Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Prepare for Home Conference Opener
October 06, 2003 | Cowboy Football
Oklahoma State [4-1, 0-1]
vs.
Kansas State [4-2, 0-1]
Saturday, Oct. 11, 2003 • 11:30 a.m. [CST]
Boone Pickens Stadium [48,500] • Stillwater, Okla.
TV - Fox Sports Net • radio - Cowboy Radio Network
internet broadcast - www.okstate.com
Wildcats Visit as Big 12 Schedule Resumes
Oklahoma State resumes Big 12 Conference play Saturday when the Cowboys host Kansas State. Kickoff at Boone Pickens Stadium is set for 11:30 a.m. It is the beginning of a seven week run of league games for the Cowboys who will be looking to win their first Big 12 game of the year, but run their winning streak to five. Kansas State will come calling with an overall record of 4-2 and a Big 12 mark of 0-1. The Wildcats opened league play last week with a 24-20 loss in Austin to the Texas Longhorns. The storyline is a simple one for O-State. A win over highly regarded K-State could vault the Pokes back into the Top 25 and also position them for a run at the South Division title in 2003.
Home Sweet Home
Saturday's game with Kansas State marks the second of three straight games at Boone Pickens Stadium. It's a portion of OSU's 2003 schedule that finds the Cowboys at home four of the next seven weeks and that's significant with postseason aspirations on the line. Playing in front of the friendlies also looks much better when considering that the combined record of OSU's next six opponents is 20-6. The Cowboys are 3-0 at home in 2003 and have won eight straight in Stillwater since Sept. 13, 2002, when they suffered a 38-24 loss to UCLA.
Cowboys Wrap up Perfect Non-League Schedule
Oklahoma State's 56-3 win over Louisiana-Lafayette Saturday night completed a 4-0 run through the non-league schedule in 2003. O-State sailed through the non-league portion of its schedule by outscoring four opponents, 198-36. Against Wyoming, Southwest Missouri State, SMU and Louisiana-Lafayette, the Cowboys averaged 49.5 points while allowing 9.0 points per game. It's the first time the Cowboys have been unbeaten in non-league encounters since 1997 when OSU defeated Louisiana-Lafayette, Fresno State and Louisiana-Monroe. It's the first time since 1988 the Cowboys have been 4-0 against non-conference opponents during the regular season. The ‘88 Pokes defeated Miami of Ohio, Texas A&M, Tulsa and Texas Tech.
Records/Rankings
Oklahoma State heads into the fifth week of the 2003 season with an overall record of 4-1 and a Big 12 Conference record of 0-1. The Cowboys were ranked 24th in both major preseason polls and held the same ranking ahead of a 17-7 loss to Nebraska in Lincoln. OSU has continued to receive votes in both major polls and would be 29th in this week's USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Poll if the rankings were expanded. Kansas State travels to Stillwater with an overall record of 4-2 and a Big 12 Conference mark of 0-1. The Wildcats have been nationally ranked all season and were among the top 10 until losing to Marshall. K-State is ranked 21st in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Poll this week.
Tickets and Attendance
A limited number of tickets for Saturday's game between OSU and Kansas State are available by calling the Athletic Ticket Office at 1-877-ALL-4OSU. A crowd of 47,000-plus is expected for Saturday's game. Individual game tickets for the Oct. 18 Homecoming game with Texas Tech and the Nov. 8 game against Texas are also still available.
Speaking of Tickets
Oklahoma State established a new single season record for season ticket sales in 2003 with almost 34,000 sold. Through three games of the 2003 home schedule, Oklahoma State's attendance has been strong. The Cowboys drew 44,158 against Wyoming, 42,152 vs. Southwest Missouri State and 44,700 vs. Louisiana-Lafayette. That's a three-game average of 43,670.
Air Time
Saturday's game between OSU and Kansas State will be broadcast by Fox Sports Net with Bill Land, Gary Reasons and Jim Knox providing the play-by-play, analysis and sideline commentary. It will be Oklahoma State's first 11:30 start time of this season, but the fourth time in six games in 2003 the Cowboys have been televised. Nebraska (ABC), Wyoming (Fox PPV) and SMU (FOX) were televised previously.
OSU-KSU, Briefly
Oklahoma State and Kansas State will be meeting for the 54th time when the teams collide Saturday morning at Boone Pickens Stadium. The series began in 1908 and has been played fairly consistently since 1947. While the Cowboys dominated the early part of the series, winning 31 of 37 between 1947 and 1989, K-State has dominated of late, winning nine straight since 1990. It's the longest current streak of any Big 12 opponent against Oklahoma State. The last time Oklahoma State defeated Kansas State was Oct. 14, 1989, in Stillwater by a 17-13 margin.
Remember the Last Time
The last time Oklahoma State and Kansas State met was one year ago when the Wildcats posted a 44-9 win over the Cowboys in Manhattan. OSU was coming off a 17-15 loss to Texas at Austin, and the Pokes lost starting fullback Tim Burrough early in the game at Manhattan. When O-State left Kansas that afternoon, the Cowboys had a 2-4 overall record and 0-2 Big 12 mark. OSU followed that low point with back-to-back wins over Nebraska and Texas A&M and went on to win six of its final seven games in 2002. After being 0-2 in league play, the Cowboys came within one victory of claiming the Big 12 South title.
That Time of Year
Oklahoma State reaches the halfway mark of the 2003 regular season when Kansas State comes to Boone Pickens Stadium Saturday. The Cowboys raced through the non-conference portion of the schedule in dominating fashion. The Pokes now face seven straight games against Big 12 Conference competition. Beginning with this week's opponent, Oklahoma State's next seven foes have a combined record of 26-10. Each of OSU's next seven opponents have a winning record with the exception of Texas A&M, which fell below .500 this week after losing at Texas Tech. Four of the next seven opponents have one or fewer losses, and three of those seven are ranked in this week's Top 25.
Oct. 11th in OSU History ... Win over Buffs was Milestone
October 11, 1997 — In a milestone win for Oklahoma State football, the Cowboys defeated Colorado, 33-29, in Stillwater. A standing room only crowd of nearly 51,000 watched the Pokes run their 1997 record to 6-0 with outstanding performances on both sides of the football. Quarterback Tony Lindsay rushed 21 times for 126 yards and tight end Alonzo Mayes caught four passes for 59 yards, including a game-winning touchdown reception late in the game that rallied the Cowboys from a 29-26 deficit. Oklahoma State would need some defensive heroics to save the game, and it got just that from Maurice Simpson. The OSU defensive back intercepted a pass with 2:45 left in the game to give the Cowboys the ball and set up Mayes' last-minute heroics.
OSU Last Week
Oklahoma State survived a sluggish first quarter and rolled to a 56-3 win over Louisiana-Lafayette at Boone Pickens Stadium last week. The Cowboys actually trailed the visitors, 3-0, at the end of the first period, had no first downs and just 33 yards of total offense compared to UL-Lafayette's three first downs and 131 yards of total offense. The last three quarters belonged the Cowboys, however, as the offense exploded for 28 second-quarter points and 14 points in both the third and fourth quarters. Tailback Vernand Morency enjoyed his best day in an OSU uniform. The Miami, Fla., product carried the ball 18 times for 189 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns. Wide Receiver D'Juan Woods led the receiving corps with four catches for 60 yards and a touchdown, and quarterback Josh Fields completed 11 of 21 passes for 138 yards and a pair of touchdowns. The Cowboys were also sparked by special teams play. Punt returner Darrent Williams had three returns for 153 yards and two touchdowns. On defense, Robert Jones and Greg Richmond led the way with nine and seven tackles, respectively. Jones also had in interception while Richmond had two sacks included in his tackle total.
Kansas State Last Week
The Wildcats opened Big 12 Conference play on the road against Texas and lost by a 24-20 margin. The game matched two top-20 powers in a game that went back and forth. Texas jumped to a 10-0 lead early in the second quarter and led 17-3 at the half, appearing ready to run away with things. Kansas State rallied with two third quarter scores to pull within five, 17-12. Quarterback Ell Roberson scored on a 27-yard run with 12:10 left in the third, and the Wildcats put two points on the board with a safety at the 9:49 mark. Kansas State took the lead at the 14:02 mark of the fourth quarter when Roberson found the endzone from one yard out. Texas came back, however, and scored the winning touchdown with 5:19 to play on a one-yard run by quarterback Vince Young. Kansas State had 298 yards of total offense, including 209 on the ground and 89 through the air. The Wildcats allowed Texas 133 rushing yards and 157 through the air. K-State tailback Darren Sproles was the game's leading rusher with 24 carries for 128 yards. Roberson, making his first game appearance since early in the season, had 17 carries for 87 yards and two touchdowns and completed five of 18 passes for 89 yards.
