally, Martin said, Colon will play in Puerto Rico … The game’s leading scorer was Matt Lander of WIU, who scored 20 points … Despite starting the game Dominique Sutton saw 7 minutes of playing time … Martin said Samuels will move back and forth between the 3 and 4 positions depending on the opponent. In a perfect world, he will play more 3 than 4. … Chris Merriewether started in the second half.

Player of the game: Jordan Henriquez-Roberts. The center had 10 rebounds, seven points, five blocks and two assists. As Curtis Kelly would later say “those are some stats right there.”

Play of the game: Henriquez-Roberts had a nifty transition layup in the second half that, coupled with a Samuels dunk on the play before, brought the crowd at Bramlage to its feet.

Do that again: K-State outscored Western Illinois 22-0 in fast-break points Sunday. It’s tough to beat those numbers.

Try to avoid it: Missing 13 of 28 free throws will hurt the Wildcats against stronger teams.

Bottom line: These first two games were nothing but a warm up. We will find out how good Kansas State is later this week in Puerto Rico.

For those reasons, the Missouri Tigers easily defeated the Wildcats 38-12. There’s not much more to be analyzed from yesterday’s game.

K-State players said they had already moved on from it in the interview room afterward. With a winner-take-all battle in Lincoln up next there isn’t anywhere to look but forward.

If the Wildcats win their season-finale at Nebraska, they win the Big 12 North and qualify for a bowl game. If they lose to the Cornhuskers, their season is finished.

Fortunately for K-State, Nebraska is the type of team it has had success against this year.

Teams like Missouri, Texas Tech and Oklahoma (who can score quickly with high-powered pass plays) are not good match-ups for the Wildcats. But Nebraska, and its 17.5 points per game in Big 12 play, is.

The biggest obstacle for K-State to overcome could be playing on the road. The Wildcats managed to beat Iowa State in Arrowhead Stadium earlier this year, but are yet to win a true road game.

With so much on the line, it will be difficult for them to end that trend in front of a hostile crowd in Lincoln. But they played extremely well throughout the second half at Oklahoma. If not for an awful first quarter, they easily could have pulled an upset on the Sooners.

They played UCLA tough in the Rose Bowl, too. And that was before Grant Gregory added a passing element to this offense.

The Cornhuskers will be favorites in the game, and deserve to be. But with a better start against Nebraska the game should be close throughout.

Not allowing a Cornhuskers receiver to go for 200 yards would help as well. But as pointed out earlier, that won’t be a problem in this game.

Against Nebraska, K-State will have to worry more about All-World defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh.

That and scoring more touchdowns than field goals.

Key Stats
200 yards receiving by Danario Alexander
3 touchdowns for Danario Alexander
298 passing yards by Blaine Gabbert
123 receiving yards by Brandon Banks
239 passing yards by Grant Gregory
79 rushing yards by Daniel Thomas
23 rushing attempts by Daniel Thomas
4 field goals attempted by Josh Cherry
4 field goals made by Josh Cherry
9 more field goals needed from Josh Cherry to win the game

Quotes of note:
“I don’t know what really happened to us to tell you truth. We weren’t in sync, we weren’t making plays we were supposed to make. We had opportunites we didn’t take advantage of,” — Lamark Brown.

“We fought. We made some mistakes — a lot of mistakes actually” — Emmanuel Lamur.

“We didn’t execute, they made good stops and we had to settle for field goals. Josh did a good job kicking field goals but can’t get down there five times and come away with 12 points.” — Grant Gregory.

“I told the football team they’re the luckiest group of 120 guys that exist in the Big 12 conference. To go out and get it handed to you like you did today and still have an opportunity to win a North division title and still have the opportunity to go to a bowl game.” — Bill Snyder.

“I don’t think Grant has thrown too many interceptions this year. I don’t think we’ve turned the ball over that much this year. For things like that to happen, that’s very unusual.” — Brandon Banks.

In his first season back, at the age of 70, he has led a K-State squad comprised of 12 first-year starters to a 5-2 record in its last seven games and a 4-2 mark in conference play. Compared to the beginning of the season, when the Wildcats struggled to beat UMass and lost to Louisiana-Lafayette, it is a remarkable turnaround.

There are lots of other wonderful candidates out there (we’ll get to them in a second) and climbing to the No. 1 spot in the country will be difficult. But he is in the conversation, and that is impressive.

In no particular order, here is a list of National Coach of the Year candidates:

Kirk Ferentz, Iowa — The Hawkeyes are on top of the Big 10 with one loss.

Gary Patterson, TCU — Some (rightfully or not) believe the Horned Frogs are the best college football team in Texas.

Chris Petersen, Boise State — The Broncos are headed for yet another undefeated regular season.

Steve Sarkisian, Washington — UW hasn’t been great since upsetting USC at home early on, but remember the Huskies were winless a year ago.

Chip Kelly, Oregon — The Ducks lost their first game and running back at Boise State but have lost once since.

Bill Snyder, Kansas State — The Wildcats are on top of the Big 12 North after being picked by some to finish last in the preseason.

Brian Kelly, Cincinnati — Kelly’s Bearcats are undefeated and in the national championship hunt.

Kevin Sumlin, Houston — Aside from one awful loss at UTEP, the Cougars are having a dream season.

Paul Rhoads, Iowa State — The Cyclones own a win at Nebraska and can qualify for a bowl with one more victory.

Robb Akey, Idaho — Words cannot describe how amazing it is that the Vandals are 7-3 and headed to the postseason.

Jim Harbaugh, Stanford — Captain Comeback has Stanford back in the Top 25.

Al Golden, Temple — He has won seven straight games at Temple, proof that anything is possible.

Nick Saban, Alabama — The Crimson Tide is undefeated.

Paul Johnson, Georgia Tech — If not for a loss at Miami, Georgia Tech would be in the national championship conversation.

Dave Wannstedt, Pittsburgh — Pitt is ranked in the Top 10. Who would have thought?

Mack Brown, Texas — The Longhorns appear destined for the national championship game.

Urban Meyer, Florida — The Gators are undefeated.

That’s a strong list of candidates, and with Snyder’s late arrival on the national scene it will take something incredible for him to best them all (say an upset victory by Kansas State in the Big 12 championship game). But if it keeps winning, the oppurtunity is there.

More realistically, Snyder can capture Big 12 Coach of the Year honors by winning the North and playing Texas tough in Dallas.

Daniel Thomas ran over, around and through the Jayhawks for 185 yards and a touchdown. K-State’s defense tightened up every time Kansas threatened to score and allowed 10 points. Grant Gregory made no major errors.

Just like that, the Governor’s Cup returned to Manhattan.

Kansas State players and fans wildly celebrated the victory, and they deserved to.

The Wildcats have found their identity and are now 5-2 in their last seven games. They are also yet to lose a game to an opponent from the Big 12 North. At 6-4 overall and 4-2 in league play, they are knocking on the door of a division title.

Will they get there?

If they continue to play the way they have during this streak of success, they are certainly a good bet.

But thanks to Nebraska’s upset win over Oklahoma last night, winning their home games may not be enough anymore. A trip to Dallas for the Big 12 championship could come down to the season-finale in Lincoln.

As of now here is what it will take for K-State to clinch the division:

Without help: Two wins OR a win at Nebraska.

With help: Win vs. Missouri combined with two Nebraska losses OR Colorado winning out and forcing a three-way tie at the top. (In that case K-State, CU and NU would be 5-3 with wins against each other. K-State would win the tiebreaker based on its 4-1 North record)

There’s likely a way K-State could also win the division at 4-4, but that would take a whole lot of help and the Wildcats would need to win the Big 12 championship game to gain bowl eligibility. So let’s not go there.

Thomas certainly isn’t.

After his impressive day against Kansas, in which he cracked the 1,000-yard mark for the season and was a true workhorse, he was asked if the Wildcats were now seen around the league as the favorites to win the North.

His response: “I hope so, but it doesn’t even matter. We’re just gonna keep playing.”

What they are saying
Jason Whitlock, of the Kansas City Star, believes Snyder is making this look too easy.

Bob Lutz, of the Wichita Eagle, says whoever vandalized the K-State football complex with red and blue paint Saturday morning should now be painting the town purple.

The Omaha World Herald’s Lee Barknecht had these thoughts on the game.

Key Stats
14-4 Bill Snyder’s record against Kansas.
9 straight wins against Kansas in Manhattan under Snyder.
5-0 K-State’s home record this season.
13 Number of turnovers forced by K-State in its last four games.
1,087 Daniel Thomas’ rushing yards on the season. He is ninth player in school history to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark.
43 Receiving yards by Lamark Brown. He also grabbed a TD. Good to see him back.
301 Offensive yards for Kansas
332 Offensive yards for K-State
66 Passing yards for K-State
1 Passing yards for K-State in the second half
8 Tackles by Ulla Pomele
14 straight points scored by K-State before and after halftime to swing the game its way for good

Quotes of note
“I think he’s the best running back in the conference,” — Gregory on Thomas.

“Everybody told me that I’d learn to hate them once I got here and everything. And that was true. Just watching them and hearing everything about them, I pretty much hate them.” — Thomas on not liking KU.

“It was a major score. A major happening so to speak to go in at that point of time. It wasn’t anything that was going to break KU’s back, but what it probably did was give our youngsters a little bit of space. It excited them, and that was plus.” — Snyder on Brown’s touchdown catch just before halftime.

“It was kinda like, we’re the football school this year. We haven’t owned that title in the last couple years.” — Wade Weibert on what it felt like to win.

“K-State is light-years ahead of where they were last year. They are disciplined and very well-coached. Coach Snyder hasn’t missed a beat and I knew that he wouldn’t.” — Mark Mangino.

“I was really happy for our fans. You could hear it in their response, that it meant an awful lot to them.” — Snyder.

“No one thought we were going to win today, I mean we were picked to be the bottom of the Big 12 on every poll, but we know what kind of team we are so we just want to show everyone. It just feels good.” — Thomas.

“The things we’ve gone through since coach Snyder got here, he’s changed the persona of this entire team and changed a lot of people’s attitude toward the game itself. It’s not really a surprise to me that we’ve come out and played the way we have. We have the talent and we have people who can do things.” — Brown.

The answer: No, at this point the Wildcats need seven wins to become bowl eligible.

That may confuse some, because the general NCAA rule states that a team with six wins and a .500 record can be invited to a bowl.

But in order to gain bowl eligibility, five of those wins need to come against fellow teams from the Football Bowl Subdivision.

K-State’s problem this season is that two of its wins (UMass and Tennessee Tech) came against teams from the Football Championship Subdivision. Only one can be counted.

If one, or both, of those teams were members of the FBS, K-State would be one win away from a bowl bid.

But in the eyes of bowl representatives, K-State only has four wins right now.

It will take two more victories to get the Wildcats to a bowl.

Had he gone through with the plan and somehow had that idea approved, the Wildcats would have left Norman with an impressive victory.

Instead, they were outscored by 21 points in the first quarter and lost 42-30. The first-quarter onslaught was nothing new for Oklahoma. Coming into the day, the Sooners had outscored their opponents 58-0 in the first quarter.

The Wildcats fell victim to that trend, and, despite putting together a valiant effort in the final three quarters, lost a tough one.

K-State scored more points than any team had all year against Oklahoma, and now enters the meat of its schedule with momentum on its side.

If the Wildcats win their final three games — at home against Kansas and Missouri, and on the road at Nebraska — they will win the Big 12 North.

If they continue to play the way they did in Oklahoma, winning out is definitely a possibility.

The Wildcats moved the ball well against the Sooners, amassing 364 yards of offense, and Grant Gregory looked good throwing the ball. Daniel Thomas played through a sore shoulder to lead K-State’s offense and Brandon Banks had an outstanding day, going for more than 150 yards receiving and taking a kickoff return back for a touchdown.

K-State’s defense looked good in the final three quarters as well.

If not for one bad quarter of play, where Kansas State allowed Oklahoma’s Landry Jones to throw for three of his four touchdowns, the game would have been completely different.

– Joshua Moore left the game with an injury suffered after chasing down a tackle in the first half. He did not play in the second half. Snyder didn’t elaborate on his status.

Key stats
9 tackles by Troy Butler
364 K-State total offense
4 Landry Jones touchdowns
30 points scored by K-State, the most allowed by OU all season
5 career kickoff returns for Brandon Banks
4 kickoff returns by Brandon Banks this season
156 yards receiving by Brandon Banks
88 yards rushing by Daniel Thomas
41 yards passing by Daniel Thomas
174 yards passing by Grant Gregory
294 yards passing by Landry Jones
30-21 K-State advantage in the final three quarters
21-0 OU advantage in the first quarter

Quotes of note
“We had some adversity there in the second half,” — Oklahoma’s Jeremy Beal.

“That would have been a major stop for us, but we didn’t come up and do what we had to do. We had the momentum, but we let them get the first down,” — Darious Thomas on allowing OU to convert a 3rd-and-24 in the fourth quarter.

“I thought that we gave up some third downs and they did a good job of converting. In spurts, I don’t think that we tackled the way we are capable of tackling and we didn’t contain the quarterback at times on some pressure. I think that they did a good job and they never gave you a steady dose of one thing,” — OU defensive coordinator Brent Venables.

“Offensively, that was the best we’ve played all season,” — Brandon Banks.

“When we were down to Texas Tech the score was bad in the first half and it was bad in the second half. We had a chance for it to go exactly the same way and we didn’t,” — Snyder.

“We’re disappointed we had the chance to do something that hadn’t been done in a long time. We gave a good effort but we didn’t get it done,” — Gregory.

“I hate moral victory type comments. For our young people, for this program, to grow you’ve got to have tremendous disappointment when you lose a ball game regardless of how you played. That’s what I’m looking for first. If that takes place there will be growth for our upcoming ball games,” — Snyder.

The Wildcats fell to the Sooners 42-30, and can point to a 21-0 deficit at the end of the first quarter as the reason why. From that point on, K-State outplayed Oklahoma and looked like the better team.

Daniel Thomas played through a sore shoulder and 129 yards of total offense to go along with a rushing touchdown. Grant Gregory threw for 174 yards. Brandon Banks cuahg nine passes for 156 yards and also returned a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown.

Landry Jones, though, threw for 294 yards and four touchdowns. Three of them came in the first quarter. Check back later for a full report.

11:18 4th Quarter
Ah, but Brandon Banks has gotten K-State back within one score.

The speedster, who may well be the Big 12’s best return man, just took a 98-yard kickoff return to the end zone. Oklahoma now leads 35-30.

11:32 4th Quarter
K-State couldn’t take advantage of OU facing a 1st-and-45, and the Sooners now lead 35-23.

Ryan Broyles took a 25-yard pass up the right sideline to convert the lengthy first down and Landry Jones hit DeMarco Murray moments later for a 6-yard touchdown.

The Wildcats now trail by two scores again.

End 3rd Quarter
It looked like Oklahoma was going to score a touchdown just before the third quarter ended, but two penalties moved them backward and instead are now facing a 2nd-and-43 from midfield.

If K-State can force a punt to start the fourth quarter, it can take the lead with the ensuing drive.

4:35 3rd Quarter
K-State is doing everything right so far in the second half. Thanks to two big plays on that 75-yaard drive, the Wildcats are within 28-23.

Daniel Thomas ran in a two-yard touchdown to cut into the lead.

The Wildcats are now at 300 yards of total offense. Impressive they are playing so well against the best defense they’ve seen all season.

8:31 3rd Quarter
Kansas State is showing all kinds of grit offensively tonight. The Wildcats just took their opening drive of the second half 80 yards for a touchdown.

Keithen Valentine rushed in the score from 14 yards away. It was his second TD of the game. Daniel Thomas hit Jeron Mastrud with a jump pass on the two-point conversion.

Down only 28-17, this game is suddenly very interesting.

Half
NORMAN, Okla. — The Oklahoma football team has been especially good in the first quarter this season, and that didn’t change tonight against Kansas State.

The Sooners scored three touchdowns in the opening 11 minutes and hold a 28-9 halftime lead over the Wildcats.

By outscoring K-State 21-0 in the first quarter, Oklahoma has now bested its opponents 79-0 in the opening 15 minutes of games this season.

Undoubtedly, that early surge was difficult for K-State players to handle. Oklahoma is not known for blowing big leads. But the Wildcats fought back in the second quarter.

Behind 89 passing yards from senior quarterback Grant Gregory, K-State has pulled to within 19 points.

Gregory has completed five passes for 68 yards to senior wide receiver Brandon Banks. Daniel Thomas has 55 yards rushing and Keithen Valentine scored the Wildcats’ only touchdown from one-yard away with 8:25 remaining in the second quarter.

Josh Cherry added a field goal 1:23 before halftime.

Oklahoma has been lead by 118 yards and three touchdowns from freshman quarterback Landry Jones. He has connected with Ryan Broyles for two touchdowns and Dejuan Miller for the other.

Chris Brown leads the Sooners on the ground with 67 yards. DeMarco Murray has rushed for 39 yards and a touchdown.

The Wildcats get the ball first in the second half.

1:23 2nd Quarter
A Josh Cherry field goal makes the score 28-9.

K-State is moving the ball well right now behind Gregory, Banks and Thomas. Its defense is playing fairly well, too. Since Oklahoma’s three quick scores in the first quarter, K-State has actually outscored the Sooners.

1:35 2nd Quarter
Grant Gregory has Kansas State’s offense moving. He has connected with Brandon Banks for 68 yards already and Daniel Thomas has 55 yards on the ground.

5:37 2nd Quarter
Kansas State forced Oklahoma into a third-and-long on that drive, but couldn’t quite force a punt. Too bad. The Sooners turned that first down into a touchdown and now lead 28-6.

Joshua Moore injured his leg running down Chris Brown on a lengthy rush to save a touchdown.

8:25 2nd Quarter
K-State tight end Jeron Mastrud made a fantastic one-handed catch at the one-yard line to keep that drive going and Keithen Valentine cashed in moments later with a touchdown run.

The Wildcats found success on offense by throwing the ball on that drive. Gregory hit Banks for gains of 25 and 15 yards, Snipes for 12 and Mastrud for nine.

Josh Cherry had his extra point blocked, though, so the score is 21-6.

End of 1st quarter
K-State did itself good at the end of the first quarter by picking up two first downs and holding the ball for almost 5 minutes.

Down 21-0, the next three quarters inevitably will go better.

4:40 1st Quarter
It took Oklahoma a few minutes to score that time, but score it did all the same. The Sooners now lead 21-0 and Ryan Broyles has his second TD catch.

Oklahoma’s first quarter dominance continues.

11:41 1st Quarter
That drive was even quicker.

Landry Jones hit Dejuan Miller for a 23-yard touchdown pass to put OU ahead 14-0. The drive took two plays and lasted 44 seconds. K-State needs a sustained drive here to stop the bleeding.

13:47 1st Quarter
Well, that didn’t take long. Kansas State booted the opening kickoff out of bounds and Oklahoma moved 60 yards in 1 minutes, 13 seconds to go ahead 7-0.

Landry Jones hit Ryan Browles for a 15-yard touchdown pass.

Bad start for K-State. Oklahoma’s worst play so far is a run for 7 yards.

Moments before kickoff
Nebraska and Missouri woke up a little today, winning conference games on the road without much trouble. Kansas failed to cover the spread at Texas Tech and Iowa State got stomped at Texas A&M.

We can probably officially move Colorado out of the running for the North at this point.

Everything else will be determined in the coming weeks. Though a K-State win here today would make the Wildcats the unanimous favorites.

20 minutes till kickoff
The key for Kansas State today has to be offense. No matter how good its defense performs, Oklahoma is going to get on the scoreboard.

Some mind-boggling OU stats for you: The Sooners have outscored opponents 58-0 in the first quarter this season. And at home, the Sooners have outscored their opponents 142-7.

30 minutes till kickoff
We’re coming to you live, high above the field in Norman.

Both teams are out there warming up, and Kansas State players seem more laid back than usual. Not sure exactly why that is, but there is a pretty good atmosphere here right now.

Lots of traffic leading up to the stadium and lots of fans already in their seats. K-State fans are well represented in the end zone from what I can see.

Game time weather conditions will be nice with temperatures around 70 degrees and virtually no wind.

When asked about Oklahoma’s amazing home winning streak, which at 27 games is the longest active streak in the country, K-State coach Bill Snyder took a light approach.

“We might stay home,” he said. “That’s impressive.”

Indeed it is. The streak is the longest in program history (boy, that’s saying something) and stretches back to Sept. 3, 2005 when the Sooners lost their season-opener to TCU 17-10.

But under Bob Stoops, Oklahoma has always been outstanding at home. Since he took over the program in 1999, he has built an astounding 63-2 home record.

Oklahoma State is the other team to have beaten Stoops in Norman, doing so in 2002.

Some will say Oklahoma’s long home winning streak is due to the fact that the Sooners play Texas on a neutral field, but c’mon 27 in a row is a 27 in a row.

And even without Texas coming to Norman, it’s not like Oklahoma has played nothing but pushovers for the last five seasons.

See for yourself. In its entirety, here is a blow by blow look at Oklahoma’s current home winning streak:

2005
Tulsa 31-15
Kansas State 43-21
Baylor 37-30 (2OT)
Texas A&M 36-30
Oklahoma State 42-14
2006
UAB 24-17
Washington 37-20
Middle Tennessee 59-0
Iowa State 34-9
Colorado 24-3
Texas Tech 34-24
2007
North Texas 79-10
Miami 51-13
Utah State 54-3
Missouri 43-13
Texas A&M 42-14
Baylor 52-21
Oklahoma State 49-17
2008
Chattanooga 57-2
Cincinnati 52-26
TCU 35-10
Kansas 45-31
Nebraska 62-28
Texas Tech 65-21
2009
Idaho State 64-0
Tulsa 45-0
Baylor 33-7