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| National | Conf | Actual | Category | Actual | Conf | National | |
| Advantage | Rank | Rank | Rank | Rank | |||
| Kansas | 23 |
4 |
206.83 |
Rushing Offense | 206 |
5 |
25 |
| Kansas | 73 |
8 |
218.33 |
Passing Offense | 130.17 |
10 |
114 |
| Kansas | 41 |
7 |
425.17 |
Total Offense | 336.17 |
10 |
94 |
| Kansas | 41 |
7 |
31.67 |
Scoring Offense | 29.33 |
9 |
58 |
| Kansas State | 116 |
10 |
227.17 |
Rushing Defense | 96.83 |
2 |
16 |
| Kansas State |
129 |
10 |
172.72 | Pass Efficiency Defense | 122.77 |
4 |
49 |
| Kansas State |
120 |
10 |
565 | Total Defense | 345.67 |
4 |
37 |
| Kansas State | 120 |
10 |
49 |
Scoring Defense | 19.5 |
2 |
21 |
| Kansas State | 52 |
7 |
37.18 |
Net Punting | 37.67 | 5 |
40 |
| Kansas State | 109 |
10 |
3.33 |
Punt Returns | 8.33 |
5 |
56 |
| Kansas State | 66 |
7 |
21.41 |
Kickoff Returns | 26.44 |
2 |
11 |
| Kansas State | 96 |
8 |
-.67 |
Turnover Margin | 1 |
2 |
11 |
| Kansas State | 119 |
9 |
337.83 |
Pass Defense | 248.83 |
7 |
93 |
| Kansas | 13 |
3 |
158.68 |
Passing Efficiency | 125.36 | 9 |
71 |
| Kansas State | 105 |
10 |
1 |
Sacks | 2.17 |
4 |
41 |
| Kansas State | 102 |
10 |
4.67 |
Tackles For Loss | 4.83 |
8 |
96 |
| PUSH | 81 |
6 |
2.33 |
Sacks Allowed | 2.33 |
6 |
81 |
Well...this might be the game where we've had the most categories with an edge since Northern Illinois. Kansas clearly has the edge on the offensive side of the ball but when you look at Kansas State it almost feels like you should just throw statistics out the window.
The Wildcats don't put up gaudy numbers on the offensive side of the ball but they are very deliberate, focused and they have a plan that they execute fairly well. Somehow they are consistently outgained, they aren't overly talented, but at the end of the day the scoreboard works in their favor.
A big part of that is the effectiveness on the defensive side of the ball and the overall opportunistic nature of this team in all three phases of the game. As a fan of a team that feels like it's more often than not falling short, it is interesting, frustrating, but almost fun to watch a team that exceeds expectations through effort, execution and what appears to be an incredible coaching job.
Purely statistically speaking the most intriguing matchup comes in the run game. Can the Jayhawk offense run the football effectively. They have to in order to win the game and Kansas State is stout defensively against the run. The other area that concerns me is the special teams play of Kansas State. They single handedly kept the Wildcats in the game last week. While Kansas has improved, there was a dropoff last week when Kansas played a talented OU team.
It's a rivalry game and they always say you can throw out the records, ignore stats and a variety of other cliche's that are meant to make you believe that any team can win on any given day. I'll just say that after last year's disaster against the Wildcats, I hope we deliver on some level and at least lend some credence to those rivalry cliche's. The matchup on paper supports the cause, but so far the eyeball test hasn't always worked in our favor.