Kansas is unbeaten, while TCU laid 55 points on Oklahoma, sending the Sooners to their second consecutive loss.
The first of those losses were to Kansas State in one of the biggest upsets of the young season. Oklahoma--then ranked sixth--fell 41-34 in a game that K-State owned the ball for more than 35 minutes and both teams combined for 1,059 yards.
Kansas State came off a 8-5 season in 2021, which saw a Texas Bowl victory over LSU. Chris Klieman is in his fourth season in Manhattan, and was tasked with taking over for the legendary Bill Snyder. He already has the Wildcats at 3-1 this season, with a pair of wins in conference play after taking down Texas Tech 37-28 on Saturday.
Jumping out to a 13-0 lead after the first quarter, K-State surrendered 10 points in the final five minutes of the half, then gave up the lead on the opening drive of the third quarter. From there, the teams traded scores to be tied 20-20 after three.
Kleiman relied heavily on senior quarterback Adrian Martinez and junior running back Deuce Vaughn in the second half. While the Big 12 is known for airing it out, the Wildcats are dominating their victories with the ground game. Martinez ran for 171 yards and three touchdowns, while Vaughn had 170 yards, with each amassing a 69-yard carry in the half. The Wildcats decided to hang 17 points on the Red Raiders in the fourth quarter to put the game away.
Through five games, the Wildcats have 1,336 yards rushing, putting them fourth in the country with a 267.2 yards-per-game average. Vaughn, a unanimous All-American in 2021 after putting up 1,404 yards and 18 touchdowns, already has 638 yards and three touchdowns this year. The eventual first-round NFL pick has hit the century mark in all four Kansas State victories, while getting 81 yards in their loss to Tulane in Week 3.
Martinez, a transfer from Nebraska has 654 yards passing, but 469 yards rushing through five games.
The key with Martinez is his accounting for 12 touchdowns (nine rushing, three passing).
Kansas State is one of only a handful of teams to have led at the half of each game this year. Aside from their running game, the key to success in Manhattan is their defensive ability to take the ball away. Saturday’s victory over Texas Tech resulted in the Wildcats’ first two fumble recoveries in 2022. Add in nine interceptions, their turnover margin ties them for 17th in the nation, which is right where you want to be.
The nine interceptions alone would place the Wildcats tied for 29th in the country.
For the first time that most of us can remember, the Governor’s Cup game against Kansas to close the regular season might have massive Big 12 regular season implications. The Jayhawks are 5-0 after knocking off Iowa State. Realistically, the Wildcats should also be unbeaten, with both teams being comfortably in the Coach’s Poll Top 25 (K-State #20, Kansas #17). This is the first time since 2009 that Kansas has been ranked, having historically been one of the worst programs in the nation since.
If you had told me that there would be five teams from the Big 10 in the top 25 in Week 5, and one of them was NOT Oklahoma, I would have thought the NCAA Football video game was out a year early.
-JC24