Kansas State, winners of two in a row and four of its last five, hits the road on Saturday to take on the 22nd-ranked Oklahoma Sooners in Norman.

The game will be televised nationally by Fox Sports Net as Joel Meyers (play-by-play), Dave Lapham (analyst) and Jim Knox (sideline) will have call from Memorial Stadium. A live audio broadcast is also available across the K-State Sports Network, online at www.k-statesports.com and on SIRIUS satellite radio channel 127. Wyatt Thompson will call the action with Stan Weber serving as the color analyst and Matt Walters providing sideline updates.

K-State and Oklahoma are both coming off conference wins this past weekend and will meet for the 91st time on Saturday. The Sooners lead the all-time series, 69-17-4, while the Wildcats are 6-9 against Oklahoma under head coach Bill Snyder. The last time a Wildcat team won a game in Norman was a 26-7 decision back in 1997.

A QUICK LOOK AT THE WILDCATS

K-State improved to 4-0 at home with its win over Colorado and also moved to 3-1 in Big 12 Conference play for the first time since the 2000 season. The last Wildcat team to start 4-1 in league play was the 1999 squad, which went on to finish 7-1.

The Wildcats continue to showcase their ability to be a power running team as Daniel Thomas is coming off a career-high 145-yard performance against Colorado, which was the second-highest rushing output in a conference game this season. K-State, as a team, has rushed for over 200 yards in two straight games and four total this season, and currently ranks 25th nationally and second in the Big 12 in rushing.

The Wildcat defense has been the biggest reason for K-State’s current two-game lead in the north standings. K-State held Colorado to 244 total yards last week, which included a span of 12 straight Buff drives that went for a total of 79 yards. In its last two games, K-State has forced 10 turnovers and collected 10 sacks after recording just 11 turnovers and six sacks in the first six games of the season combined. Jeffrey Fitzgerald has been a force up front defensively with his 6.0 sacks, while Emmanuel Lamur leads the squad in tackles with 41. Tysyn Hartman continues to put up All-Big 12-like numbers as he has collected 37 tackles, six pass breakups and four interceptions on the season.

A LOOK AT OKLAHOMA

Kansas State will face one of the nation’s top defenses this weekend when it travels to No. 22 Oklahoma. The Sooners, 4-3 overall and 2-1 in Big 12 play, currently rank second nationally in scoring defense at 10.14 points per game, third in rushing defense (70.14 yards per game) and sixth in total defense (264.86 yards per game). They are led by Travis Lewis on defense with 63 total tackles, while Ryan Reynolds has collected 51. Jeremy Beal has totaled 7.0 sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss, while Brian Jackson has four interceptions on the season.

Offensively, quarterback Landry Jones has filled in nicely for the injured Sam Bradford as he has completed 60.9-percent of his 192 pass attempts for 1,363 yards and 13 touchdowns. Ryan Broyles has been the Sooners’ most productive receiver with 36 catches for 500 yards (eight touchdowns), while Chris Brown has run for 427 yards and five scores, and DeMarco Murray has added 403 yards and three TD’s.

AGAINST THE SOUTH

Saturday’s game at Oklahoma will mark the third and final game this season against Big 12 South competition for the Wildcats. Heading into the contest, the Cats are 1-1 this season against the south, and all time, Kansas State is 22-19 vs. Big 12 South competition. Also, K-State is 39-103-4 against the two Big 12 schools from Oklahoma and 45-114-5 all-time against all teams from the state of Oklahoma.

PAPER OR PLASTIC

Kansas State had collected just six total sacks heading into the Texas A&M game two weeks ago but has turned up the heat on opposing quarterbacks in each of the last two games. In its last two Big 12 games, which resulted in two wins, K-State has collected 10 total sacks, 4.0 of which have come from senior defensive end Jeffrey Fitzgerald.

FORCING THE ISSUE

Kansas State has seen its national ranking in turnover margin improve from 61st to 14th over the last two weeks after wins over Texas A&M and Colorado. After forcing the Aggies into six turnovers, including quarterback Jerrod Johnson’s first three interceptions of the season, K-State forced Colorado into four turnovers, giving the Wildcats a total of 10 in their last two games. Also, the Wildcats’ philosophy of playing team defense is most noticeable when looking at this statistic as nine different players have collected the five interceptions and the five fumble recoveries over that two-game span.

STIFLING ON DEFENSE

In keeping with the last two games, in terms of total defense and scoring defense, the Wildcats have been dominant. While averaging 41.0 points a game on offense the last two weeks, K-State has yielded just 10.0 points a game and 272.5 total yards. Last week’s six points surrendered to Colorado were the fewest allowed in a Big 12 Conference game by the Wildcats since the 2005 Kansas game (3 points). More impressively, Texas A&M and Colorado combined to rush for 47 total yards (23.5 yard-average).

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES

Kansas State has put an emphasis on defensive improvement in 2009 after the Wildcats finished towards the bottom of the NCAA rankings a year ago; and after eight games this season, the Cats are well on their way to being one of the most improved units in all of college football.

After averaging nearly 218 yards rushing allowed and 261 yards passing a year ago, K-State has held its opponents to just 327.5 total yards a game, 226.9 through the air and 100.6 on the ground. The numbers through eight games compared to last year are more impressive as the Cats have surrendered nearly 115 less total yards a game. The Cats rank fourth in the Big 12 in total defense, fifth in rushing defense and sixth in passing defense. The numbers would be even more impressive when you look at seven of the Cats’ eight games (less the Texas Tech game). When you discount the performance against the Red Raider offense, K-State has surrendered just 268.7 total yards a game this season (88.6 per game on the ground and 180.1 through the air). Also, Tech recorded 12 of the 28 total plays of 20 or more yards K-State has surrendered this season.

GETTING DEFENSIVE

Through eight games this season, K-State’s defense has done a masterful job of holding its opponent and getting its offense back on the field. The Cats have forced their opponents into 25 three-and-outs, including five against Texas A&M and four each against Louisiana, Tennessee Tech, Iowa State and Colorado, but what is more impressive is that K-State has held opponents to six plays or less (without scoring) on 68 drives this season. Also, the Wildcats have allowed 28 plays of 20 or more yards this season after surrendering a whopping 75 all of last season (38 through the first eight games).

GROUND GAINS ON DEFENSE

K-State’s rush defense has yielded just 100.6 yards on the ground this season and held both Texas A&M (-13 yards) and Tennesse Tech (-19) to negative rushing yards, the fewest surrendered since the 2002 Baylor game (-37). Also, the two negative rushing performances were the fourth (-19) and seventh (-13) lowest totals allowed in a game this season in the nation. In the last two games, K-State held Texas A&M and Colorado to just 47 total yards on the ground (23.5 ypg).

GROUND GAINS ON OFFENSE

Kansas State’s controlled running game this season has been led by running backs Daniel Thomas and Keithen Valentine as the duo has combined for 1,161yards (5.5 yards a carry and 145.1 yards per game) in eight games. Valentine has quietly averaged 7.7 yards a carry, while Thomas has been the workhorse for the Wildcat offensive attack with four 100-yard games. As a team, K-State has rushed for 200 or more yards in four games for the first time since 2005, and has done so in back-to-back games for the first time since the final two games of the 2005 campaign.

GRINDING IT OUT

Kansas State has shown the ability to grind it out offensively through eight games as the Wildcats have collected 214 first downs and averaged 186.5 rushing yards a game. Of K-State’s 31 scoring drives this season, 18 have covered 50 or more yards and eight have consisted of 10 or more plays. Because of the consistent rushing attack and the ability to sustain drives, K-State has possessed the ball for an average of 34:38 per game this season, a figure that currently ranks first in the Big 12 and second in the nation.

SNYDER AMONG BEST ACTIVE COACHES

The author of the greatest turnaround in college football history, Bill Snyder has begun his second tour of duty guiding Kansas State. And, despite enduring two losing seasons at the end of his first tenure and a three-year hiatus, Snyder’s work still ranks among the best in college football when compared to other active coaches. Snyder, who currently ranks 14th all-time in wins among active FBS coaches, is one of just two active BCS coaches who have served at the same school for at least 17 years and have never held the same position at another school as he shares that distinction with Joe Paterno of Penn State. Also, Snyder holds the 12th-best winning percentage among active FBS coaches with at least 100 wins. What might be even more amazing is that Snyder, despite the three-year layoff, has tallied the sixth-most victories among active coaches since 1990. Snyder has guided Kansas State to 140 victories since the 1990 season, only to be out-done by the likes of Mack Brown, Bobby Bowden, Frank Beamer, Joe Paterno and Steve Spurrier.

SNYDER IN OCTOBER

Fast starts propelled the Wildcats to winning seasons throughout the Bill Snyder’s era at K-State. The Wildcats’ success in the month of September under Snyder is well-documented and K-State has also been a solid team in October under Snyder. Since the inception of the Big 12 Conference, K-State is 27-19 (.587) in October under the legendary head coach.

CATS OWN NATION’S 10TH-LONGEST SCORING STREAK

Kansas State extended one of the nation’s longest scoring streaks last week against Colorado. The Wildcats have now tallied points in 160 consecutive games. The 160-game stretch is the 10th-longest streak in the nation after Colorado and Washington State - who each held a spot in the top 10 - were blanked in a game last season. The Wildcats have not been kept off the scoreboard since Colorado shutout K-State, 12-0, on Nov. 16, 1996. In the Big 12, only Nebraska (170 games) owns a longer streak than the Cats.

LIGHT UP THE BOARD

Kansas State’s offensive outbreak against Texas A&M two weeks ago ranks as one of the top scoring performances by a Bill Snyder-coached team and in school history. The 62 points scored were the most against a Big 12 South opponent under Snyder and were the most in a conference game since scoring 64 points at Kansas in 2002. Also, K-State’s 38 points in the first half tied for the second-most in a Big 12 Conference game. The Cats also scored 38 in a half against Kansas in 2000.

ON THE TUBE

Saturday’s game against Oklahoma will mark Kansas State’s seventh overall appearance this season on television. The game will be the Wildcats’ 118th television appearance all-time as Kansas State is 60-57 (.509) when playing on television, including a 3-3 mark this season. A little history regarding K-State football and television: Kansas State's homecoming contest on October 28, 1939, against Nebraska became the second college football game ever televised, following the Fordham-Waynesburg contest in New York earlier that fall. The Cornhuskers spoiled homecoming with a 25-9 triumph in Manhattan before a limited Nebraska ETV audience in the surrounding area.