Player of the Game: K-State Junior Wide Receiver Tyler Lockett
Last week against the TCU, Tyler Lockett contributed 123 yards and a touchdown. Those were impressive numbers. This week, Lockett caught 12 passes for 278 yards and three touchdowns. Six of those receptions, three of those touchdowns and 206 of those yards were tallied before halftime. These are magical numbers.
“You know, with the day that Tyler had, it goes to prove that Tyler is one of the best in the nation,” quarterback Jake Waters said following the game. “It definitely made me look a lot better today, but you’ve got to give a lot of credit to Tyler.”
Waters also put up incredible numbers. He completed 17 of 29 passes for 348 yards and three touchdowns.
Lockett broke three records with his performance today: his 278 yards overcame his previous record for receiving yards in a single game (237 against Texas earlier this year), his five kick returns totaling 162 yards put him at the top of the leaderboard for cumulative return yardage in school history with 1628 (assuming that he won’t enter the draft at the end of this year, he has another season to increase that number) and his 440 all-purpose yards eclipsed the previous record held by the all-star Darren Sproles (351). Not to mention, his 440 yards puts him at 5th all-time in the NCAA.
Defensive Player of the Game: Oklahoma Redshirt Freshman Defensive Back Zack Sanchez
An awful punt and solid return that undercut overage early in the fourth quarter set up a 3-yard touchdown run by Oklahoma running back Brennan Clay. With the score at 34-24, and nearly 13 minutes left in the game, K-State had an opportunity to come back. Based on the back-and-forth nature of the entire game, the door hadn’t shut on the Wildcats just yet.
On the very next drive, Sanchez slammed it shut. With 11:47 remaining, he grabbed his first career interception and returned it 74 yards for a touchdown, putting the game on ice.
Honorable Mention: Oklahoma
Senior Running back Brennan Clay
If it weren’t for Tyler Lockett putting up video game-quality numbers, Oklahoma running back Brennan Clay would have definitely taken the honor. Clay carried the ball 31 times for 200 yards and two touchdowns. His longest run on the day, a 64-yard foot race, couldn’t have come at a more opportune time for the Sooners.
Oklahoma fired the first shots on their opening drive, marching down the field after stumping the Wildcats on their first, using eight plays totaling 64 yards and eating up 3:35 of the game clock. This lit a fire under the Wildcats, who momentarily transformed into a Baylor or Oregon-type team, scoring on back to back drives taking less than 2 minutes per, ending in long pass plays.
The Wildcats were rolling high when the Sooners converted on a 3rd and short situation with Clay’s break away to the end zone. Momentum clearly swung back into Oklahoma’s favor for the remainder of the game due to such an exhilarating strike by Clay.
Besides the aforementioned scenario, the Sooners just pounded away at the Wildcat defense on the ground. Between Clay, redshirt freshman quarterback Trevor Knight and senior running back Roy Finch, the Sooners carried the ball 52 times for 301 net yards.
“Their whole running game was good. They ran all over us,” K-State junior defensive end Ryan Mueller said. “They ran the ball on us and we did not stop the run. It was extremely frustrating.”