Kansas vs. Oklahoma State: Inside the Numbers

The Jayhawks gave it a strong effort but came up just a bit short. Kansas fans seem mixed on what exactly to take away from this one but it's hard not to look at this game and feel like there is improvement going on at some level. How drastic is that improvement, how much does that translate to a more difficult opponent and how much of that improvement was the product of the game scenario? Those are the big questions right now, obviously Kansas has entered a "show me don't tell me" mode with many fans and that is certainly fair considering the last two years. Even so, some credit has to be due as we look back at the numbers one last time and note that this Kansas team did do some thing against Oklahoma State that haven't been done in some time.

20 Points - Total offensive output for Oklahoma State

This is the first time in over two years that the Cowboys have been held below 30. Kansas did that by 10 points. That's a win on the defensive side of the ball. If our offense was firing on all cylinders and our kicking game was even serviceable, I think Kansas could have won this game. The defense did it's job, regardless of what the perception of the Cowboy offense might be.

187 - 116 - Net rushing yardage for Kansas and Oklahoma State respectively

Leading up to this game the talk surrounding Oklahoma State centered on Joseph Randle and the running game. Randle was returning to his home State and he was the big reason that the Cowboys weren't going to miss a beat offensively in 2012. Heading into this game that has certainly been the case. Kansas won this battle, James Sims was the better running back and the significantly limited Randle. One other question this raises, what does Anthony Pierson do to the result of this game?

501 - 576 - 371 - Ok State. offensive yardage v Arizona, Texas and Kansas respectively

The competition level has been used as a defense for Oklahoma State following this weekend. That's fine, they haven't played the best defenses in the country by any means. Throw out the cupcake games and look at Arizona and Texas and maybe that gives an accurate measure. Neither Arizona or Texas are top defenses in college football, in fact both now sit lower than Kansas. But the Jayhawks did hold an Oklahoma State team to over 200 fewer yards than a Texas team that was ranked just a week ago.

49.2 to 33.2 - Net yards per punt for Ok State and Kansas respectively

This was the difference to me. Kansas mounted a comeback but it's hard to overcome a 16 yard field position difference all day long. Beyond just the ability to kick extra points and field goals, the Kansas punting game has really taken a dip as the season has gone on.

33.25 to 25:35 - TOP for Kansas and Ok State

Not a huge surprise given the way Oklahoma State plays, but the way it happened might be more of a surprise. Kansas did effectively slow the game down and that gave the Jayhawks the chance to make the comeback they did. This is one of those thing we had hoped for when Turner Gill brought in his offensive style which turned out to be the exact same spread attack we had before only with little to no aggressiveness. This TOP was less about Oklahoma State and more about Kansas.

4 - 46 - Penalties and yards lost for Kansas

This number has improved across the board this year. Kansas is a more disciplined team.

3.8 to 2.6 - Kansas and Oklahoma State yards per rush

A win for Kansas.

8.8 to 6.6 - Yards per attempt in the passing game for Oklahoma State and Kansas

This is still way too low for Kansas.

0 - Field goals attempted by Kansas

47% - Kansas QB completion percentage

Crist was below 50%, Cummings was right at 50%. Regardless of who starts, this needs to be much better still.

36 - Tackles made by a Kansas linebacker

Ben Heeney was impressive a week ago at Kansas State, Jake Love was equally impressive this week. Both are still very young and another year under Campo and Cross could be huge for the development of this group.

4 - Pass breakups by Kansas starting corners

Small victories but there were some decent plays made by Brown and Patmon. Neither is without fault, but there were some positives in an area that saw very little in the way of positives last year.