Oklahoma Sooners 38, Kansas State Wildcats 17
Here are the top takeaways and highest-graded players from Oklahoma's 38-17 win over Kansas State in Week 7:
Oklahoma Sooners
Quarterback grade: Baker Mayfield, 77.0
Mayfield continued his strong play as of late with a near perfect game. He had an adjusted completion percentage of 87.1 on the day thanks to just six incompletions, two of which were drops. He wasn’t under pressure often (22 percent of his dropbacks), but when he was, he was incredibly effective, completing all six attempts he had for 176 yards and two touchdowns.
Top offensive grades:
WR Dede Westbrook, 80.3
RB Joe Mixon, 77.5
QB Baker Mayfield, 77.0
LT Orlando Brown, 75.2
WR Mark Andrews, 71.6
Offensive weapons for Oklahoma shine with huge games
It’s hard to argue that any receiver in college football is playing at the level that WR Dede Westbrook has been playing at these past three weeks. He caught nine of 11 targets for 184 yards and three touchdowns, and also forced a missed tackle. “Easy to tackle” running back Joe Mixon was anything but that in this game, forcing eight missed tackles on 22 touches for 122 total yards. He also added a touchdown pass for good measure.
Top defensive grades:
S Ahmad Thomas, 80.9
CB Will Johnson, 79.9
LB Jordan Evans, 78.6
DI Matt Romar, 77.7
DI Jordan Wade, 77.6
Strong interior line play from OU slows down Wildcats' rushing attack
Kansas State’s offense is predicated on a strong run game, and the Sooners took any semblance of an up-the-middle game away from them thanks to interior defenders Matt Romar and Jordan Wade. On runs inside the tackles the Wildcats gained just 78 yards on 18 carries, as Romar and Wade were consistently beating blocks and blowing up run plays before they really had a chance to begin.
Kansas State Wildcats
Quarterback grade: Jesse Ertz, 68.1; Joe Hubener, 62.0
It was a tough day for both quarterbacks on the Kansas State offense — Jesse Ertz and Joe Hubener — as Oklahoma’s defense made life difficult. They both struggled on throws over 10 yards, completing just 4-of-13 passes for 105 yards and a touchdown (Jesse Ertz was 0-3 on those passes). They also each had multiple turnover-worthy throws, and were lucky to escape the game with no interceptions.
Top offensive grades:
RT Dalton Risner, 78.8
WR Dominque Heath, 75.9
LT Scott Frantz, 73.5
LG Abdul Beecham, 73.5
QB Jesse Ertz, 68.1
Offensive line has up-and-down game
There was definitely some good from this offensive line performance. The Wildcats only allowed two sacks and five hurries on the day, RT Dalton Risner and LT Scott Frantz were run-blocking beasts, and LG Abdul Beecham had an all-around good game. But C Reid Najvar and RG Terrale Johnson struggled when it came to the run game, finishing with run-blocking grades of 37.7 and 39.0, respectively.
Top defensive grades:
LB Charmeachealle Moore, 83.3
DI Will Geary, 82.9
ED Jordan Willis, 79.0
CB D.J. Reed, 74.8
LB Elijah Lee, 74.8
Top defenders play as expected, but Wildcats defense gets little help from elsewhere
The top players on the Wildcats' defense played up to the level they were expected to on Saturday afternoon. But they didn’t get a lot of help from the rest of their defense. CB Duke Shelley was targeted by Oklahoma all game long, seeing 12 targets. He allowed 10 receptions for 207 yards and three touchdowns, and on two of those, he was beaten about as badly as any cornerback can be. His pass-coverage grade of 26.5 shows just how badly he struggled in coverage.
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