Pressure Is On Oklahoma's Receivers Against Kansas St.

This is shaping up to be a huge weekend around the nation. Much of what has been seen so far this season has not given many fans an in depth glance and what to expect. As conference play picks up for most teams, there will be a fair share of ranked opponents going head to head this weekend. A few upsets could be on the horizon with the potential to significantly shake up the polls.

The Oklahoma Sooners and Kansas St. Wildcats are two of those teams. With Heisman hopefuls stepping onto the field with the chance to win a Big XII Championship, dreams and egos will be crushed. In order for the Sooners to come into their own, the receivers must relish under the pressure.

What we have seen from the Oklahoma receiving crew is that Kenny Stills is the go-to guy averaging 120.5 yards per game. This was the Stills many fans expected to see last season as he was crowned the next number one receiver. It is the receivers that accompany him that will need to leave a mark on the field this Saturday.

Earlier this week, Matt did an excellent job of breaking down the numbers from the Kansas St. defense in the Game Day Vitals post. Here is his breakdown.

Defense

KSU has only given up two rushing touchdowns in three games and are one of three Big XII schools holding opponents to less than 100 rushing yards per game. Its not like teams aren't trying either. Through the first three games of the season, Kansas State's opponents have attempted an average of 32 rushing attempts per game and 3.1 yards per attempt.

Defending the pass has been a bit more of a struggle for the Wildcats. Opposing quarterbacks are completing 67% of their passes for an average of 251 yards per game against K-State.

Up to this point, the Sooners have implemented a run heavy offense with great success averaging 7.1 yards per carry. The potential here, with an offensive line that lacks depth and has been forced into a bit of shuffle, is that Kansas St. can limit what the rushing attack is capable of producing. Oklahoma will likely use a stable of backs including Dominique Whaley, Damien Williams, and Brennan Clay but much of the success will rely on the push that Oklahoma gets in the trenches. Something will have to break, and the upper-hand is given to Kansas St. at this point.

However, as stated above, the Wildcats are susceptible to an air raid. Landry Jones will be the most prolific quarterback K-State has seen up to this point and will have the potential to have a field day. Oklahoma has a talented group of receivers, but as of yet, they have not to lived up to the hype.

The glaring issue is this simple fact:

When throwing to Kenny Stills this season, Landry Jones' completion percentage is 76.2. On the rest of his passes? Just 55.8. #Sooners

— Dane Beavers (@DaneBeavers) September 20, 2012

Trey Metoyer was highly touted coming out of the spring game and was expected to have a major impact with this team. Yet, it is apparent that while he possesses the skills necessary to be the greatest receiver to ever play for the Sooners, he is still adjusting to the level of competition. All eyes will be on this kid this weekend as he could burst his way onto the nation scene.

Justin Brown has proven to be a real threat in the return game. The vision and movement this kid shows has fans talking. He has experience on the D-1 level and has come up with a few excellent catches. However, being implanted in this offense as a senior late in the summer means that Brown is still working to get that much needed connection with his QB in Jones.

Throw in the running backs running routes out of the backfield and as the 55.8% completion rate says, the Sooners have been far from great. In what appears to be one of the best games of the weekend, Oklahoma will look for it's receivers to step up and lead this team to victory.