NORMAND, OKLA. — Unranked Kansas State took a two-touchdown road lead at No. 6 Oklahoma with 8:00 left in the fourth quarter before eight minutes of frantic football ended in a 41- 34 from Kansas State on Saturday night at Gaylord Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla.
After three tough performances to open the season, Kansas State quarterback (3-1, 1-0 Big 12) Adrian Martinez rushed for 52 yards on third and 16 to get to Oklahoma (3-1, 0-1 Big 12) four-yard line before hitting it later on a one-yard run down the middle for his fourth rushing touchdown of the night.
In addition to Martinez’s four rushing touchdowns on Saturday, he was the Wildcat’s leading rusher with 148 rushing yards against what was a porous Oklahoma defense that gave up 509 total yards.
Martinez was heavily criticized for his play in Kansas State’s 17-10 loss to Tulane last week, but the Nebraska transfer quarterback showed up Saturday night against the top-ranked team in the Big 12.
Kansas State’s offense gained 509 total yards on the night, and Martinez was responsible for 382 of them when combining his passing and rushing totals.
Despite not forcing a turnover and allowing a season high in points, the Kansas State defense managed to hold off a powerful Oklahoma offense just enough to escape the Oklahoma with a road win after an embarrassing home loss last week in which the defense played well enough to earn a win.
For the second time in as many trips to Norman — one of the toughest environments in the Big 12 to score a road win — Kansas State comes away with a win. In 2020, Kansas State defeated the Sooners 38-35 as Oklahoma was ranked No. 3 in the nation. Kansas was also unseeded in the 2020 game.
K-State has won four of its last six games in Oklahoma.
MARTINEZ PLAYS FOR FREE
After appearing locked in the first three games of the season, the Kansas State quarterback Adrian Martinez had more success in the Wildcats’ fourth game of the season than in their first three games combined.
Martinez completed 21 of 34 passes for 234 yards on Saturday night and had a passing touchdown. Martinez came out aggressive looking to throw the ball further early in the game, and it helped K-State open the game with a 14-0 lead after the Wildcats’ first two drives.
The Nebraska transfer also directed football more against the Oklahoma defense than it did in the first three weeks of the season. Martinez rushed 21 times total for 148 yards and his first-half rushing touchdown helped Kansas State lead 21-14 before securing the game-winning touchdown with less than 2:00 left in the game .
His touchdown run included impressive agility as he dipped over the stack at the line of scrimmage, but he fell short of the goal line. To cross the goal line, Martinez planted his left hand in the grass and rushed into the red grass end zone.
Martinez silenced a lot of doubters after his poor start to the season with his solid performance – on the ground and in the air – on Saturday against the Sooners. The former four-star prospect looked free, fast and confident in his talent on Saturday.
VAUGHN STARTING A NEW SERIES?
Deuce Vaughn had an eight-game streak of at least 100 rushing yards last week against Tulane. But Vaughn rushed for 116 yards against a strong defensive front from Sooner.
The preseason All-American averaged 4.6 yards per carry, which is more than his average in K-State’s first three games this season. On several carries, Vaughn managed to miss the Sooner’s first tackle using a clever juke move paired with a bad header.
THE STARS OF SINOTT
Ben Sinnot had five receptions for 22 yards heading into Saturday’s game and just seven receptions for 37 yards in his career. But, Sinnott had a career game against the No. 6-ranked Sooners. The big-bodied tight end had four catches for 80 yards on the night, two career highs. Three of Sinnott’s first four receptions all went for at least 20 yards, including a 27-yard reception to break into Oklahoma Territory on a drive that later gave Kansas State a 34-20 win.
THE DISGUISE TRICKS GABRIEL ENOUGH OF PROBLEMS
Numbers-wise, Sooner’s quarterback Dillion Gabriel had a really impressive game. But Gabriel’s night was not easy. The Sooner quarterback had four touchdown passes, including his first two that went at least 50 yards. He finished the night with 330 passing yards on the night.
But the Kansas State defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman did a quality job moving his defensive backs around enough to make things a bit difficult for Oklahoma’s transfer quarterback throughout the night.
Klanderman’s defense was able to pressure Gabriel in key moments which helped him get worked up in the pocket. Gabriel managed to escape the pressure a few times, which contributed to his 61 yards rushing but 26 yards rushing down the sideline.
But Gabriel was really disciplined all night long by not throwing the ball into danger against an opportunistic Kansas State defense that combined for six interceptions over the past two weeks against Missouri and Tulane.
NEXT
Kansas State returns to Bill Snyder Family Stadium next week to take on Texas Tech in its second Big 12 game of the season. The Red Raiders defeated No. 22 Texas on Saturday in Lubbock, Texas to start the Big 12 game 1-0.