OPENING KICK
Oklahoma (3-3, 0-3 Big 12) will try for its 18th straight win over Kansas (5-1, 2-1) when it hosts the No. 19/20 Jayhawks on Saturday at 11 a.m. CT at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. The game will be televised by ESPN2 with Dave Flemming, Rod Gilmore and Tiffany Blackmon announcing.
Oklahoma is 79-27-6 (.732) all-time vs. Kansas and has won 17 straight in the series. It is OU’s longest active winning streak against an opponent. Eight of KU’s wins came in the series’ first eight meetings (1903-10) while 16 of its victories came before 1931. Since 1965, the Sooners are 44-6 (.880) vs. the Jayhawks.
OU has won eight straight at home over Kansas and has held the Jayhawks to single-digit scoring in four of the last five meetings in Norman. KU’s last win at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium came in 1996 (52-24).
The Sooners have scored at least 34 points in each of their last 13 games against Kansas. It is the longest such streak in school history against a single opponent (next longest is 12 consecutive games [current] vs. Texas Tech).
Going back to the start of the 2010 season, Oklahoma has only played five regular season games when unranked in the AP poll, and it won four of the five (42-30 at Texas Tech in 2014, 52-46 at No. 21 TCU in 2016, 53-45 in four overtimes vs. No. 22 Texas in 2020 and 33-14 at TCU in 2020). The only loss was this past Saturday to Texas. The Sooners have won five of their last six regular season games when unranked (also beat No. 11 Oklahoma State 27-0 in 2009 in Norman).
Saturday’s game will mark the first between Oklahoma and Kansas since 2009 in which the Jayhawks are ranked in the AP poll. In that meeting, No. 25 OU beat No. 24 KU 35-13 in Lawrence. This weekend’s contest will also mark the first time since 1992 that OU and KU face each other when the Jayhawks are ranked the AP poll and the Sooners are not. Kansas won that matchup 27-10 in Lawrence.
Even with its 0-3 conference start, Oklahoma is 54-11 (.831) in regular season Big 12 play since the beginning of the 2015 season. Oklahoma State ranks second during that period (44-21; .677), TCU third (35-30; .538), Texas fourth (34-31; .523), West Virginia fifth (33-31) and Iowa State and Kansas State sixth (33-33; 500).
OU is 153-36 (.810) in regular season Big 12 play since the start of the 2000 season. That’s 28 more wins than the program with the next most victories during that period (Texas; 125-64) and 43 more than the program with the third most (Oklahoma State; 110-79).
KEY STORYLINES
Oklahoma lost its last home game, 41-34, to Kansas State on Sept. 24. It was just OU’s 12th home defeat since the start of the 1999 season, tied with Boise State for fewest in the country. Since the start of that 1999 season, the Sooners have lost back-to-back home games just one time (vs. Kansas State and Baylor in 2014). They have won their last five home games following a home loss, and 11 of their last 12.
Each of the last 17 meetings in the Oklahoma-Kansas series have been OU double-digit victories. The Sooners have outscored the Jayhawks 745-
238 in those contests (average of 44-14) and have outgained them 8,417 yards to 4,697 (average of 495-276). OU has won the last eight meetings by a combined score of 400-112 (50-14 average). KU has scored single-digit points in five of the last eight matchups and six of the last 10.
The Jayhawks have won seven games in their first season and a half under head coach Lance Leipold. That’s the same number of victories the program totaled over the four seasons prior to Leipold’s arrival. KU hasn’t finished with a winning record since 2008 (8-5) under former head coach (and former OU assistant coach; 1999-2001) Mark Mangino.
Kansas has already won more games this season (five) than it had in any of its previous 12 campaigns. Last week’s No. 19 AP ranking was its first in that poll since the 2009 season.
Oklahoma is looking to snap a three-game losing streak, the program’s first since 1998 (lost five straight that season). Prior to this season, the Sooners lost back-to-back regular season games just one time since the start of the 1999 campaign. That was in 2020 when OU fell 38-35 at home to Kansas State and 37-30 at Iowa State.
In OU’s first three games this season (all wins), the Sooners allowed just 10.0 points, 118.3 rushing yards and 312.7 total yards (4.1 per play) per contest, while registering 13 sacks (for 96 yards) and 32 tackles for loss (for 167 yards). Over the last three games (all losses), OU has allowed 48.3 points, 310.7 rushing yards and 587.3 total yards (7.4 per play) per game, while totaling one sack (for 10 yards) and 12 TFLs (for 31 yards).
Despite the major drop in tackles for loss during its three-game losing streak, OU is tied for 14th in the country with its 44 tackles for loss and ranks ninth with its 198 TFL yardage.
The Sooners rank 127th out of 131 FBS teams this season in average time of possession (25:39) and have not held a time-of-possession advantage in any of their five games. Kansas ranks 95th with an average TOP of 28:39. It held a TOP advantage in a win over Houston and in its loss to TCU.
LAST YEAR VS. KANSAS
For the first time since the 2014 Russell Athletic Bowl vs. Clemson, Oklahoma was held scoreless in the first half, but the No. 3/2 Sooners registered touchdowns on all five of their second-half possessions to post a 35-23 win at Kansas on Oct. 23, 2021. OU ran only 17 plays in the first half and trailed 10-0 at halftime.
The Sooners, who were down 17-7 late in the third quarter, outscored KU 28-6 over the game’s final 15:14.
Quarterback Caleb Williams completed 15 of 20 passes for 178 yards and two touchdowns against one interception and ran eight times for 70 yards and a TD.
Kennedy Brooks carried 24 times for a team-high 79 yards and two touchdowns. His first TD came on a 1-yard run early in the fourth quarter and gave OU its first lead of the day.
Oklahoma gained 320 of its 398 total yards in the second half, including 213 of its 220 rushing yards and 107 of its 178 passing yards.
Sophomore receiver Trevon West rushed for 66 yards on a reverse play in the third quarter, leading to OU’s second touchdown of the game. It tied for the Sooners’ longest scrimmage play of the season at the time.
In his second career start, sophomore safety Key Lawrence recorded a career-high eight tackles (tied Brian Asamoah for team high), two tackles for loss and a forced fumble in the fourth quarter that OU recovered.
HOME IS WHERE THE “W” IS
Oklahoma is 132-12 (.917) at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium since the start of the 1999 season, giving the Sooners two more Big 12 championships during the period (14) than home defeats. It is the best home winning percentage among Power 5 programs over the last 23-plus
seasons (Ohio State is next at .896). OU has outscored its opponents by an average of 43-17 in those games.
The Sooners have posted 143 straight sellouts of originally scheduled home games dating back to the start of the 1999 season (Bob Stoops’ first as head coach). Only Nebraska (FBS-record 386) has a longer current streak.
OU has recorded 41 unbeaten seasons at home, including 15 in the last 23 years.
