http://insider.espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/7154930/kansas-state-wildcats-beat-oklahoma-sooners-other-upset-picks-cfb?addata=2009_insdr_xxx_sce_ncf_xxxOklahoma is favored by 13.5 points
TeamRankings win odds for Kansas State: 36 percent
It's called smoke and mirrors only when it's not sustainable. Kansas State's get-outgained-but-win act is here to stay. Excellence at game-turning performance indicators like third down and red zone efficiency, turnover margin and big-play special teams are consistent hallmarks of Bill Snyder teams past, present and future.
Another constant is stellar performance as a home underdog. Two touchdowns would have been ample even before Oklahoma's season came crashing down last week. Now the visitor can scarcely call itself the favorite. The Sooners had three big questions entering a season that was supposed to produce a national title run, and all three came home to roost in last week's home loss to Texas Tech, the lowest moment of the Bob Stoops era.
Brent Venables' defense has been sliding for three years now, while Landry Jones has played well 90 percent of the time but has never quite looked like a quarterback that could make it through a season without a costly performance. And the Oklahoma special teams -- particularly the placekicking -- have long been mediocre for a top team.
Kansas State can't win in Stillwater next week, but the Cats have a great shot at this one and they know it. Either way, get used to seeing the Powercat logo everywhere. The Wildcats lose just one true impact player off this year's team and will enter next season as the Big 12 favorites. Snyder produced six 11-win seasons in a span of seven years during his first tour on the sideline of the stadium that now bears his name. The upcoming run might not be quite as impressive, but it will produce at least one conference championship and plenty of big wins. The first defining moment is upon them, and Snyder's charges are up to the task.
The pick: Kansas State 31, Oklahoma 28
