Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Host Jayhawks in Home Finale
November 13, 2003 | Cowboy Football
Oklahoma State [7-3, 3-3]
vs.
Kansas [5-5, 2-4]
Saturday, Nov. 15, 2003 • 1 p.m. [CST]
Boone Pickens Stadium [48,500] • Stillwater, Okla.
TV - none • radio - Cowboy Radio Network
internet broadcast - www.okstate.com
O-State Hosts Kansas in Home Finale
Oklahoma State hosts Kansas Saturday afternoon as the Cowboys play their final home game of the 2003 season. It will be Senior Day at OSU, and the Cowboys will honor 19 seniors in pregame activities. Kickoff for Saturday's game is set for 1 p.m., and it will not be televised. Oklahoma State will head for its final home game with an overall record of 7-3 and a Big 12 Conference record of 3-3. Kansas will come to Stillwater with an overall record of 5-5 and a Big 12 mark of 2-4. The Jayhawks are still one win away from bowl eligibility with games remaining at OSU and at home against Iowa State on Nov. 22.
Senior Day
Nineteen Oklahoma State seniors will be honored in pregame festivities prior to Saturday's game against Kansas. The complete list of seniors is below, but it includes 12 players who are or have been starters, and 13 players who have spent their entire collegiate careers at Oklahoma State.
OSU Seniors
Brent Baisden K Bethany, Okla. (Putnam City West) Tatum Bell TB DeSoto, Texas (DeSoto) Tim Burrough FB Moore, Okla. (Westmoore) Fath' Carter SS El Reno, Okla. (El Reno) Elbert Craig WS Oklahoma City, Okla. (Millwood) Matt Hardison OL Adair, Okla. (Adair) Jon Hayhurst OL Choctaw, Okla. (Choctaw) Doug Koenig OL Cape Coral, Fla. (Cape Coral) Gabe Lindsay WR Denver, Colo. (Thomas Jefferson) Luke Phillips K Tulsa, Okla. (Metro Christian) Greg Richmond DE Oklahoma City, Okla. (Douglass) Sky Rylant P Tempe, Okla. (Temple) Antonio Smith DE Oklahoma City, Okla. (John Marshall/NEO) Khreem Smith DE Miami, Fla. (Carol City/Garden City CC) Freddie Sinclair WS Raytown, Mo. (Raytown South/Missouri Western) Bryan Vardeman FS Lawton, Okla. (MacArthur) Josh Wheeler LB Oxford, Kan. (Oxford/Southwestern) Mike Williams DT Denver, Colo. (Thomas Jefferson) Rashaun Woods WR Oklahoma City, Okla. (Millwood) The Final Two
There's plenty at stake as the Cowboys get ready for a two-game stretch that will wrap up the 2003 regular season. If the Cowboys can win their final two regular-season games and tack on a bowl victory, they would become the fourth team in Oklahoma State football history to win 10 games. Only teams in 1984, 1987 and 1988 have put 10 victories in the win column. O-State also has a recent history of late-season success. Under Les Miles (the last two seasons), Oklahoma State has won its final two regular-season games. The Cowboys won at Baylor and at Oklahoma to close out the 2001 season, and defeated those same two teams in the final two games of the 2002 season in Stillwater.
OSU-Kansas, Briefly
Oklahoma State and Kansas will be meeting for the 57th time when the two teams collide at Boone Pickens Stadium Saturday afternoon. The Cowboys trail in the all time series by a 28-25-3 margin, but it has been a series of streaks. Kansas won the first four games played between the schools, but Oklahoma State enjoyed great success over the Jayhawks over a 17 year period between 1973 and 1989. Over that span, the Cowboys were 14-0-3 against Kansas, with the three ties coming in 1973, 1980 and 1982. When KU snapped the streak in 1990, the Jayhawks went on to win six straight before OSU won by a 38-28 margin in 1998. Since then, Oklahoma State has won three straight, including a 55-20 victory last season in Lawrence.
Ticket Availability
Tickets remain for Saturday's game between OSU and Kansas. Tickets can be purchased at the Athletics Ticket Office in the OSU Athletics Center, or by calling, toll-free, 1-877-ALL-4-OSU. A crowd in excess of 40,000 is expected for Saturday's game. The Cowboys close out the 2003 regular season next week with a game against Baylor at Waco. Oklahoma State's postseason destination will not be known until Sunday, Dec. 7, when the BCS bowls make their selections, followed by bowls partnered with the Big 12 Conference. After the BCS bowls have made their selections on Dec. 7, Big 12 bowls and order of their selection include Cotton (2), Holiday (3), Alamo (4), Independence, Houston and Tangerine (5-6-7) and Fort Worth (8).
OSU Traditions
Oklahoma State fans are encouraged to line Hester Street 2-1/2 hours prior to kickoff as the Cowboys walk from the Atherton Hotel in the Student Union to Boone Pickens Stadium. Fans are also encouraged to remain in the stadium following each OSU home victory to join Coach Les Miles and the Cowboys in singing the alma mater.
Quality Schedule; Quality Wins
While much was made of Oklahoma State's non-conference schedule, OSU's overall slate in 2003 has proven to be formidable from start to finish. OSU's only three losses have come to teams (Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas) all ranked in the top 15 in the country, and who have a combined record of 27-4 after 10 weeks of the regular season. Oklahoma State has seven victories in its first 10 games, and two of those wins have come over teams that either are or have been ranked. The Cowboys defeated Kansas State, 38-34, on Nov. 11 and the Wildcats have reeled off four straight wins (Colorado, Kansas, Baylor and Iowa State) since losing in Stillwater. K-State broke back into the national rankings at No. 25 this week. OSU also toppled Texas Tech, 51-49, on Oct. 18, and the Red Raiders have won two of three since, including a five point win over Colorado and a 62-14 win over Baylor on Saturday. Oklahoma State's remaining two opponents (Kansas and Baylor) have a combined record of 8-12.
OSU Last Week
Oklahoma State took a first-half lead over 11th-ranked Texas, but a talented Texas team overcame that deficit en route to a 55-16 win at Boone Pickens Stadium. The injury-plagued Cowboys played most of the second half without two tailbacks (Tatum Bell and Seymore Shaw), and without offensive lineman Corey Hilliard and defensive end Antonio Smith. Texas capitalized by scoring 27 third-quarter points and 14 more in the fourth while keeping the Cowboys off the scoreboard in the second half. The Longhorn victory snapped a 10-game home field winning streak by the Cowboys, and extended Texas' current winning streak over the Cowboys to six games. UT's Cedric Benson rushed 27 times for 180 yards and a touchdown. Quarterback Vince Young completed nine of 13 passes for 196 yards and rushed 13 times for 92 yards. Wide receiver Roy Williams had six catches for 162 yards and a touchdown. Seymore Shaw led the OSU ground attack with 14 carries for 63 yards. Quarterback Josh Fields completed 11 of 31 passes for 149 yards but was intercepted twice. All-America receiver Rashaun Woods had four catches for 43 yards and a touchdown. His brother, D'Juan Woods, had three catches for 74 yards. Defensively, the Cowboys were led by linebacker Victor DeGrate and cornerback Darrent Williams, who were each credited with nine tackles.
Kansas Last Week
The Jayhawks trailed Nebraska just 10-3 at the half before falling to the Cornhuskers by a score of 24-3 last week in Lawrence. KU quarterback Adam Barmann turned in a stellar effort against the Huskers. He completed 24 of 34 passes for 204 yards, but was intercepted three times and sacked twice. Seven different Kansas receivers had at least two receptions in the loss. Charles Gordon led all receivers with six catches for 47 yards. Brandon Rideau had five catches for 41 yards, and Moderi Johnson had two catches for 30 yards. Clark Green was KU's leading rusher with 13 carries for 49 yards. Kansas netted just 88 rushing yards against a tough Nebraska defense, and had 292 total yards while allowing Nebraska 400 total yards. Kansas held the ball more than three minutes more than Nebraska, but never found the end zone.
