Spencer Sanders Is Looking To Go 4-0 Against Kansas State
STILLWATER – Oklahoma State quarterback Spencer Sanders has really come into his own over the past couple of seasons. He was very good last season as he led the Pokes to a 12-2 record, with wins over ranked Texas, OU and Notre Dame.
We’ve seen that success roll over into this season as the Pokes are sitting 6-1 on the season and ranked in the top-10. Spencer’s toughness and gamer factor has also been turned up a couple of notches this year, which hasn’t gone unnoticed by opposing coaches, particularly Kansas State coach Chris Klieman.
"He's a competitor,” Klieman said during his weekly availability. “We're going in from the fire to the next one with [Max] Duggan to Spencer Sanders. Spencer Sanders has been really good against us the last three years and he's got a good supporting cast. They’re big up front, he's got a number of people that he can distribute the ball to, but he can beat you with his arm and he can beat you with his legs. I did not get a chance to watch most of the game. I saw clips and stuff of the Texas and Oklahoma State game, but I watched the first quarter-and-a-half and it looked to me like Texas had control a little bit. And then you have a kid like that that can flip it that fast and he did, and [OSU] made some stops on defense. I thought they played really good defense from watching it on tape in the second half and shut some things down that they weren't able to do in that first half and then I thought Spencer was really good in that second half."
Spencer is 3-0 against the Wildcats in his career, having won 31-20 in 2021, 20-18 in 2020 and 26-13 in 2019.
In those games, he’s gone 52-of-82 passing for 605 yards and three touchdowns, with three interceptions. He’s also posted 35 carries for 79 yards and one touchdown. You can also see the growth in his game, as well as the improvement of the offensive line throughout these three games.
He was 16-of-25 for 153 yards passing with just one touchdown and two interceptions in 2019, with 14 carries for 52 yards. He was sacked twice.
He was 14-of-23 for 108 yards with no touchdowns, including 12 carries for just nine yards and three sacks in 2020.
2021 is when everything seemed to come together for Spencer as he went 22-of-34 for 244 yards and two touchdowns through the air, with nine carries for 18 yards and one touchdown on the ground. He was sacked just once.
While Spencer has been very good this season, 154-of-262 passing for 2,030 yards and 15 touchdowns, with 80 carries for 352 yards and eight touchdowns on the ground, the offensive line has done a decent job of protecting him as he’s been sacked just nine times, less than a sack and a half per game.
Manhattan’s a hostile environment capable of causing havoc to opposing offenses. The Kansas State defense is tied for 23rd in the nation with 20 team sacks in seven games. That’s nearly three per game. The Cowboy offensive line needs to protect Spencer on Saturday, as well as Spencer using his experience and ability to making something out of nothing with his legs should a play breakdown for Spencer to go 4-0 against the Wildcats in his career.