[ Third-degree burns ]

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Dec 2, 2000 by Kevin Haskin Capital-Journal

Third-degree burns:

Cats must stop OU on third down

Oklahoma 41, K-State 31

OCT. 14, 2000

By KEVIN HASKIN

The Capital-Journal

KANSAS CITY, Mo. --- Yeah, yeah, special teams always play a big factor in a clash of titans and will undoubtedly play a role tonight when Kansas State and Oklahoma clash for the Big 12 championship game.

So let's get this one out of the way early in reviewing the first meeting between the teams, which OU won 41-31 on Oct. 14 in KSU Stadium. In that one, special teams play was a wash.

Oklahoma used a 93-yard kickoff return by J.T. Thatcher to defuse the momentum Kansas State had generated with a first-quarter touchdown drive that gave the Wildcats a 7-3 lead that lasted 22 seconds.

The deficit eventually grew to 24 points, but K-State rallied, using a blocked punt by Drew Thalmann for its final touchdown after Terence Newman recovered the deflection and covered the final 16 yards as the Cats pulled within 38-31 with 10:31 remaining.

Two big plays. Two plays each team has analyzed and is intent not to give up tonight.

So there. If you really want to boil down the first meeting and find the biggest key to Oklahoma's victory, look no further than three third-and-long situations the Sooners converted when they needed 26, 14 and 12 yards.

"We have to be in position to stop Oklahoma's offense on third down," K-State coach Bill Snyder said. "We had three critical third- and-long, and they converted all three. Not only for first downs, but for touchdowns."

The crushing blow came on third-and-26 from the OU 26, when quarterback Josh Heupel threw a short slant to Antwan Savage, who broke five tackles to turn the completion into a 74-yard score. That TD came with 9:30 left in the third quarter and gave OU a 38-14 spread.

"That's not just the kids, that's me," K-State defensive coordinator Phil Bennett said of the breakdowns on third-and-long. "I have to do a better job of putting them in position to be successful."

An umbrella zone perhaps? Rush three and drop eight? Those questions have been discussed all week after OU's last three opponents abandoned the blitz and concentrated on zone coverages that seemed to confuse Heupel, who burned the Cats for 374 yards in the first meeting and completed 29 of 37 attempts.

"There really weren't any fallacies in that first game plan," said K-State junior safety Jon McGraw. "We just had some miscommunications on defense, some guys not knowing where they were supposed to be, which really hurt us."

"You do what you're capable of doing," Bennett said, hoping his defense corrects the fundamental deficiencies that led to 17 missed tackles. "We've got to look at matchups and try to create better matchups."

The Wildcats have had ample time to take a good, long look at themselves, too. Not just during the two-week period they had to prepare for the Sooners, but also after the first meeting. Back then, it was Kansas State that had visions of an undefeated season after climbing to No. 2 in the polls.

Heupel wasn't even the lone Heisman Trophy candidate on the field. K-State quarterback Jonathan Beasley had begun to receive such acclaim, though the 14-for-36 struggle he experienced that day dropped him from Heisman consideration.

However, the Cats also dropped eight passes in the first meeting. Quite uncharacteristic of a receiving corps that features Quincy Morgan, the best wideout in a conference filled with outstanding receivers.

Yet the regrets over the Cats' failures in the first game run deeper than any one position group.

"It's special to have a second chance, and we're going to make the most of it," vowed junior running back Josh Scobey. "It's definitely going to be one of the greatest games of my life. Everybody wasn't on the same page in that first game and we know we're a lot better now than we were in October."

Oklahoma (6-0, 3-0) 17 14 7 3 --- 41Kansas State (6-1, 2-1) 7 7 3 14 --- 31 OU --- Duncan 40 FG

KS --- Beasley 15 run (Rheem kick)

OU --- Littrell 2 run (Duncan kick)

OU --- Fagan 15 pass from Heupel (Duncan kick)

KS --- Beasley 2 run (Rheem kick)

OU --- Heupel 1 run (Duncan kick)

OU --- Griffin 17 run (Duncan kick)

OU --- Savage 74 pass from Heupel (Duncan kick)

KS --- Rheem 38 FG

KS --- Morgan 69 pass from Beasley (Rheem kick)

KS --- Newman 16 blocked punt return (Rheem kick)

OU --- Duncan 24 FG

GAME IN FIGURES

OU KSUFirst downs 23 18Rushes-yards 36-11 33-144Passing yards 374 211Return yards 32 59Comp-Att-Int 29-38-1 14-36-2Punts-Avg. 5-35.2 7-39.6Fumbles-lost 1-0 0-0Penalties-yards 7-44 8-68Time of possession 34:29 25:31INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING --- Oklahoma, Griffin 19-23, Savage 1-13, Norman 1-11, Littrell 4-6, Team 1-(minus 2), Fletcher 1-(minus 5), Heupel 9- (minus 35); Kansas State, Allen 9-60, Beasley 15-39, Scobey 6-33, Morgan 2-9, Cartwright 1-3.