Tag: Chris Klieman

Athlon Sports picks the Oklahoma Sooners to finish second in the Big 12 in early 2022 projections

Looking ahead to the 2022 season, the Oklahoma Sooners were picked to finish second in Athlon Sports early Big 12 predictions.

Change isn’t always a bad thing. It comes with questions and some uncertainty, but the new can often be better than what you had or where you were.

That’s what the Oklahoma Sooners are facing heading into the 2022 offseason: A year of change and transition. Out is Lincoln Riley and in is Brent Venables, Jeff Lebby and a new defensive staff. Venables wants to make the Sooners fast and physical on defense while they run the football and controll the pace on offense.

Despite all of the changes, the program has much to be optimistic about this offseason. Steve Lassan of Athlon Sports has the Oklahoma Sooners picked to finish second in the Big 12 in his early 2022 predictions.

Lassan admits the league is pretty wide open.

“The Big 12 should feature a wide-open race to win the conference in 2022. A strong argument could be made for Baylor, Oklahoma or Oklahoma State as the early No. 1 pick in the league, but regardless of which team is the favorite, the gap among those programs is small.”

Here’s what he had to say about the Oklahoma Sooners.

It’s been a busy offseason in Norman, but new coach Brent Venables has the pieces in place to push for a Big 12 title. Assuming Caleb Williams doesn’t return, UCF transfer Dillon Gabriel should take over the quarterback spot and reunite with his former coach (and coordinator) in Jeff Lebby. The Sooners lost running back Kennedy Brooks and a couple of linemen to the NFL, but Gabriel’s arrival should keep this offense near the top of the conference. Venables was one of the nation’s top defensive signal-callers at Clemson and should make an impact right away on this side of the ball for the Sooners. – Lassan, Athlon Sports

It’s incredibly early the Oklahoma Sooners will worry about proving it on the field. What’s evident is the top of the Big 12 will be competitive once again. Baylor and Oklahoma State should be strong contenders for the conference title again in 2022. Oklahoma looks to rebound and get back into the Big 12 title game. And you never know what you’re going to get with Texas. After a terrible year, the Longhorns could bounce back and find themselves in the Big 12 race as well.

Here’s how Lassan ranked the Big 12 members.

Five reasons Kansas State could beat LSU

Playing devil’s advocate, five reasons that LSU falters on Tuesday

LSU will face off against Kansas State in the Texas Bowl on Tuesday night. It’s the final bowl game of the season before the championship next Monday.

Kansas State comes into this game with a 7-5 record. Outside of their loss to Texas in the final game of the season, four of those losses came against good teams. For the most part, this is a Kansas State team that took care of business when they were supposed too.

They are coached by Chris Kleiman, who’s in his third-year of the program after running a dynasty at North Dakota State in the FCS.

LSU will be coached by Brad Davis in what is the final game before Brian Kelly assumes that roll. Davis was hired by LSU in June to serve as the offensive line coach. Davis will remain in that position as Brian Kelly takes over.

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With all that being said, Kansas State is the favorite tomorrow. To put it mildly, LSU is dealing with a lot of adversity right now. It’s difficult to imagine them winning this game unless some unexpected names step up. On the other hand, Kansas State has some good things going for it. Here are five reasons the Wildcats could take care of LSU in the Texas Bowl.

Our network of analysts predict the LSU-Kansas State Texas Bowl

Are you confident in LSU over Kansas State in Houston on Jan. 4?

Brad Davis is working towards getting the Tigers ready to tangle with the Wildcats of Kansas State. For the LSU bowl game 14 of our writers on the network weighed in with their predictions. It was 9-5 in favor of Kansas State.

Which five picked LSU to win?

Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

The Tigers will have their hands full when they take on Kansas State considering what they have and don’t have. We are still unsure as to who will actually be the starting quarterback on that day. It could be Garrett Nussmeier making his first career start. It could be a walk-on quarterback with Matt O’Dowd or Savion Faulk. Or could it be Myles Brennan returning from an injury that caused him to have surgery?

The team lost two wide receivers to the transfer portal since the last time LSU played a football game. However, despite all of that five journalists still believe the Bayou Bengals can pull off the win to close out the 2021 campaign.

Zach Abolverdi, Gainesville Sun: LSU 24, Kansas State 23

Cory Diaz, The Greenville News: LSU 13, Kansas State 3

Aria Gerson, The Tennessean: LSU 24, Kansas State 20

Christina Long, Southwest Times Record: LSU 28, Kansas State 24

Nick Kelly, The Tuscaloosa News: LSU 20, Kansas State 17

Which nine picked Kansas State to win?

Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports

The Wildcats have their own issues as they dealt with injury concerns at quarterback among other positions. What they do have is one of the most dynamic weapons in all of college football, Deuce Vaughn. He was named consensus All-American by AP and Sporting News. Vaughn accumulated 1,717 yards from scrimmage and 18 touchdowns for the Wildcats in 2021.

Defensively, LSU is going to have to find a way to deal with pass rusher Felix Anudike. In 12 games, Anudike racked up 11 sacks and 14.5 TFLs with six forced fumbles. Austin Deculus and whoever lines up on the left side will need to find a way to neutralize him. Whether that is one on one or getting help from tight ends and running backs. No. 91 can be a game wrecker if you let him.

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Eric Blum, Columbia Daily Tribune: Kansas State 41, LSU 21

Bennett Durando, Montgomery Advertiser: Kansas State 31, LSU 17

Jon Hale, Louisville Courier Journal: Kansas State 24, LSU 21

Andy Kostka, The Clarion Ledger: Kansas State 27, LSU 24

Adam Sparks, Knoxville News Sentinel: Kansas State 27, LSU 20

Nick Suss, The Clarion Ledger: Kansas State 27, LSU 23

Blake Toppmeyer, SEC columnist: Kansas State 31, LSU 17

Marc Weiszer, Athens Banner Herald: Kansas State 26, LSU 20

Mike Wilson, Knoxville News Sentinel: Kansas State 21, LSU 20

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Big 12 Power Rankings: Full slate of conference games provides clarity after Week 5

After a full slate of Big 12 games, the conference is beginning to provide some clarity. Where do the teams stack up after week five?

After a full slate of Big 12 play, the conference power rankings are starting to shake out a bit. More than ever, there is parity in the Big 12. Every team from 1-9 (sorry, Kansas) has a chance to beat anyone else in the conference week-to-week.

Texas Tech looked like a completely different team after taking a 70-point shellacking at the hands of Texas a week ago. The Red Raiders went into Morgantown and beat a West Virginia team that held the Sooners to 16 points in Norman.

Texas and Oklahoma State won their games after poor performances from quarterbacks who looked to be taking a step forward a week ago. Iowa State bounced back from their loss to Baylor. And speaking of Baylor, the Oklahoma State defense is legit. To hold the Bears to 14 points despite losing the turnover battle 3-0 is a pretty impressive feat. They made Gerry Bohanon look like an average quarterback.

This week the top three teams remained unchanged, but teams 5-9 saw a shakeup. Let’s take a look at this week’s Big 12 Power Rankings.

Oklahoma Sooners pick up big win over Kansas State 37-31

In one of their most complete performances of the season, the Oklahoma Sooners beat Kansas State 37-31 to move to 5-0 on the season.

As crazy as it may sound, this was the best Oklahoma Sooners win of the season. They went to Manhattan, Kansas for their first road game of the season and took care of business against a tough Kansas State team, 37-31.

The game wasn’t necessarily as close as the score indicated.

The Wildcats got the ball to start the game and methodically worked the down the field with some timely completions by super senior quarterback Skylar Thompson, who played despite a week-long game of smoke and mirrors from head coach Chris Klieman about the quarterback’s availability.

Kansas State made its way into the red zone before a forced fumble by defensive end Reggie Grimes and subsequent 60 yard return by Nik Bonitto set the Sooners up nicely.

After making it inside the 10, penalties, a botched snap, and poor blocking would result in the Sooners settling for three points off of a field goal from Gabe Brkic.

The Wildcats would answer on a touchdown pass from Thompson to star running back Deuce Vaughn.

The Sooners would respond with a 12 play 75-yard touchdown drive of their own capped off by a very creative run play involving Jeremiah Hall.

The Sooners and Wildcats swapped field goals before halftime. Oklahoma went into the locker room with a 13-10 lead.

Neither team punted until the 3rd quarter. Kansas State kept opting to go for it and the Sooners defense couldn’t get off the field. Conversely, Kansas State simply could not stop Oklahoma as every drive ended in points.

Things would get weird in the third quarter thanks in part to two different reviews.

Trailing 27-10, Kansas State attempted and recovered an onside kick, and referee Kevin Hassell went to confirm the ball traveled 10 yards. It did, but Lincoln Riley smartly and probably due to information he was receiving via his headset challenged the play again.

Riley argued that kicker Ty Zentner had accidentally kicked the ball twice (which he had). The illegal touching gave Oklahoma the ball. They would do nothing with it and instead turned it over on third and long on a Spencer Rattler interception putting Kansas State deep in their own territory. The pick amounted to nothing more than a punt as Rattler threw it up there hoping to make a play or catch a defensive pass interference call.

Another review came on a 4th down completion from Thompson to receiver Landry Weber. A superb attempt to catch it was ruled incomplete as the ball hit the ground as he attempted to secure it.

A slick Jeremiah Hall TD reception on a shovel pass from Rattler put the Sooners in front 34-17.

The Wildcats would eat up a lot of clock while scoring to make it 34-24.

The Sooners responded with another field goal from Brkic, which was followed by a kick return for a touchdown from Malik Knowles. Knowles now has three return touchdowns this year. Kansas State had one last attempt to get an offside and the attempt was unsuccessful as wide receiver Jadon Haselwood calmly caught the kick and took a knee.

Spencer Rattler threw for 243 yards and two touchdowns, running back Kennedy Brooks was the lead back of the day posting 91 yards and a touchdown while Jeremiah Hall scored twice and Marvin Mims re-emerged with four catches for 71 yards.

Oklahoma can now return to Norman and prepare themselves for the Red River Shootout with the 4-1 Texas Longhorns. Kansas State will have a bye before playing Iowa State on October 16th.

Oklahoma Sooners vs. Kansas State Wildcats: Sooners Wire Staff Predictions

Get ready for Saturday’s matchup between Oklahoma and Kansas State with predictions from our Staff Writers here at Sooners Wire.

This is a huge game for the Oklahoma Sooners. That feels strange to say as it’s not a rivalry game or for the Big 12 championship. The calendar will have just turned to October and the Sooners are still two months away from potentially defending their crown in the conference title game.

But this one is a huge game because the Sooners haven’t beaten Kansas State in the Chris Klieman era. It’s a huge game because Oklahoma hasn’t looked like national title contenders at any point in the 2021 season. And finally, it’s a huge game because the Sooners won’t be able to afford a slip-up at any point in the 2021 season. Though it may be unreasonable, the Sooners have to go undefeated if they want a spot in the College Football Playoff this season.

The Sooners have a lot to prove to themselves and to the national observers as they get ready to take on Kansas State in Manhattan for their first road game of the season.

As we do here every week, the Sooners Wire staff provides their predictions for this week’s matchup with the Kansas State Wildcats.

NEXT: Our staff provides their predictions for this week’s matchup.

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Who is the Oklahoma Sooners biggest competition in 2021?

A look at which teams could be the biggest threat to the Oklahoma Sooners crown in 2021.

The upcoming football season for the Oklahoma Sooners will be yet another challenge to get into the College Football Playoffs.

Continue reading “Who is the Oklahoma Sooners biggest competition in 2021?”

Who is the Oklahoma Sooners biggest competition in 2021?

A look at which teams could be the biggest threat to the Oklahoma Sooners crown in 2021.

The upcoming football season for the Oklahoma Sooners will be yet another challenge to get into the College Football Playoffs.

Continue reading “Who is the Oklahoma Sooners biggest competition in 2021?”

Oklahoma is confident it will be able to play Saturday, Kansas State still up in the air

Oklahoma is confident it will be able to play Saturday, Kansas State still up in the air

Lincoln Riley and Oklahoma are confident they’ll be able to suit up on Saturday.

Kansas State hasn’t got the answers they need just yet.

Both Oklahoma and Kansas State have struggled with COVID-19 this year, both citing that certain position groups have taken hits due to the virus. The Sooners were missing 20 players from their depth chart ahead of the Missouri State game and plenty of more on the roster.

Lincoln Riley said on Thursday that he’s confident his team will be able to play Saturday, despite the fact the school is still waiting on mid-week and rapid testing results on Friday.

For the Wildcats, the decision could come down to the wire.

“On the Arkansas State game, it was Friday at 5 o’clock where we finally got the go-ahead to play, because we were one player at one position away from having to cancel that game,” Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman said during a news conference on Tuesday. “This week, it’s another position that we’re really close on the threshold.”

One positive is that KSU offensive coordinator Courtney Messingham said on Thursday that the Wildcat’s offensive line will look similar to the same unit that played against Arkansas State last week.

OU is currently still set to play Kansas State at 11 a.m. on Saturday.

What Kansas State’s Chris Klieman said about Spencer Rattler, playing at Oklahoma

There is a scheduled game to take place in Norman, Oklahoma, this week and it’s the opener of Big 12 Conference play. 

There is a scheduled game to take place in Norman, Oklahoma, this week and it’s the opener of Big 12 Conference play.

Oklahoma welcomes in Chris Klieman and Kansas State, who pulled off one of the true stunners in college football in 2020. The Wildcats were more than three touchdown underdogs at home before prevailing at the end 48-41.

Kansas State quarterback Skylar Thompson returns as well as did most of the Wildcat defense, but Klieman is still breaking in almost a brand new offensive line. They suffered their first loss of the season in the opener in a major upset to Arkansas State 35-31.

Oklahoma did not lose its opener to FCS Missouri State, but the Sooners will be tested differently in week two. Spencer Rattler threw for 290 passing yards and four touchdowns in his starting debut as well as the defense pitched a shutout. Kansas State, despite its issues with COVID-19, will be a much tougher test for the Sooners.

Here is what Klieman said on Tuesday during his weekly press conference about Rattler and playing on the road at Oklahoma.

SPENCER RATTLER:

“Well, we have limited film, but just the fact that he’s working under Lincoln Riley, you know he’s going to be a great player ’cause Lincoln is as good as there is at coaching quarterbacks. I think he has tremendous arm strength. I think he does a great job of reading defenses, looking people off, knowing where he is going with the football. He’s an extremely good athlete. They didn’t run him and they didn’t need to run him much against Missouri State, but I know just doing some research, he can beat you with his feet as well as his arm. I know he’s a young player, but boy, I’ve been so impressed with his skillset.”

PLAYING ON THE ROAD AT OKLAHOMA IN A LIMITED CAPACITY:

“It’s a good question. I’ve not been to Norman before. Obviously seen a bunch of games on television. It’s still a home field for them. It’s still a home field advantage. The noise factor is not what it’s going to be what it typically is, but I’m sure as tight as those sidelines are that the noise will be a factor. So, something we have to practice for. But I think that’s going to be the kind of the interesting thing as you go across all these places and people coming here is what is the environment, and how do your kids adjust to it? Whether it’s very little crowd to no crowd or to 22,000 and the crowd noise that could come with that. I think every week will be a different adventure there.”

Oklahoma and Kansas State are scheduled to kickoff at 11 a.m. CT on Saturday from Norman, Oklahoma.

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