Kansas State again has No. 6 Oklahoma’s number in 41-34 victory

NORMAN — Oklahoma’s biggest thorn over the past decade hasn’t been rivalry schools like Texas or Oklahoma State.

Kansas State has painfully burrowed its way into the hearts of Sooner Nation during that span.

OU’s coaches may have changed, but the Wildcats have found a celebratory way to leave Norman with road victories in four of their past six visits.

The Wildcats — behind the powerful running of quarterback Adrian Martinez and running back Deuce Vaughn — captured a 41-34 victory over the No. 6 Sooners on Saturday night in the Big 12 opener for both.

No matter if the coach was Bob Stoops, Lincoln Riley and, now, Brent Venables, K-State has found a way to beat the Sooners.

Martinez made his second consecutive appearance in Memorial Stadium on Saturday night. Last year, he led upset-minded Nebraska to a close call before hitting the transfer portal and finding a new home at Kansas State.

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In 2012, Kansas State’s Collin Klein orchestrated a win over the Sooners in Norman. There was a heavy dose of quarterback run game in that 24-19 road victory.

On Saturday, Klein was calling the Wildcats’ plays as a first-time offensive coordinator. He used a similar blueprint to when he was taking snaps in the K-State backfield.

Kansas State faced third-and-16 from its own 41 with 2:39 remaining. OU only trailed 34-27 and had an opportunity to get the ball back.

Martinez then rushed for 55 yards to get the ball to the Oklahoma 4-yard line, deflating any remaining energy in the stadium and setting off loud cheers from Wildcats fans sitting near the top of the north end zone stands.

Martinez carried the ball 21 times — the second-most of his career — to finish with 148 yards and four rushing touchdowns. The biggest was his 1-yard run to make it 41-27 with 1:58 left in regulation.

Martinez finished with 148 rushing yards and was complemented by Vaughn’s 116 yards on the ground.

There would be no Sooner Magic on a day where the legendary Selmon brothers were recognized with a statue unveiling before the game.

Brayden Willis would catch a 10-yard TD pass to make it 41-34 with 35 seconds left, but OU couldn’t recover the onside kick.

Oklahoma (3-1, 0-1 in Big 12) had plenty of self-inflicted wounds, including missed passes and a season-high 11 penalties.

This will be the first major test of the Venables era — how will his team react to a defeat?

OU — which has lost three of its past four Big 12 games dating back to last season — will play an important game at TCU next Saturday.

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