The Enid News and Eagle, Enid, OK

Sports

Related Photos

Discussion

November 13, 2008

Pokes can’t afford stumble against CU

By Jeff Mullin, Commentary

Oklahoma State football fans still reeling from last week’s 56-20 whipping at the hands of Texas Tech can take heart.

The Cowboys have come a long way this year, given the fact they are in the neighborhood of 17-point favorites to beat Colorado.

There have been seasons in which OSU wouldn’t have been favored by 17 points against air, much less against a Big 12 opponent on the road.

The fact OSU gave up a bushel of yards and peck of points against the high-powered Red Raiders was no surprise. What was shocking was the fact the go-go Cowboys managed only 20 points and 368 total yards.

Granted, Tech’s defense is better than it has been in the past, but it is amazing the Red Raiders put the clamps on a Cowboy offense averaging around 500 yards per game.

OSU’s hopes of a Big 12 South title and a berth in the conference championship game are all but gone, but the Cowboys have plenty to play for Saturday night in the thin air of Boulder.

The Pokes will be vying for their ninth win of the season, which would be only the seventh time in school history a Cowboy football team had achieved that mark.

In spite of the Tech defeat, Mike Gundy still has his Cowboys going in the right direction. OSU has won 10 of its last 13 games and is 12-5 in its last 17 contests.

A loss to Colorado would be a giant step back this program doesn’t need to take. It is imperative the Cowboys’ take advantage of a CU defense that is ranked above OSU’s in terms of total yards (fourth to the Pokes’ sixth), but is ninth against the rush.

CU is tops in the league against the pass, but the only decent team among the top five in that defensive category in the Big 12 is Oklahoma.

On offense, Colorado is 11th in the league in rushing and passing, 12th in scoring, so the Cowboy defense should be able to take out its frustrations after being scorched by Graham Harrell and the Red Raiders for 629 total yards.

Then they will have two weeks to prepare for the fun, the festivities and the non-stop trash talking that is Bedlam.

Text Only
Sports
Featured Ads
AP Video
California's Foie Gras Ban About to Begin 6-Year-Old Going to National Spelling Bee Video Essay: Funky Winkerbean Comic Turns 40 On Thailand Trip, Suu Kyi Visits Migrants Raw Video: Pink Diamond Auctioned for $17.4M Hurricane Andrew Remembered, 20 Years Later Sister Says She Reported Brother in Patz Killing Patz Suspect's Sister: I Went to Police in 1980s Diplomatic Expulsions Follow Fresh Syria Report 15 Dead in Northern Italy's 5.8-magnitude Quake Angry Birds Spreading Their Wings Witness Describes Fla. Face-chewing Attack Man Falls Off Crane, Dies After Police Standoff Russia Condemns Ally Syria Over Massacre of 108 Dairy Farm Uses Chiropractor to Help Cows Unexpected Smog in Pristine National Parks Air Canada Plane Makes Emergency Landing New Ticks Spread Across Southeast, Diseases Rise Bring Your Own Tech Programs Charge Up Students Pope's Butler Vows to Help Vatican Investigation
NDN Video
Couple doesn’t let tropical storm ruin their big day Tori Bares Baby Bump in Monokini Even Fla. Police Shocked by Face-Mauling Attack Letterman on Family Life Post-Scandal Evans: Serena in shock Pregnant Reese Wears LBD Volcano covers Colombian cities in ash Meet the Crew and Good Ship 'Prometheus' Los Angeles Bar Bans Bachelorettes Hamster Plays Dead Beyonce Shows Off 60 Pound Weight Loss at Concert Drunk Women Breaking Into Houses: A New Trend? LeAnn Rimes Rocks Short Shorts Raw Video: Cop Shoots Man Eating Another's Face Gordon Ramsay Carried Off Field Man Dies Getting Lap Dance Kim Kardashian Claims Items Stolen from Her Luggage Bear cools off in Calif. family's pool Ep. 3: Chopped Desserts Air Force dad surprises family at baseball game
Seasonal Content
House Ads