If the Wildcats win they will further increase their lead atop the Big 12 North standings and be in terrific shape to go on and win the division.

If the Jayhawks win they will become bowl eligible and get back into the conversation for a North title.

Both teams have only a few games remaining, and anything is possible. But it will be awfully hard for either of these squads to get to where they want to be without first picking up a win in Manhattan.

About Kansas
The Jayhawks come into this game looking nothing like the team many picked to go to a big-time bowl game before the season started.

Kansas has lost three straight games after a 5-0 start and is no longer ranked.

Its quarterback, senior record-breaker Todd Reesing, was benched for performance/health/confidence reasons (the reports on the reason are mixed) at the end of its most recent loss at Texas Tech and top wide receiver Dezmon Briscoe is suddenly dropping routine passes.

Still, K-State coach Bill Snyder respects Kansas like it is 8-0.

His thoughts on Reesing: “Todd is probably the most intelligent quarterback in the game today. He has a 4.0 GPA, he makes good decisions and he always seems to know where to go with the football. He stands in and finds the throwing lanes that they create for him.

“He has the ability to get outside of the pocket and can run the ball pretty well. He is also a tough young guy. He throws the ball very well and he can put the ball just about wherever he wants. He has got some excellent receivers to throw to.”

On KU wide receivers Dezmon Briscoe and Kerry Meier: “They both have very good size. They have the ability to lay out for the ball; they can catch just about anything that is thrown their way. Kerry has as good of hands as you can find in college football.

“He has a knack to get himself into open spaces. It’s hard to defend those guys. Their numbers that they are putting up this year are a testament to that.”

There is always the chance KU could fix all its problems this week, but based on the Jayhawks’ string of recent turnovers and inability to stop the opposition from scoring touchdowns after those turnovers (their last nine turnovers have led to eight touchdowns) those are a lot of problems to fix over night.

I’m not sure the Vegas odds makers got it right when they labeled KU as a 2.5-point favorite in this one.

About Kansas State
K-State is playing its best football of the year right now.

Sure, it lost at Oklahoma last week 42-30, but c’mon. After falling behind by 21 points in that game, the Wildcats outplayed the ranked and respected Sooners and just about pulled an amazing upset.

The games before that, K-State won rather convincingly. In short, its season has progressed as much as Kansas’ has regressed.

“Kansas State is a team that has shown a lot of improvement since last season,” KU coach Mark Mangino said. “They are improving in every area of their game. They are certainly a much more sound, fundamental football team. They play good fundamentals, just like you would like to have your team play all the time.

“What we preach here is the same thing they preach. They are aggressive on defense and they have enough playmakers on offense to hurt you. They have one of the best, if not the best, return man in the country in Brandon Banks, who can really change the momentum of a game.”

If Banks returns a kickoff for a touchdown against KU, he will tie the NCAA single-season and career record. He has four so far this season.

His ability to set K-State’s offense up with good field position will be key. So will the Wildcats’ ability to force turnovers, pressure Reesing and effectively throw the ball as well as run it.

If the Wildcats force turnovers and record sacks, they will win. If Grant Gregory throws for close to 200 yards and Daniel Thomas continues to do his thing, they will win.

Having lost three in a row to KU, that would mean a lot to the veterans on K-State’s roster.

“I’m quite certain that the vast majority of our players would like to bring the Governor’s Cup back to Manhattan,” Snyder said. “This game is very important to all of our team, especially our players from Kansas. I think that this is a very significant game for every one involved on both sides.”

Advantages:

When KU runs the ball: K-State

When K-State runs the ball: K-State

When KU throws the ball: KU

When K-State throws the ball: KU

Special Teams: K-State

Coaching: K-State

Prediction: K-State 27, KU 23

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.

Ever since Jeffrey Fitzgerald accepted coach Bill Snyder’s mid-season challenge and became one of Kansas State’s vocal leaders, the Wildcats have looked completely different on the defensive line.

Up front, K-State is now able to rush the quarterback and force turnovers on a consistent basis. In its last two home games, K-State recorded 10 sacks and forced 10 turnovers.

Fitzgerald alone has five sacks against conference opponents this season and one interception return for a touchdown. Continuing that type of play will be key against Kansas.

When the Jayhawks started the season 5-0, they protected their quarterback and took care of the ball.

But during their current three-game losing streak senior signal-caller Todd Reesing has been pressured on seemingly every play and Kansas has committed plenty of turnovers.

In its last three losses to Colorado, Oklahoma and Texas Tech, KU turned the ball over nine times and paid dearly for those mistakes. Opponents have scored eight touchdowns off of those turnovers.

That’s the kind of game K-State likes to play. Rely on its defense to create turnovers and give its offense good field position. Then sit back and watch as the Wildcats take advantage of short fields and score touchdowns.

But the Wildcats can only play that way when Fitzgerald plays well, so he needs to perform well against Kansas.

On the season he has 8.5 tackles-for-loss and six sacks.

He has quickly become one of the best pass rushers in the Big 12, and K-State has quickly become one of the better defensive teams in the Big 12 along with him.

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.

On the surface, this game is a mismatch.

But, at 5-3, the Wildcats do own a better record than the Sooners. Having won their last two games, they are also riding a longer winning streak than Oklahoma.

They are little things that won’t mean much once the game starts, but they have given K-State a jolt of confidence.

And with a Big 12 North title as their goal, the Wildcats are going to be ready to compete in Norman today.

So even though the Sooners appear to be holding all the cards in this matchup, K-State is capable of making this game more interesting than the experts predict.

About Oklahoma
Oklahoma haters have labeled the Sooners as the worst ranked team in the country.

As the only team in either poll to enter the week with three losses (No. 14 Virginia Tech is also now 5-3 after losing to North Carolina on Thursday) there probably is something to that claim.

But take a look at the flip side of that argument: If not for Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Sam Bradford going down against BYU and Texas, Oklahoma could have easily turned two close losses into wins.

Had Bradford been available at Miami (OU’s other loss) the Sooners could have won that game too.

Instead, Oklahoma lost three games to three ranked teams by a combined five points.

If you look at it that way, the Sooners are five points away from being in the national championship conversation.

That’s the way most K-State players are looking at Oklahoma right now. They respect the Sooners very much, and think highly of the way they have bounced back without Bradford.

Now that freshman quarterback Landry Jones has taken over the job for good, he is loosening up and so are his coaches. He looked better than he had all season last week, throwing for 252 yards and two touchdowns during a rout of Kansas, and is feeling good heading back to his home turf.

Oklahoma’s defense is extremely strong, too, and has allowed seven points at home all year. The Sooners first two home games were shutouts. Baylor finally scored a touchdown against them on Oct. 10.

About Kansas State
K-State coach Bill Snyder doesn’t think his team matches up well against Oklahoma.

He believes the Wildcats will face their toughest opponent of the season today, and he very well could be right.

K-State will need to play one of its best games on offense, defense and special teams to have a chance.

Players say they are up for the challenge, though. Grant Gregory wants to face a tough secondary, Jeffrey Fitzgerald wants to line up against a talented defensive front and Tysyn Hartman wants the chance to earn respect.

The margin for error will be small, but K-State can succeed against Oklahoma.

If Brandon Banks can get things going with a few solid returns and K-State’s defense can put its offense in good positions (as it has done time and time again the past two weeks) the Wildcats will be in business.

If not, it could be a long night.

Advantages:

When Oklahoma runs the ball: Oklahoma

When Oklahoma throws the ball: Oklahoma

When K-State runs the ball: K-State

When K-State throws the ball: Oklahoma

Special Teams: K-State

Coaching: Oklahoma

Prediction: Oklahoma 35-7

All of a sudden, the Wildcats had a quarterback with fast feet, a quick release and the passion of a player who only had a few games left in his college career.

Gregory, a senior transfer from South Florida, has even fewer games remaining now, and if K-State is to make a run at beating Oklahoma tomorrow he will need to once again raise the overall level of K-State’s play on offense.

Oklahoma’s front four, which is one of the best defensive lines in the country, will be after him all game.

Oklahoma’s secondary, which is also one of the best units in the country, will be swarming over his receivers throughout the night.

Things will be tougher for Gregory than they have been all year.

“They’re the fastest team we’ll play,” Gregory said. “The windows are very small. When somebody is open you have to hit him and you have to hit him in stride.

“Their defensive front is very good, a few guys playing in a few years will be pro prospects. In 10 years, when I’m doing whatever I’ll be like, ‘I played against that guy, that guy and that guy,’ who are still playing in the NFL. They have great personnel.

The last time he went up against a stifling defense was at Texas Tech, and he struggled all night. He couldn’t elude the Red Raiders’ pass rush, and the game was never competitive. He was pulled at halftime in favor of Carson Coffman.

Gregory will need to perform much better against the Sooners. Last week the Wildcats got by with a strong running game and 80 passing yards. This time around, it will take a complete offensive effort.

I expect Gregory will be up for the challenge. He is a true student of the game, and he lives for opportunities like this.

FSN will be televising the game, and with a win K-State could catapult itself onto ABC next week. Oklahoma is also the first ranked team Kansas State has played this season.

There is a lot for him, and K-State, to prove.

“If you can’t get up to play a game like that,” Gregory said, “you don’t have a pulse.”

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

Look at Kansas State’s defensive statistics and they are the first two players you see.

Emmanuel Lamur leads the Wildcats in tackles (41) and blocked kicks (2).

Tysyn Hartman leads the Wildcats in interceptions (4), is second on the team in tackles (37) and is third on the team in pass breakups (6).

Both players are extremely athletic and can make a wide variety of plays on the football field, but here’s what makes them such a special combination at K-State’s two safety positions: they are only sophomores.

Aside from a forgettable performance against Texas Tech, in which Hartman suffered a minor concussion, they have led Kansas State’s secondary to several impressive outings.

Hartman isn’t much for comparing those efforts to the rest of the Big 12, but he believes he and Lamur are doing well for themselves.

“We’re playing at a very high level,” he said. “We don’t make a lot of mistakes, and when we do we try to correct them as soon as possible. That’s what leads to our performance.”

Kansas State coach Bill Snyder said he thinks Hartman has a great career in front of him. He often speaks of Hartman’s intelligence, and it’s impossible to ignore his attention to detail.

“He’s still young yet,” Snyder said of Hartman. “But I certainly like Tysyn and the way he plays. I like his focus on trying to do things the right way.”

Lamur relies more on his athleticism to make big plays, and when he makes big plays people notice. Last week against Colorado, he twice came up to the line of scrimmage and made impressive open-field tackles to stop Colorado runs.

They were the type of hits that when replayed on the video board, it looked like the ball-carrier ran into an immovable object.

He also grabbed two interceptions in that game.

Snyder is proud of the way Lamur has improved this season.

“Just seeing things over and over has really helped him,” Snyder said.

Are they two of the best safeties in the conference? Like Hartman, I’m not quite sure where they rank.

But Kansas State fans have to love the fact that they get to watch them for two more seasons.

Representatives from the Texas and Holiday Bowls have requested credentials to attend Kansas State’s next two home games against Kansas and Missouri. And the Insight Bowl had someone at the Wildcats’ first game of the season.

Playing in front of bowl representatives is nothing new or extraordinary in college football. They travel around the country and watch all sorts of teams (good and bad) but this is a positive sign for Kansas State. No bowl representatives were in Manhattan to watch it defeat Colorado on Saturday.