Oklahoma State football: Numbers to know for Kansas State game
By John Scimeca
Oklahoma State football (3-0) begins Big 12 play this weekend by hosting No. 25 Kansas State (3-0) at Boone Pickens Stadium at 6 p.m. CDT. OSU has emerged unbeaten in non-conference play for the fifth consecutive season, stretching back to the wacky 30-27 loss to Central Michigan in 2016.
The Cowboys are fresh off a Week 3 escape from the blue turf of Boise State, overcoming a 13-point first-half deficit to defeat the Broncos, 21-20. Neither team scored after halftime, and the Cowboys resorted almost exclusively to their ground game behind running back Jaylen Warren to preserve the victory. The former Utah State transfer rushed for 218 yards and two touchdowns against a defense that essentially knew what was coming on the majority of snaps.
Oklahoma State football will meet Kansas State for the 68th time in Week 4 to begin the Big 12 portion of the 2021 schedule.
Kansas State, on the other hand, began the season with a 24-7 neutral site victory against Stanford. Set in Arlington, Tex., the matchup featured the Big 12’s seventh win against the Pac-12 in the conferences’ last eight meetings — including an OSU win against Oregon State in 2019.
Although Kansas State has reached the AP Top 25 for the third consecutive season, it has not ended the season as a ranked team since 2014. That year’s Wildcats squad went 9-4 under head coach Bill Snyder.
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Under third-year head coach Chris Klieman, the Wildcats are .500 in conference play (9-9). He’s lost both of his games against Mike Gundy and the Cowboys, including a 20-18 OSU victory last season in Manhattan, Kan.
The Wildcats followed up their season-opening win against the Cardinal with victories against Southern Illinois and Nevada.
Here are the most important numbers to know for the Cowboys’ Big 12 opener against the Wildcats: