Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State To Host SMU Mustangs
September 16, 2002 | Cowboy Football
Sept. 16, 2002
SMU Mustangs [0-3] vs. Oklahoma State Cowboys [1-2]
Saturday, Sept. 21, 2002 * 6 p.m. [CDT]
Lewis Field [48,000] * Stillwater, Okla.
Complete Release in PDF Format
Pokes Host Ponies in Non-Conference Finale
Oklahoma State takes to the artificial surface of Lewis Field for a third-straight week as the Cowboys host SMU. It's the final non-conference game of the year, and O-State will be looking for a win to finish the non-league portion of its schedule at 2-2. Oklahoma State enters week four of the season with a 1-2 mark after losing to UCLA, 38-24, last week. SMU is set to make its first appearance in Stillwater since 1947, and will travel north with a season mark of 0-3. The Mustangs lost to TCU last week, 17-6, in Ft. Worth.
It's SMU, Open and Big 12
Saturday's game against SMU will be Oklahoma State's final tune-up before tackling Big 12 Conference play. It's also OSU's final Lewis Field appearance until the third weekend in October. After the SMU game, OSU faces an open date, then back-to-back weeks on the Big 12 road (Austin and Manhattan) before returning for an Oct. 19 date against Nebraska.
Promotions, Tickets
Saturday night's game against SMU is also OSU's "Take a Kid to the Game" promotion. A crowd approaching 40,000 is expected, and tickets can be purchased by calling the OSU Ticket Office at 1-877-ALL-4-OSU or visiting the ticket office in the Athletics Center, Monday through Friday, between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Walk the Walk
Cowboy fans are once again reminded to take part in "the walk." Oklahoma State players and coaches will walk to Lewis Field from the Atherton, Student Union Hotel, approximately 2-1/2 hours prior to kickoff. Fans are encouraged to line Hester Street between the Student Union and Lewis Field and fall in behind the Cowboys as they walk to the game.
OSU Last Week
Oklahoma State jumped to a 10-0 lead over No. 23 UCLA before the Bruins rallied then held off the Cowboys for a 38-24 win on Lewis Field. The Cowboys took control early, scoring on a one-yard run by Tatum Bell with 11:23 left in the initial quarter. OSU's defense set up the first score. Kobina Amoo intercepted a Cory Paus pass at the 38 and returned it nine yards to the 29. The Cowboys added to their lead on the very next possession. OSU's offense was sharp as it drove from its own 22 to the UCLA five, where Luke Phillips nailed a 22-yard field goal with 6:46 still remaining in the first. The Bruins came back, however, mounting a nine-play, 73-yard drive on its very next possession with Craig Bragg scoring on a 41-yard pass from Paus. UCLA would score 31 unanswered points and lead 31-10 before the Cowboys would put more points on the board. OSU's second touchdown came on a seven-yard pass from Josh Fields to Rashaun Woods at the 5:13 mark of the third quarter. The Cowboys and Bruins then traded touchdowns to account for the 38-24 final. Wide Receiver Rashaun Woods again ignited the OSU offense. Woods finished with seven catches for 143 yards and a touchdown. Fields completed 20-of-40 for 291 yards and a touchdown, and tailback Seymore Shaw rushed for 54 yards on nine carries and a touchdown. Receiver John Lewis also had a big night. Lewis caught seven passes for 113 yards and had a long of 36 yards.
Twice as Nice
With Rashaun Woods and John Lewis both eclipsing the 100-yard mark against UCLA, the Cowboys had a first since 1988 when Ethan Howell (106) and Marcellus Rivers (103) both had 100-plus yards against Texas on Nov. 7.
Career Firsts
Seymore Shaw's one-yard touchdown run in the first quarter was the first score of his Oklahoma State career. Cornerback Kobina Amoo's interception that set up OSU's first touchdown was the first of his Cowboy career.
Career Bests
Quarterback Josh Fields passed for 291 yards against UCLA, his career best, and John Lewis equaled his career best with seven receptions. Lewis' 113-yard performance against UCLA was the second-best of his career. He had 131 against Baylor in a win at Waco last year.
Rashaun Lights It Up
After three games of the 2002 football season, there should be no doubt that Oklahoma State wide receiver Rashaun Woods is the elite of college football receivers. Any doubt of that should have been erased Saturday night when Woods hauled in seven catches for 143 yards against UCLA and two-time All-Pac-10 corner Ricky Manning. It was Woods' fourth-straight game to go over 100 yards, and the eighth time he has eclipsed 100 yards in his career. His touchdown Saturday against UCLA was the ninth of his career, and he has now caught at least two passes in 21-straight games.
Rashaun's Last Seven ... Big Numbers
OSU's Biletnikoff Award candidate has posted eye-popping numbers over the last seven games. Dating back to the Colorado game on Oct. 27, 2001, Woods has caught 54 passes for 837 yards and nine touchdowns. That's a six-game average of 119.6 yards per game and 15.5 yards per reception.
Fields Tops 200 Again
Sophomore quarterback Josh Fields passed for a career-high 291 yards against UCLA Saturday night on Lewis Field. Fancy numbers for a sophomore quarterback who made just the third start of his collegiate career last week. It was the third game of 2002 Fields has passed for 200 or more yards, and the fourth-straight game of his career he has topped the 200-yard mark. In his last four games dating back to the Oklahoma game last November, Fields has passed for 987 yards, an average of 247 yards per game. If you throw in the Baylor game a year ago, that passing yardage total goes up to 1,148, and a per game average of 230 yards per game.
Top 10
Fields' passing day against UCLA ranks as the 10th-best single-game passing effort in OSU football history. Mike Gundy's 429 yards against Kansas in 1989 is still the single game best. Fields' 291 is just behind Aso Pogi's 294 against Southern Miss in 2001. Below are OSU's top-10 single-game passing performances.
More Numbers for Fields
After three weeks of the season, Oklahoma State's quarterback ranks among the top passers in the Big 12 and in the NCAA. Fields is second in the league to Texas Tech's Kliff Kingsbury in passing with 21.67 completions per game. He is third in total passing yards behind Kingsbury and Iowa State's Seneca Wallace. Nationally, Fields is tied for 14th with Mississippi's Eli Manning in passing yardage.
Comparing First Start Numbers
In the first start of his collegiate career against Louisiana Tech, Fields was in on every offensive snap, finishing the night with 204 passing yards on 22-of-41 attempts. He did not throw an interception and was sacked three times. Fields' first-start numbers compare with those of his last two predecessors. Aso Pogi's first-career start came against Iowa State in 2000, and he completed 26-of-45 attempts for 328 yards and two touchdowns. Tony Lindsay's first-career start came against Fresno State in 1997, and he completed 7-of-9 for 139 yards and two touchdowns.
It's Not Just Rashaun
Junior wide receiver Rashaun Woods may be the best in the country, but he's not the only receiving weapon in Oklahoma State's arsenal. John Lewis helped make that point Saturday night against UCLA by hauling in seven passes for 113 yards. It was the second 100-yard performance of his career, and highlighted the fact that Oklahoma State may have the best overall receiving corps in the country. Three games into the season, Oklahoma State's top-three receivers are have double-digit averages in yards per reception. In addition to Woods' 17.1 yard average, Lewis is averaging 15.2 yards per catch, while Terrence Davis-Bryant is averaging 10.1 yards per reception. And, while Woods has 26 catches for 444 yards, both Davis-Bryant and Lewis have over 100 yards for the season. Davis-Bryant has 11 total catches for 111 yards, and Lewis will go into this week's SMU game with eight receptions for 122 yards on the season.
Farden Continues to be Effective
Sophomore Cole Farden is in his second season as Oklahoma State's primary kicker in kickoff situations. A week ago against Northern Iowa, Farden was particularly effective, placing six of his seven kickoffs deep enough to allow no returns. Saturday night against UCLA, Farden continued to excel. Four of his five kickoffs went through the endzone. UCLA had one return for 34 yards. That's 10 of his last 12 kickoffs that have be un-returnable.
And, as a Punter
Saturday night against UCLA, Farden also punted the ball, and did so impressively. For the game, Farden had five punts for an average of 41.6 yards per punt, and three of those punts were downed inside the 20-yard line. Farden and Sky Rylant have handled Oklahoma State's punting chores through the first three games, with Farden averaging 38.2 yards on nine punts and Rylant averaging 42.0 yards on 11 punts.
Phillips Still Perfect
Junior kicker Luke Phillips, already on the initial Lou Groza Award watch list, added to his string of consecutive successful extra points against UCLA. Phillips, who was perfect on all 27 PAT's attempted in 2001, was 4-of-4 at Shreveport against La Tech and 6-of-6 against Northern Iowa. He was 3-of-3 against the Bruins, and has now converted successfully all 40 extra-point attempts during his OSU career.
More on Phillips
Phillips already owns one of Oklahoma State's 14 perfect seasons in PAT attempts. His 27-of-27 performance last year joined Cary Blanchard, Tim Sydnes, Lawson Vaughn, Joey O'Donnell, Colin Ankerson, Charles Durkee and Craig Kessler, who have each gone through at least one season without missing a PAT attempt. If Phillips can complete the 2002 season without missing, he would join Blanchard, Sydnes, Ankerson and Vaughn as the only players to have at least two seasons without missing an extra point. In case your wondering, Vaughn, who was perfect in 1992, '93 and '95, is the only OSU kicker to ever be perfect over a span of three seasons.
Defensive Numbers Steady After Week Three
After allowing 486 yards of total offense in the season opener, Oklahoma State's defense returned to its stingy ways in the second game against Northern Iowa. This week, after facing a talented UCLA offense, the OSU defense stayed about the same in Big 12 and national statistics.
D Has Numbers and Experience
Two of the reasons for the expected efficiency on the defensive side of the ball are numbers and experience. When the Cowboys take the field Saturday night against SMU, 10 of the 11 projected starters have previous starts on their OSU resum?. That list includes eight seniors who bring invaluable experience to the defensive equation in 2002. Players with at least 10 career starts are listed to the right.
Elbert Craig Leads D vs. Bruins
Junior safety Elbert Craig had a good and productive night against 23rd-ranked UCLA. Craig, who played his high school football at OKC Millwood, was the game's leading tackler with 11. Six of his 11 tackles were unassisted. In addition, Craig was credited with two pass deflections, tying him with Chris Massey for game honors in that category. For the season, Craig now has 14 total tackles, two interceptions and three passes broken up.
T-Rob Leader On and Off the Field
Senior linebacker Terrence Robinson was labeled a leader well before he was named a co-captain of the 2002 Cowboys. Robinson was one of a select few student-athletes across the country to participate in an NCAA leadership conference over the summer. Robinson will call the signals for the Cowboy defense this fall from his middle linebacker spot, and he will be looking to make his senior season a special one. His 2001 numbers represented a career high. Robinson was credited with 75 total tackles (third-most on the defense) and he had 10 tackles for losses. He had multiple tackles behind the line in games against Southern Miss, Iowa State and Oklahoma. His 11 tackles against Missouri on Lewis Field was a season and career high. In the season opener at Shreveport, T-Rob was credited with four total tackles, and also had a pass deflection. In last week's win over Northern Iowa, Robinson had four total tackles and one for minus yardage. Against UCLA, T-Rob was officially credited with seven tackles.
Darrent Williams Does it Again
Oklahoma State's sophomore defensive back was a big part of the Cowboys' 45-10 win over Northern Iowa. In fact, it was a scene Cowboy fans have become very familiar with over the past two seasons. With the game tied at seven, Northern Iowa faced a second and eight from its own 24. Darrent Williams picked off Griff Jurgens pass and returned it 29 yards for the go-ahead touchdown. At that point, it was Williams third career interception and his third career interception returned for a touchdown. Williams picked off a pair of passes against Baylor last year in Waco and returned them for touchdowns. Williams added another interception in the Northern Iowa game but the Panthers kept him out of the endzone. Williams' production on the defensive side of the ball has been impressive. He has six career starts, four career interceptions and three touchdowns.
Brown Effective in the Middle
LaWaylon Brown has started all three games in 2002 at defensive tackle, and has made his presence known, especially against Northern Iowa two weeks ago. Brown was credited with five tackles and a pair of sacks in the 45-10 win over the Panthers. Brown's three-game 2002 numbers include 10 total tackles and a team-leading three tackles for minus-18 yards. He is one of five Oklahoma State defenders with one sack each after three games.
On the Offensive Side
Just like the defensive side of the ball, Oklahoma State's 2002 offense features talent and depth. OSU returns its statistical leader in every offensive category for 2001, including rusher Tatum Bell, passers Aso Pogi and Josh Fields, receiver Rashaun Woods and scorer Luke Phillips. A glance at OSU's possible offensive starters for the SMU game reveals 12 players with a combined 119 starts.
Early Numbers are Strong
The Cowboy offense ranks high in most categories after just three weeks of the season. Oklahoma State ranks in the top five in the Big 12 in three offensive categories, including passing, scoring and total offense. The Cowboys are 15th nationally in passing offense, averaging 276.3 yards per game. Oklahoma State is 27th in the country in scoring offense, averaging 35 points per game, and 44th nationally in total offense, averaging 403.6 yards per contest.
