Kansas State football 41, No. 6 Oklahoma 34: Adrian Martinez dominates in upset
NORMAN, Okla. — Kansas State, coming off a disappointing home loss to Tulane last week, had a bounce back victory that will be remembered for a while back in Manhattan.
The Wildcats topped No. 6 Oklahoma, on the road, 41-34 behind a world-class effort from transfer quarterback Adrian Martinez, who threw for one score and ran for four more.
You can't stop Adrian Martinez
Adrian Martinez all but sealed a K-State victory when he ran 55 yards to the Oklahoma 5, then two plays later scored from one yard out to put the Wildcats up 41-27 with 1:58 left.
It was the fourth touchdown for Martinez, who now has 148 yards rushing and has completed 21 of 34 passes for 234 yards with a touchdown.
Oklahoma not done yet
Oklahoma is not going quietly. The Sooners just drove 75 plays in nine plays to pull within seven, 34-27, on Dillon Gabriel's 1-yard touchdown pass to Brayden Willis with 4:36 left.
Adrian Martinez to the end zone for the third time
Adrian Martinez continues to impress, leading K-State on an eight-play, 80-yard drive and putting the Wildcats up 34-20 on a nice 15-yard keeper with exactly eight minutes left.
It was the third rushing touchdown for Martinez, who also has thrown for a score. He completed passes of 21 yards to Ben Sinnott and 16 to Kade Warner on the drive.
Kansas State leads 27-20 after three quarters
Kansas State got a stop, but then stalled on its last possession of the third quarter and will take a 27-20 lead to the fourth in search of the upset of No. 6-ranked Oklahoma.
K-State stretches lead to 27-20
Kansas State's second possession of the second half was much better, ending with a 29-yard Chris Tennant field goal to put the Wildcats back up seven, 27-20, with 3:24 left in the third quarter.
The drive covered 69 yards in 11 plays, including a 25-yard completion from Adrian Martinez to Malik Knowles, who is having a nice game.
Just how tall is Deuce Vaughn?
There seemed to be some confusion as to how tall K-State running back Deuce Vaughn actually is.
The FOX television crew said 5-foot-5, 5-6 and 5-8 during the first half. Vaughn, according to the roster, stands 5-6 and weighs 176 pounds.
Oklahoma settles for field goal on opening drive of the half
Oklahoma was on the move after taking the second-half kickoff, but a holding penalty and a nifty open-field tackle by Drake Cheatum forced the Sooners to settle for a 44-yard Zach Schmit field goal.
K-State still leads, 24-20, with 11:42 left in the third quarter.
Kansas State adds field goal at end of the half
Kansas State drove to the Oklahoma 5-yard line and settled for a 23-yard Chris Tennant field goal as time expired to go up 24-17 at the half.
The drive answered the Sooners' field goal with a drive that covered 70 yards in 10 plays.
Quarterback Adrian Martinez had a terrific first half for K-State, completing 11 of 18 passes for 129 yards and a touchdown, plus rushing for 70 yards and two scores on 14 carries. Deuce Vaughn came on strong at the end of the half and now has 80 yards on 16 attempts.
K-State has 279 total yards at the half — 150 rushing and 129 through the air. Oklahoma has 227 yards, with Dillon Gabriel completing 9 of 14 passes for 185 and two touchdowns.
The Sooners get the ball to start the second half.
Oklahoma cuts lead to 21-17 with field goal
Oklahoma drives inside the red zone, but stalls after a pair of false start penalties and settles for a 41-yard Zach Schmit field goal with 2:47 left in the half.
The drive covered 51 yards in eight plays. K-State still up, 21-17.
Wildcats go back in front, 21-14
After Oklahoma scores twice to tie it, Kansas State comes back with a nice 11-play, 42-yard scoring drive to go up 21-14 with 6:15 left in the half.
Adrian Martinez not only picks up the final 3 yards for the touchdown, but also gets a fourth-down conversion with a 2-yard run to the 3.
The touchdown was set up by a 58-yard kickoff return from Malik Knowles.
Oklahoma passing game heats up
Oklahoma quarterback Dillon Gabriel is starting to expose the Kansas State secondary. After a third straight defensive stop for the Sooners, they need just four plays to go 63 yards with Gabrial throwing a 50-yard deep ball to Marcus Mims with 12:24 left in the half and we're tied at 14-14.
Oklahoma strikes but K-State up 14-7 after one
After falling behind early, Oklahoma struck back quickly with a three-play, 70-yard drive as Dillon Gabrial hit a wide-open Theo Wease for a 56-yard score.
K-State still leads after one quarter, 14-7.
Adrian Martinez on fire and K-State scores again
After getting a defensive stop, Kansas State goes back to work and drives 80 yards in seven plays with Adrian Martinez hitting Malik Knowles on a 6-yard slant. Chris Tennant's extra point makes it 14-0 Wildcats with 5:37 left in the first quarter.
Martinez completed all four of his passes on the drive for 57 yards and now is 7 for 93 yards on the Wildcats' two possessions.
Kansas State scores on opening possession
Kansas State could not have scripted a better start after choosing to take the ball at the start of the game.
Embattled quarterback Adrian Martinez was money on the 75-yard drive, completing 3 of 4 passes for 36 yards and rushing for 29, including a 6-yard touchdown run.
Kansas State takes the ball
Kansas State remained unbeaten in pregame coin tosses this year and elected to receive.
The Wildcats also took the ball against South Dakota in the season opener, but deferred against Missouri and Tulane.
K-State personnell notes
Three quarterbacks made the trip to Norman for K-State: Adrian Martinez, Jake Rubley and Will Howard.
Wildcat defensive end Nate Matlack, who suffered a leg injury last week against Tulane, is suited up for the game. We'll see if or how much he is able to play.
Weather report
About eight minutes from kickoff, weather conditions at Memorial Stadium are 88 degrees under cloudy skies with a 10 mph wind out of the south.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas State football 41, No. 6 Oklahoma 34: The Adrian Martinez Game
