Nine Things to Know About Oklahoma State-Kansas

Big Les* returns to Stillwater this weekend as OSU tries to give the Kansas Jayhawks an L following the one they took on Wednesday in recruiting. The Jayhawks are improved (which is like saying a man in a coma is more agile than a dead man), but OSU is still favored by more than two touchdowns.

Here are nine things you should know about OSU’s 10th game of the year and Chuba Hubbard’s stretch run at the 2019 Heisman.

*I don’t think anyone calls him this.

1. Rush defense: Kansas doesn’t have one. They give up 235 a game on the ground, which is No. 126 in the country. They gave up 342 in their last game to Kansas State (granted, KSU ran it 60 (!) times) and they allow 5.0 yards a pop (108th). Chuba hits teams for nearly seven a run and OSU ranks ninth nationally in rush yards per game. Your thoughts, 30?

2. Since Scott Pierce played his only Final Four: OSU has lost one time to Kansas (43-28 in 2007). The Pokes have scored 55+ four times and lost just once. That 2007 Kansas team got within nine points (?) of playing LSU or Ohio State for the title.

3. Gundy in Stillwater: Since Les is back this weekend, it’s worth noting that he won four, eight, nine and seven games as the head coach of the Pokes. Iowa Stateian numbers. Gundy has matched or surpassed Miles’ best season in Stillwater eight times (!) since 2008. Which leads to graphics like this one (might want to earmark that Dabo number — they’re 65-4 in their last 69, and Gundy will likely never lead him again after this season).

4. Kansas streaks: If OSU wins on Saturday, that’s 10 in a row against the Jayhawks. This would tie the second-longest streak ever. The longest came against the other team from Kansas.

Kansas State: 11 games (1947-62)
Central Oklahoma: 10 games (1908-22)
Kansas (with a win): 10 games (2008-19)

5. Kansas? When I say improved, this is what I mean. Kansas is 6-80 in Big 12 games since the start of the 2010 season. Here are their Ws in order.

2010: Colorado
2013: West Virginia
2014: Iowa State
2016: Texas (!)
2018: TCU
2019: Texas Tech

Again, Texas A&M has (quite a few) more Big 12 wins this decade than Kansas, and nobody has seen them in a conference game since 2012.

6. Consistent Keyes: Did you know Marcus Keyes is the only offensive lineman to start all nine games for OSU this season? Here are all the lineups that have been used through the first 75 percent of the season.

7. KHP PBU: Only four players have defended more passes than Kolby Harvell-Peel, who has 14 through nine games. Only one — (a different) Lamar Jackson of Nebraska — plays for a Power 5 school.

8. I just keep staring at these numbers: This can’t be real, can it? No Power 5 running back has rushed for more yards through nine games over the first two decades of the 21st century. Am I reading this correctly?

Here’s another good one from OSU’s media relations that will help contextualize the Chuba thing: Hubbard needs 284 yards in his last four games to pass Terry Miller for second place on the OSU single-season list. Terry Miller was runner-up for the Heisman Trophy in 1977.

9. Chasing Troy: Forget Barry’s record of 1.3M yards in 1988, Chuba can legitimately set a new Big 12 mark with a strong closing four-game stretch. If he hits his average in the next four games (including the bowl), he’ll get Troy Davis by a buck fifty.