No. 6 Oklahoma looks to keep its unbeaten season alive when it heads to Kansas for a Big 12 clash Saturday. The Sooners are in complete control of the Big 12 right now thanks to their Red River Rivalry win against Texas a few weeks ago. OU is the only unbeaten team left in the conference and should be favorites in the rest of its remaining regular-season games.
Oklahoma has aspirations beyond just the Big 12 Championship, though. The College Football Playoff race is still wide open. If Oklahoma is able to finish the regular season undefeated and capture a conference title, it will be hard to keep the Sooners out of the playoff field.
But Oklahoma could get a tough test Saturday. Kansas has undergone a complete transformation under coach Lance Leipold. The Jayhawks no longer struggle to beat FCS teams, and their 11-9 record over the past two seasons is the program’s best since 2006-07.
That said, Oklahoma is riding an 18-game win streak against Kansas. The Jayhawks haven’t won against the Sooners since 1997. Eleven of OU’s wins during its current streak have come by at least 20 points. Kansas has closed the gap a bit recently, with an average score differential of -11 over the last two years.
How to watch Oklahoma vs. Kansas live
Date: Saturday, Oct. 28 | Time: 12 p.m. ET
Location: David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium — Lawrence, Kansas
TV: Fox | Live stream: fubo (Try for free)
Oklahoma vs. Kansas: Need to know
All eyes on Jason Bean: Kansas is still awaiting the return of star quarterback Jalon Daniels, who has missed significant time due to a preseason back injury. The Big 12 Preseason Offensive Player of the Year sat out in the season opener against Missouri State, started in the next three games to help the Jayhawks to a 4-0 start but has been absent for every game since. Without Daniels guiding the way, Kansas is 2-2 and 1-2 in Big 12 play. Leipold said this week Bean will start again vs. the Sooners while Daniels continues to nurse his injury.
Get-right game for Oklahoma rushing attack: Oklahoma’s ground game has been fairly boom or bust this season. The Sooners have two games in which they managed over 200 yards rushing and two in which they barely eclipsed 100 total. In their narrow Week 8 win against UCF, they had a respectable 189 but struggled to move the ball consistently, averaging just over four yards per carry. Oklahoma was without leading rusher Tawee Walker, who was serving a one-game suspension. He should be back Saturday against a Kansas defense that is vulnerable against opposing rushing attacks. The Jayhawks rank No. 12 in the Big 12 while allowing 161.1 yards rushing per game. Opposing running backs are getting almost five yards per touch against Kansas.
Can Gabriel maintain Heisman pace? The Heisman Trophy race is wide open this year. No one player has emerged as the runaway favorite, which is extremely rare this late in the season. Oklahoma quarterback Dillon Gabriel is right in the thick of the competition. The former UCF transfer leads the Big 12 in both passing yards (2,131 — No. 13 nationally) and touchdowns (19 — T6 nationally). He’s thrown for at least 250 yards in six out of Oklahoma’s seven games. He has a chance to boost his season statistics in a major way against a particularly vulnerable Kansas defense.
Oklahoma vs. Kansas prediction, picks
Odds via SportsLine consensus
The Jayhawks will sorely miss Jalon Daniels’ playmaking abilities. The Sooners’ defense has allowed more than 20 points just twice all season, but both teams had their starting quarterbacks, including a UCF squad last week that returned John Rhys Plumlee from injury. Meanwhile, Kansas’ defense isn’t quite good enough to limit Oklahoma’s offense, especially if the Sooners can get the run game going again. Kansas has the potential to keep this one close for a while, but eventually Oklahoma’s depth on both sides of the ball will take over and the Sooners will pull away. Pick: Oklahoma -10
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