It is not very often in sports when a pupil goes up against a mentor, but at 11 a.m. Saturday in Norman, that will take place when Kansas State head coach Bill Snyder leads his Wildcats into Memorial Stadium for a match up with OU head coach Bob Stoops’ Sooners.

Stoops was the defensive coordinator at Kansas State under Snyder for numerous years in Manhattan, Kan. Stoops also coached with Snyder under Hayden Frye at Iowa before the duo came to K-State.

“Coach Snyder is a great coach,” said Stoops during Monday’s media luncheon. “Again, I appreciated my time with him. I loved the seven years that I was there; they were great for me and I worked with great people along with him.”

Oklahoma comes into the game nationally ranked No. 11, while the Wildcats enter Norman with a national ranking of 14. OU sits 5-1 overall and 2-1 in Big 12 Conference play, while KSU is 4-1 with a 2-0 Big 12 mark.

The game will be nationally televised by ESPN with coverage beginning at 11 a.m.

The Sooners enter Saturday after beating their rival Texas in the Red River Showdown 31-27 last Saturday in Dallas. K-State had the week off last week, which means they will be well-rested and well-prepared for OU.

Snyder said every game during the season is important.

“You only get 12 maybe 13 opportunities to (play) out of 365 days, so you can’t go through and pick and choose which is more important because they all count,” said Snyder during his weekly press conference. “Every single game counts. You can’t demean the value of the game, the significance of the game or the importance of a game.”

Coming into the game offensively, Oklahoma is averaging 40.5 points per game and 445.5 total yards per contest. OU is rushing the ball for an average of 191 yards per game and passing for an average of 254.5 yards per outing.

The Sooners have amassed 127 first downs this season, while turning the football over just seven times. Oklahoma has been penalized 31 times for 310 total yards this season.

OU quarterback Trevor Knight has a passing efficiency rating of 128.7 this year. Knight has thrown 1,503 yards, six touchdowns and five interceptions on 102 completions out of 185 attempts.

Oklahoma running back Samaje Perine is leading the way for the Sooners on the ground 577 yards on 109 carries with nine touchdowns.

Sooner receiver Sterling Shepard leads the way through the air with 34 receptions for 714 yards with four touchdowns.

Offensively for the Wildcats, they are averaging 40.8 points per game and 444 total yards per game. KSU is rushing for an average of 189 yards per contest and passing for an average of 255 yards per game.

Kansas State has totaled 118 first downs this season, while committing six turnovers. K-State has been penalized 20 times for a total of 162 yards.

KSU quarterback Jake Waters has a passing efficiency rating of 147.8 this year, and has passed for a total of 1,206 yards, seven touchdowns and three interceptions on 93 completions out of 143 attempts.

Waters also leads the Wildcats on the ground this season with 388 yards on 69 carries with six touchdowns.

K-State receiver Tyler Lockett leads the Cats through the air with 29 receptions for 399 yards with three touchdowns.

On the defensive side of the football for the Sooners, they are allowing 21.5 points per game and a total of 391.7 yards per contest. Opponents are rushing for an average of 116 yards per game and passing for an average of 275.7 yards per outing.

Oklahoma has forced 15 turnovers this year on defense.

The top three leading tacklers for the OU defense are linebacker Dominique Alexander with 49 tackles, linebacker Jordan Evans with 49 tackles and safety Ahmad Thomas with 30 tackles.

The Kansas State defense has been stout this season allowing opponents to score an average of 21 points per game and allowing a total of 315.8 yards per contest. Teams are rushing for an average of 81.4 yards per game and passing for an average of 234.4 yards per outing.

K-State has forced seven turnovers this season.

The top three tacklers on the Wildcat defense are Dante Barnett with 31 tackles, Randall Evans with 27 tackles and Travis Green with 18 tackles.