Big 12 Preview: Oklahoma State Cowboys
July 1st, 2008 by James Lawrence
The Cowboys got off to an awful start in 2007, getting run out of Georgia and then losing an early game at Troy! Then they had a crazy shootout win against Texas Tech, a 1-point loss to A&M (two years in a row), a 2-point win over Kansas State, and a 3-point comeback loss to Texas.
6-6 and an Insight Bowl berth was a fitting end to such a season, where they met up with an overmatched Indiana team and rang up 49 points on the Hoosiers to finish 7-6 for the second year in a row.
Mike Gundy has lost one more game than he’s won at Oklahoma State, but to be honest that’s what should be expected for this level of a program. They’ve gone to bowl games each of his last two seasons, upsetting Alabama and winning handily over Indiana.
Last season, Gundy made headlines for tearing into a reporter who tore into one of his players, back up quarterback Bobby Reid. Reid isn’t going to the NFL; he’s a kid who played football for his school. In fairness, it’s a little ridiculous how much scrutiny fans in general put on such players. Back in the day I was a full scholarship math/chemistry student. I never had to wake up to articles claiming that my spectroscopy techniques were a disgrace to the university and there’s some other kid more deserving of the scholarship, etc etc.
To be fair he may have gone over the top (I don’t recall the rant), but I support a coach who goes to bat for his student-athletes. So yeah, Mike Gundy , awesome. Even if the team’s staring .500 in the face once again.
Zac Robinson is the returning starter at QB for the Cowboys, the lone remnant of last season’s trio of offensive stars. He improved his passing totals to 2,824 yards and a 23-9 ratio. Stacked on top of that were 847 yards rushing and 9 TDs on the ground. Without Dantrell Savage in the backfield, Robinson may see his rushing totals increase in 2008. The question is whether or not he can find a go-to receiver with Adarius Bowman also departed. Because of the rushing stats, Robinson is a quarterback worth having on your team. He likely would share starts with a similar-level player or serve as a capable backup when your #1 has a bye or faces an elite defense. In such a role, keep in mind the timing of the Missouri (10/11) and Oklahoma (11/29) games, as those are when he is most likely to struggle. Baylor (10/18) and Iowa State (11/1) are the most favorable games beyond September.
Last season, Dantrell Savage ran for 1272 yards and 9 TDs , while picking up an additional 259 and 2 scores in receptions. Savage is gone, and this leaves a three-headed attack of Beau Johnson , Kendall Hunter , and Keith Totson . Hunter was the #2 RB on OK State last season, but the juco transfer Johnson appears to have the inside track on the starting position. Oklahoma State has a strong history at the running back position, and you can expect somebody to top 1000 yards once again. However, with the number of people who will be getting carries for this offense, don’t expect a strong feature back to be established. Even then Robinson is going to account for a good amount of the ground game.
Probably the greatest loss for Oklahoma State will be Adarius Bowman. Unlike the running back position, OK State does not have the depth at wide receiver to simply move on from such a loss. Returning starter Dez Bryant ’s totals were barely half those of Bowman. However he did step up to catch two touchdowns against Indiana in their bowl game and is capable of pulling in 800 yards. DeMarcus Conner is a converted defensive back. Yeah, that’s the situation the Cowboys are in this season.
As a result, senior tight end Brandon Pettigrew may see himself being the target of more passes. Already, last season, he was the #3 receiver on the team with 540 yards and 4 TDs . He should be high on your draft board for tight ends.
Oklahoma State’s problems at defensive line will only be magnified in 2008 by the loss of three starters. Overall, six defensive starters return and there is little reason to hope for improvement in a unit that ranked 78th in scoring last season. The bright side is cornerback /return man Perrish Cox , who returned both a kickoff and a punt for TDs in 2007. Overall he returned kicks for 853 yards in 07, and with a terrible defense he should be in for a similar season in 2008.
Returning kicker Dan Bailey didn’t have a productive 2007 season with just 4 field goal attempts (2 made), as the Cowboys were one of the ten worst-kicking teams in the NCAA. Don’t waste your time here.
Summary
Oklahoma State is yet another Big 12 team who is going to score a good amount of points. Zac Robinson seems really underrated/flat-out unknown outside of Big 12 country. Perhaps that’s because of the conference’s unusual accumulation of talent at that position overshadowing his play. It’s not much of a stretch to see him putting up 3000/1000 in 2008 (he was less than 200/200 away in 07) and still be the 5th or 6th -best QB in the conference. Despite all that, Oklahoma State is probably going to finish 7-6 or 6-7 once again (sucks playing in the South division and drawing Missouri from the North). Such is their lot in life.
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