Kansas State vs. Oklahoma Complete Game Preview

It's do-or-die time for the Oklahoma Sooners when the Kansas State Wildcats come to town.

After shaky performances in each of the last two weeks, the flaws of the Sooners are completely exposed. Already with a loss on their record—to a Big 12 foe—another could spell doom for a season that began with such high expectations. 

In other words, this is a must-win for Oklahoma.

Here's everything you need to know about Saturday's matchup.

Where: Memorial Stadium

When: Saturday, October 18, noon ET

Watch: ESPN

Live Stream: Sooner Sports

Listen: Sooner Sports Radio Network

Betting Line: Oklahoma (-7.5), per Odds Shark

Oklahoma Players to Watch

Brandon Wade/Associated Press

Perine has been great for OU.

RB Samaje Perine (Fr.)

With running back Keith Ford expected to sit out, per The Norman Transcript's John Shinn, the true freshman will once again be trusted with carrying the bulk of the load.

Through six games, Perine has rushed for 568 yards and nine touchdowns. However, he has been held under 4.0 yards per carry in each of his last two games.

Playing a Kansas State run defense that ranks No. 4 in the nation, Perine will need to be at his best.

QB Trevor Knight (So.)

Knight seems to be going in the opposite direction since Week 2, as his raw QBR has declined with every passing week, according to ESPN.com.

Last Saturday against Texas, the sophomore was ineffective under center as the Sooners only had 29 total yards by halftime. Knight finished the game with just 129 passing yards—his lowest total of the season.

Fortunately, Oklahoma will be facing a secondary that has been a lot more generous than the last two it's faced. The Wildcats rank No. 66 against the pass (234.4 YPG) while conceding 10 passing touchdowns and allowing opposing quarterbacks a passer rating of 125.7.

If Knight is going to have a big game, this is the one.

Kansas State Players to Watch

Orlin Wagner/Associated Press

Lockett will look to have a monster game.

QB Jake Waters (Sr.)

Over the last month, any quarterback who has played against Oklahoma's secondary has come away looking like a Heisman Trophy hopeful.

It certainly helps Waters' case that he's coming off a season-best performance against Texas Tech, throwing for 290 yards and four touchdowns on 24-of-31 passing while rushing for another 105 yards and a score on 17 carries. On the year, he's thrown for 1,206 yards, seven touchdowns and three interceptions on 65 percent passing, adding another 320 yards and six scores on the ground. 

If the Wildcats hope to hang around in this one, Waters will need to be at his best.

WR Tyler Lockett (Sr.)

Like Waters, Lockett also had his best game of the season against the Red Raiders, hauling in 12 passes for 125 yards and two touchdowns.

A year after exploding onto the scene, Lockett has had a bit of a slow start in 2014 with just 29 catches for 399 yards and three touchdowns in five games. If you recall, the senior had 278 yards and three touchdowns alone against Oklahoma last year.

Can Lockett have similar success this time around?

Oklahoma Keys to Victory

Sue Ogrocki/Associated Press

Heupel needs to do a better job dialing up the plays.

Change Up the Offense

Whatever offensive coordinator Josh Heupel has been doing the last couple of weeks, it just hasn't been working.

The Oklahoma offense is getting into too many three-and-outs. Opposing defenses know when the Sooners are going to run and know when they're going to pass. It's gotten to the point where Oklahoma appears more poised to score points on special teams or defense than it does on offense.

The passing attack is getting absolutely no help, with no wide receivers outside of Sterling Shepard helping out Knight. Maybe it's time to finally utilize Michiah Quick.

Box Up the Big Plays

The Sooners defense has been far too generous in recent weeks. 

Whether it was West Virginia, TCU or Texas, opponents have been able to break off one big play after another against Oklahoma. Not only that, but the team's third-down defense has slacked in recent weeks.

Sure, the unit seems to pick things up in the second half, but as the TCU loss proved, sometimes that could be a little too late.

Kansas State Keys to Victory

Orlin Wagner/Associated Press

Waters is the key for KSU.

Get Waters Out of the Pocket

Waters leads the Big 12 in quarterback rushing, averaging a little over 64 yards per game.

Last weekend, Texas quarterback Tyrone Swoopes ran for 50 yards and a touchdown against the Sooners. He also had a 73-yard run called back after a poor holding call.

If Waters can get free, he could keep the Oklahoma defense on its toes, opening up the vertical passing game.

Pull a Page out of Texas and TCU's Defensive Game Plan

Both Texas and TCU focused primarily on stopping the run. Once they did that, the entire Sooners offense was pretty much nonexistent.

Last weekend, the Longhorns literally loaded the box play after play, and Oklahoma could do nothing about it. It was almost as if Heupel was afraid to trust Knight with throwing the ball.

The Wildcats must use that knowledge to their advantage. The team already ranks No. 4 against the run, so it shouldn't be a problem.

It'll come down to whether the secondary can limit its mistakes against a struggling Knight.

What They're Saying

Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

Stoops has some work to do with his squad.

Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops on his team's lack of rhythm on offense against Texas:

"A little bit of that, the rhythm of it, you lose an offensive possession when you return the kick for a touchdown, the offense doesn't get their possession when you return an interception for a touchdown. I'm not complaining about the touchdowns, but it does throw you off."

Sooners quarterback Trevor Knight on the criticism:

"As long as things aren't going perfectly, there's going to be criticism, there's going to be doubts. You just have to stay internal with that. You have to stay confident with who you are as a player, who you are as a team, who you are as an offense and continue to press forward."

Kansas State coach Bill Snyder on Knight's low pass percentage:

"

Look at the throws he's making. They're some of the hardest throws you can possibly make. There's a reason why short throws enhance your completion percentage and long throws don't. They've thrown the ball extremely deep, a lot of deep throws. They're still scoring points.

"

All quotes are courtesy of Stats LLC (h/t ESPN.com).

Prediction

Sue Ogrocki/Associated Press

Snyder (left) and Stoops (right) meet again.

This matchup will surprisingly be evenly matched.

The only true major advantage the Sooners hold is that the game is being played in Norman. Oklahoma has won 14 of 15 matches against ranked Big 12 opposition at home.

That only loss? Kansas State in 2012.

Still, Knight and the Sooners offense seems to play better at home. And after two sluggish performances, expect the unit to be out to make amends this time around.

The Wildcats keep it close, but Oklahoma pulls away late.

Prediction: Oklahoma 34, Kansas State 24

All stats, recruiting information and rankings used in this article are courtesy of CFBStats.com and 247Sports.

For complete coverage and everything Oklahoma football, you can reach Sebastian on Twitter and via email at [e-mail].