Oklahoma State has coasted through a cupcake-laden schedule since opening its season with a narrow loss to the nation's top team. One more mismatch awaits before things get much more challenging.
The No. 16 Cowboys look to hand Kansas its 15th straight loss to a ranked opponent Saturday.
The Cowboys (4-1, 2-0 Big 12) played top-ranked Florida State closer than many expected in a 37-31 loss Aug. 30. They followed with four wins by an average of 18.5 points, not trailing in the second half in any of them. The closest victory was 45-35 over Texas Tech on Sept. 25.
Oklahoma State's two conference victories have come against Texas Tech and Iowa State, who are a combined 3-7.
The Cowboys' final six games will come against teams with a combined 22-7 record, with four ranked among the top 17. They visit No. 9 TCU next week.
"We've got to get a lot better," coach Mike Gundy said. "...We certainly got a long way to go and a lot of work ahead of us."
Before that tough stretch, though, Oklahoma State plays its first true road game against struggling Kansas (2-3, 0-2) The Cowboys beat the Jayhawks 42-6 at home last season, their ninth win in 10 meetings. They've won five in a row at Kansas, not losing there since 1994.
Kansas dropped its first game under interim coach Clint Bowen after firing Charlie Weis, losing 33-14 at West Virginia last Saturday.
Lookin' good! Check out our gallery of Big 12 cheerleaders.
"They have their backs against the wall, so they are going to give it everything they got to go out and get a win," said receiver Jhajuan Seales, one of four Cowboys with at least 229 receiving yards.
Oklahoma State ranks fifth in the high-scoring Big 12 with 39.2 points per game behind a balanced attack. The Cowboys are averaging 286.6 yards passing and 163.2 rushing.
Gundy would like to get more out of Tyreek Hill, the conference's preseason newcomer of the year. Hill registered 221 all-purpose yards in last Saturday's 37-20 win over Iowa State, including a 97-yard kick return for a touchdown to open the second half. The junior-college transfer ranks 10th nationally with 161.4 all-purpose yards per game.
However, Hill's role in the offense has been somewhat limited since debuting with 44 rushing yards and 62 receiving against Florida State. He has averaged 55.3 yards of offense in four games since.
"He needs to get more on offense," Gundy said. "We need to find more ways to get him the ball, but (other teams) can stop him from getting the ball if they want, which most teams are attracted to him when he's on the field."
Hill could be primed for another big performance on special teams, however, as Kansas allows 31.4 yards per kickoff return -- last in the FBS -- and surrendered a 94-yarder for a touchdown to the Mountaineers.
The Jayhawks' offense remains disastrous, averaging 322.4 yards to rank 112th nationally. They managed only 176 yards versus West Virginia, the school's fewest since 2011.
Watch the Oklahoma State-Kansas game at 3 p.m. Saturday on FOX Sports 1.
Three quarterbacks were a combined 13 of 28 for 111 yards against the Mountaineers, and it's not clear who will get the bulk of the snaps this week.
"We'll see which ones are handling the parts of the offense that they can control and are best making the decisions that need to be made," Bowen said. "Toward the end of the week we'll make a decision on who's going to play, if not all three of them."
Oklahoma State has won 33 of its last 37 regular-season matchups with unranked teams.
Kansas hasn't beaten a ranked foe since defeating Georgia Tech on Sept. 11, 2010.
