Wildcat Whooping: Sooners Shutout Kansas State

After a gruesome Friday night that featured an eight hour travel delay, the Sooners wasted no time at all setting the tone in their 55-0 win over Kansas State on Saturday to improve to 5-1.

10/16/15: Flight Problems For Sooners

Bob Stoops is now 6-0 in the “Little Apple” and his Sooners won this one in style. It was the first time Kansas State (3-3) has been shut out since 1996.

OU quarterback Baker Mayfield must’ve eaten his Wheaties for breakfast on Saturday morning, because he was dialed in from the start of this Big 12 matchup.

After a four-yard run by Semaje Perine to start the game, Mayfield took care of the remaining 71 yards by completing four consecutive passes to three different OU receivers.

That opening drive lasted only 64 seconds and Sterling Shepard finished it off with a 22-yard touchdown reception. The OU captain caught an out route on the right side of the field near the 15-yard line and did the rest with his legs, as he broke numerous tackles before extending for the score.

The OU offensive domination continued two possessions later after a Jordan Thomas interception set the Sooners up on the Kansas State 16-yard line.

On the second play of the OU drive, Mayfield threw it to Joe Mixon on the right side where he was flared out on a screen pass. Mixon caught the Mayfield throw before turning on the jets and running in for an easy touchdown to give OU a 14-0 lead with 8:28 left in the first quarter.

Those two OU touchdowns were just the beginning of a long day for Snyder’s Wildcats.

On the Sooners’ first drive of the second quarter, Lincoln Riley’s “Air Raid” offense was rolling. Mayfield hooked up with Shepard for a touchdown yet again, this time for 28 yards on a post route. Shepard caught the pass over the middle, shed the defender that was draped on his back and walked in for his 20th career touchdown. The drive lasted only five plays and put the Sooners up 21-0.

Kansas State wasn’t ready for the intensity the Sooners brought early in the game. The Wildcat offense responded with a three-and-out on their next drive and was forced to punt the ball right back to OU.

The Oklahoma offense was in a rhythm and it was clear they weren’t going to be slowed down. The Sooners faced a fourth and two at midfield, and Bob Stoops decided to let the Sooners go for it instead of punting.

It was definitely a good decision by Stoops.

Mayfield dropped back, juked a KSU defender out of his shoes before scampering 28-yards to the Wildcat three yard line. Two plays later, Mayfield hit tight end Mark Andrews for a wide open touchdown to give the Sooners a 28-0 lead with 7:29 left before halftime.

When it rains, it pours.

A Zack Sanchez diving interception on KSU’s second play of their next drive gave OU the ball back, and the Sooners made the most of it yet again.

Mayfield capped off a five play touchdown drive with a beautiful fade pass to Dede Westbrook in the back of the endzone to put OU up 35-0 going into halftime.

The Sooner stomping continued in the third quarter as Sanchez immediately picked off his second pass of the game and returned it for six points to put OU up by 42.

The Kansas State fans were heading towards the exit signs at that point, but the Sooner offense wasn’t done piling on the points.

OU tacked on two field goals from Austin Seibert in the third quarter, then Mixon scored his second touchdown of the game on a one-yard run in the fourth quarter.

While the OU offense was flourishing, the defense was dominating. Mike Stoops dialed up the perfect gameplan to shut down the limited Kansas State offense and didn’t allow the Wildcats to build up any sort of momentum.

The OU defense forced five three-and-outs while picking off three passes in the game. The secondary was impressive all night with both Sanchez and Thomas locking up the outside. The Sooner defensive backs blanketed the KSU receivers, which allowed the defense to total six sacks in the contest while limiting KSU to only seven first downs.

It was an incredible bounce back performance for a defense that was manhandled by Texas just a week before. They played aggressive, and seemed to be fueled by the success the OU offense was having.

Mayfield finished with five touchdowns—all in the first half—to go with his 282 passing yards. Westbrook led OU in receiving with 85 yards and a touchdown while Shepard totaled 83 yards and two highlight scores. Durron Neal also had a good game, totaling four catches for 55 yards. Neal was without a touchdown, but his aggressiveness throughout helped extend OU drives and put them in good field position.

The running game was solid for the Sooners on Saturday as well. Mixon led the team with 73 yards and a rushing touchdown to go with his receiving score, while Perine totaled 56 yards on 11 carries. Daniel Brooks also saw some playing time and made the most of it with 41 rushing yards.

Matt Dimon, Charles Walker, Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, Marquise Overton, Jordan Wade and P.L. Lindley all had sacks on Saturday

With the win, Stoops continued his reign of dominance after an OU loss. Stoops hasn’t lost back to back games since 1999.

OU will be back in action on Saturday when they host Texas Tech at 2:30 p.m.