And, boy, did they ever.
Despite losing a heartbreaker to Texas Tech the week before, No. 10 Oklahoma still entered today’s game against No. 11 Kansas State as a nearly two touchdown favorite (it makes you wonder what the line would have been had the Sooners won). The end result, however, was far more than a two-possession game, as the Sooners rolled in the second half to a 58-17 victory over the Wildcats.
K-State kept it close for a half, but it was all Sooners all the time for the final 30 minutes.
To be honest, this was pretty much expected. K-State has been a remarkable story, and Bill Snyder has done an amazing job coaching this team up to play beyond their abilities, but there’s no denying the superior talent of OU. It’s felt on more than one occasion this year like Oklahoma was playing to the level of their competition. Not today. Sooners quarterback Landry Jones was unstoppable, tossing for over 500 yards and five touchdowns.
In the process, Jones passed the previous school record for yards passing of 468, which he had shared with Sam Bradford, and moved atop the Oklahoma career passing list with 90 touchdowns.
With the win, combined with Texas A&M’s loss earlier today, Oklahoma is still very much in the Big 12 title hunt with just a month or so of football left. Of course, the Sooners will have to continue to win on their way to a Bedlam game that could be one for the ages (speaking of that game, Oklahoma State housed Baylor 59-24 today).
On the other side, K-State’s next three games are against Oklahoma State, Texas A&M and Texas, before the Wildcats finish off the season against a pesky Iowa State team. Not exactly rainbows and puppies. Kansas State could still finish the season strong, but after today, you have to wonder if K-State’s schedule will start catching up to them.