Kennedy Brooks Gets Oklahoma's Ground Game Rolling Against KSU

MANHATTAN, KS — As Kennedy Brooks goes, so does the Oklahoma running game.

A week after getting handed the ball just five times against the West Virginia Mountaineers, Brooks got 15 carries to help propel the No. 6-ranked Oklahoma Sooners to a 37-31 victory over Kansas State.

The offensive line played much better on Saturday, but Brooks still had plenty of work to do himself to rack up 91 yards and a touchdown against the Wildcats.

“I give all my credit to the O-line,” Brooks said after the game. “I mean they made my job hella easy today. Made me find the holes so I mean, my role hasn't really changed. I'm just here to do whatever I can to help my team and today I just had a little bit more.”

The improved performance on the ground helped open up everything for the OU offense.

Oklahoma averaged 11.3 yards per completion, still a ways away from the norm under Riley, but much improved from a week ago. Against the Mountaineers, the Sooners only averaged 9.8 yards per completion as Spencer Rattler was unable to push the ball consistently downfield.

“I love watching KB run,” wide receiver Marvin Mims said after the game. “He hits the holes. He gets us a huge mentality boost. People have to respect it.

“That opens up stuff for the whole offense. I don't think a lot of people at home see that going on.”

Brooks, like the rest of the offense, has had a diminished role the past couple of weeks due to the opposing teams going on long drives that have chewed up tons of clock. As a result, the offense has had fewer possessions overall. But Brooks said it was no problem to immediately get back into rhythm after only getting five carries last week.

“It's not hard. You just got to stay confident, you've just to stay positive. Everything works out,” Brooks said. “We came out with a win and that's all that matters because I'm here to help the team win. I'm not really worried about my touches or how many times I get the ball all the time.”

Though Brooks said it wasn’t a problem to stay fresh, Jeremiah Hall did say that talk of limited possessions makes its way around, but the entire offense as a whole has done a good job powering through the adversity.

“We talk about those type of things, but it's always positive. Stay ready,” Hall said after the game. “I think I had like one touchdown going into this game. I had one play going into the second quarter, but you've always gotta stay ready because you never know when your chance may come up.

“That just comes with the preparation that we have each and every week. It just shows that as old heads, we're prepared for anything and everything to go out there and do our thing, so shoutout to KB. I'm proud of him.”

As he has in years past, Brooks will continue to play a prominent roll keeping the Oklahoma offense moving the chains on the ground, but as the Sooners head into OU-Texas, Brooks said regardless of how the game goes he’ll always be ready to try and push his team over the top.

“I'm just going out there — once I get my opportunities to go out there and ball for my team that's it,” Brooks said. 

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