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Friday, December 13, 2002
No. 7 Kansas State
vs. No. 1 Oklahoma
By Will Weiss
BCSfootball.com
Six weeks ago, the talk was about how well these two staffs know one another. But when No. 7 Kansas State meets top-ranked Oklahoma this Saturday (ABC, 8 p.m. ET), the focus will be on the Big XII championship and how it affects the Bowl Championship Series.
"It's amazing the last game of the season at 8 o'clock that won't be over until midnight is going to determine so much of where everybody else goes," said ABC play-by-play announcer Brad Nessler, who will call the game with Bob Griese and Lynn Swann. "You couldn't ask for a better scenario."
What a win means for Kansas State:
A Kansas State upset sends the Wildcats to the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, where it will play either Nebraska, Notre Dame, Oregon State or Virginia Tech. It will also likely set up a rematch of Miami-Florida State in the national championship game.
|  | | Bob Stoops' defense has scored as many touchdowns (3) as its given up so far this season. |
What a win means for Oklahoma:
This one's pretty simple. As the nation's only undefeated team, Oklahoma heads to the FedEx Orange Bowl to play for the national championship, where the Sooners' likely adversary will be Florida State.
The skinny:
Heading into Kansas City, neither team comes in revved up. Oklahoma has struggled in its last three games, with quarterback Josh Heupel not playing near the eye-popping quality we witnessed through the first eight games. Heupel has thrown only three touchdown passes and been intercepted six times during this recent stretch.
Kansas State earned the right to play for the conference title thanks to an emotionally-charged win against Nebraska and a gut-check victory against Missouri. An extra week of preparation has given the Wildcats a chance to heal.
"I feel pretty good," said K-State linebacker Ben Leber. "I know the rest of my teammates feel pretty good, too. Everybody's legs are back under them, and most importantly, our minds are pretty healthy and we're refreshed and ready to go."
K-State junior safety Jon McGraw, who sat out the Missouri game two weeks ago, will play Saturday, and left tackle Milford Stephenson, who left the Missouri game in the second quarter, is expected to play.
In the days since Oklahoma's 12-7 squeaker over Oklahoma State, the Sooners have mixed preparing for Kansas State with collecting awards.
Wednesday, Heupel was a unanimous choice for the Associated Press' Big XII Offensive Player of the Year. He was also named player of the year by the Walter Camp Foundation and various other publications. Head coach Bob Stoops was named coach of the year by the same two bodies, and linebacker Rocky Calmus, a Butkus Award finalist, was named defensive player of the year by AP.
The ruptured bursa sac in Heupel's left elbow is not as serious an injury as once thought. Joe Montana suffered the same injury when he was with the Kansas City Chiefs, and said it didn't affect his performance.
"Those things get blown way out of proportion," Heupel said. "My arm is fine."
"He practices every day. He feels strong and ready to go," Stoops added.
When K-State has the ball:
|  | | Jonathan Beasley had 250 yards of total offense and accounted for three TDs in the first game with OU. |
Which Jonathan Beasley will show up? He is unquestionably the key to getting the Wildcats' offensive machine rolling. In the Oct. 14 game against Oklahoma, Beasley was inconsistent, gaining only 39 yards rushing on 15 carries, and completing 14 of 36 passes for 211 yards and a touchdown. He also threw two interceptions. Beasley has the capability to do a severe amount of damage with this offense, it's just a matter of how he starts.
Running the ball will be at a premium, with a three-headed monster of Beasley and running backs Josh Scobey and David Allen. In the first meeting, OU held the Wildcats to 144 yards rushing, well below their season average of 203.5 yards per game. The Wildcats had the ball only 25:31 in the first game. A more potent running attack will not only chew up the clock, but it will wear down Oklahoma's front seven and keep its lethal offense on the sidelines.
Kansas State's passing attack found holes within the Oklahoma secondary in the latter portion of the game. The Sooners continually double-teamed stud wide receiver Quincy Morgan, and Beasley adjusted. They did connect on a 69-yard touchdown that shifted the momentum back to the Wildcats, but it was not enough in the 41-31 loss.
OU will most likely employ a similar strategy Saturday in containing Morgan.
"They have good DBs and an excellent free safety," Morgan said. "It's going to be a tough task, because they're playing good defense."
When Oklahoma has the ball:
Despite remaining undefeated, Oklahoma's offense has sputtered in recent weeks. The unit has averaged 24.7 points per game against Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State after putting up 45.9 in the first eight. Last week, Oklahoma State held the Sooners to 12 points, and Heupel threw for a career-low 154 yards.
The Cowboys threw an array of schemes at the Sooners, sometimes putting nine people in the secondary and rushing only two down linemen. Oklahoma had been at its best when teams blitzed more frequently.
"Coaches who have brought new high-flying offensive schemes into their programs are seeing their conferences catch up towards the end of the season," said ABC studio analyst Terry Bowden.
"It's just a lot of little things," said sophomore WR Damian Mackey. "And we've been surprised by a few teams playing us in a way we didn't think they were going to play."
Senior center Bubba Burcham added: "We've really been stopping ourselves."
Kansas State pummeled Heupel six weeks ago, sacking him five times and knocking him down 10 more times. K-State knows Oklahoma has a talented bevy of receivers and will play to that, as they did before. The Wildcats utilized a dime package and a four-man pass rush, and will most likely keep that strategy, but with some quirks.
"I don't think we can make a lot of wholesale changes," said head coach Bill Snyder, without revealing any plans. "We have to do what we do, but I do know this: whatever we do has to be better than last time."
Heupel burned the 'Cats with 374 yards passing, and led the Sooners on a long drive to Tim Duncan's field goal that iced the game. However, OU netted just 11 yards rushing. As they have been in recent weeks, Quentin Griffin and Josh Norman must be bigger parts of the offense.
"We just have to get back to basics," Mackey said. "It will be interesting to see what K-State does."
It will be even more interesting to see how Oklahoma responds.
Useless factoids:
Saturday marks the second straight time the Big XII Championship Game features a rematch of a regular season matchup. Last year, Nebraska defeated Texas 22-6 in the title game, after losing 24-20 in the regular season.
In the four years the Big XII Championship Game has been contested, the South Division has won the title in the even years (1996 & '98), while the North Division has won the odd years (Nebraska in 1997 & '99). Oklahoma represents the South this year.
Kansas State is the fourth team to make at least two appearances in the Big XII Championship Game (Nebraska in 1996, '97 & '99, Texas in 1996 and '99, and Texas A&M in 1997 & '98).
The favored team has lost twice. OU is a three-point favorite this Saturday.
It is the first time since 1998 that both teams in the Big XII title game are ranked in the Top 10 in both polls.
Quote of the Week:
Regarding rumors of his move to another head coaching job, Kansas State coach Bill Snyder offered this quip: "Me? Where would I go?"
Will Weiss is the assistant editor of BCSfootball.com.
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