Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Set To Open Against Tulsa
April 18, 2003 | Cowboy Football
Oklahoma State opens the 2000 football season Saturday, Sept. 9, when the Cowboys travel across the Cimarron Turnpike to face Tulsa. It will be the official opener of OSU's 99th season of intercollegiate football and the sixth under current head coach Bob Simmons.
Records/Rankings
While Oklahoma State was continuing preseason preparations, Tulsa traveled to Chapel Hill, N.C., where the Golden Hurricane absorbed a 30-9 loss to the Tar Heels. TU is 0-1 on the season coming into its home opener against the Cowboys. Oklahoma State did receive votes in both the Associated Press and USA Today/ESPN Coaches polls.
Kickoff/Tickets
Kickoff for Saturday night's game at Tulsa's Skelly Stadium is set for 6 p.m. As of last Friday, several thousand tickets remained for this week's game. Tickets can be purchased by contacting the University of Tulsa ticket office.
The 99th Season
Saturday will mark the beginning of the 99th season of intercollegiate football at Oklahoma State. The Cowboys first official team in 1901 finished with a 2-3 record. OSU did not field a team in 1902, but has played uninterrupted every season since.
The Sixth for Bob Simmons
Saturday night also marks the official beginning of the sixth season of OSU Football during the Bob Simmons era. In terms of longevity, Simmons becomes the eighth OSU head coach (out of 29) to have OSU careers of six years or more. Jim Lookabaugh and Pat Jones both had 11-year stints at OSU to top the list.
Finally
Oklahoma State's Sept. 9 opener is the latest since 1993 when the Pokes didn't lift the lid until Sept. 11. OSU has opened in August three of the last five seasons. Since 1958, the latest date for a season opener for OSU was 1961, when the Cowboys and Iowa State played on Sept. 23.
Late Openers
Thanks to the research efforts by Jimmie Tramel of the Tulsa World, we know that the Cowboys will be the next-to-last team in Division IA to open the 2000 season. Hawaii will be the last IA squad to open the season when it hosts Portland State late Saturday night.
On the Road
For the fourth time in the last seven years, Oklahoma State will open the season away from home. Saturday night's opener at Tulsa is the third away-from-home opener during the Bob Simmons era. OSU is 2-0 in season openers away from Lewis Field under Simmons, and the Cowboys have won their last three season openers that were on the road.
Travel Plans
Oklahoma State is scheduled to bus to Tulsa early Friday afternoon and hold a light workout at Skelly Stadium. The Cowboys will headquarter at the Doubletree at Warren Place. OSU will return to Stillwater immediately following Saturday's game.
New Faces
With the 2000 season ready to begin, there are several new faces and a new look to OSU football. New to Bob Simmons' coaching staff for 2000 are offensive coordinator Del Miller, linebackers coach Dave Huxtable, offensive line coach Mike Jacobs and tight ends coach Mike Summers. Also new to the staff are graduate assistant coaches Shawn Fowler and Dale Ploessl.
New Facilities
In addition to new faces around the OSU program for 2000, there's a new look on the field and off. When the Cowboys open the home season next week against Southwest Texas, they will be playing on a newly installed surface. The AstroPlay surface was installed over the summer and replaced the old surface that had been in use since 1987. OSU coaches and players are also beginning to occupy their new spaces in the OSU Athletic Center. The $54 million project is scheduled to be completed in December.
On TV
Saturday night's game will be televised in the Tulsa area by Cox Communications. The telecast will be on tape delay unless the game is sold out.
OSU Radio Network
Saturday night's game and every game on the 2000 football schedule will be broadcast live on the Cowboy Radio Network. Learfield Sports is in the first year of a multimedia agreement with OSU and the Cowboy Network is just one facet of that relationship. Bill Teegins, multiple-year recipient of the Oklahoma Sportscaster-of-the-Year award, returns for his 10th season as the radio voice of OSU football. Tom Dirato returns for his 20th season providing expert analysis. The Cowboy Network features 26 stations that cover Oklahoma from border to border. Those network stations are listed elsewhere in this release.
About Season Openers
Oklahoma State enters Saturday night's game at Tulsa with an all-time record of 57-36-5 in season openers. The Cowboys' mark in season openers is especially impressive in recent years. Since 1971, OSU has a 24-5 mark, including streaks of seven straight between 1971-77 and eight straight between 1981-88. Going into 2000, Oklahoma State has won four straight season openers. The last time O-State lost an opener was 1995 to Nebraska on Lewis Field.
Openers on the Road
The Cowboys have not fared as well in openers away from Lewis Field with an all-time mark of 15-29-1. The Cowboys have won the last three openers away from home, including two under Bob Simmons. The Cowboys won at Kansas in 1998 and at Iowa State in 1997. The last time OSU lost a season opener that was on foreign turf was 1991, when Tulsa took a 13-7 decision at Skelly Stadium.
Under the Lights
Saturday will mark the 16th time in the last 17 years the Cowboys have opened under the lights. Beginning with the 1984 opener at Arizona State (won by OSU 45-3), the Cowboys played 14 straight nighttime openers until the regionally televised afternoon start at Kansas two years ago.
Tulsa in Openers
Saturday will also mark the eighth time Oklahoma State has faced Tulsa in a season opener and the Cowboys have a 5-2 mark against the Golden Hurricane when the game has been the seasons' first. The last time the two teams met in a season opener was the 13-7 TU win in 1991.
Coach Bob Simmons
Saturday night will mark the beginning of Bob Simmons' sixth year as Oklahoma State's Head Football Coach. The 52-year old Simmons will guide the Cowboys into the first season of the new millennium after spending the last five-plus seasons strengthening the overall foundation of the O-State program. There's little doubt the foundation is stronger now than when he became head coach in December of 1994. Simmons will enter his sixth OSU season with an overall record of 27-30, but with a talented mix of veterans and newcomers, that translates into optimism for the 2000 season.
More than Ready
When Bob Simmons arrived at Oklahoma State late in 1994, he was more than ready to be a Division IA head coach. His coaching resume included seven years with Bill McCartney at Colorado, including two seasons as assistant head coach. He was an integral part in the process of building Colorado into a national power. His seven years in Boulder included seven bowl appearances, including two Orange Bowls and a national championship. Prior to arriving at CU, Simmons spent eight seasons at West Virginia with Don Nehlen. At West Virginia, he helped guide the Mountaineers to four bowl games, including the 1987 Sun Bowl opposite Oklahoma State.
Tough Schedule
In the five seasons of the Bob Simmons era, the Cowboys have faced some of the most demanding schedules in school history. Over the past five seasons, OSU has faced 19 teams that were nationally ranked, including non-conference opponents Tennessee (#12) in 1995 and Mississippi State (#25) in 1998.
Note-ing the Cowboys
Captains A quartet of senior captains have been selected for the 2000 season. Quarterback Tony Lindsay and offensive lineman Josh Lind will represent the offense, while tackle Zac Akin and cornerback Alvin Porter will represent the defense. This year's team captains were chosen by a vote of the squad on August 25.
For Starters
Several Cowboys on both sides of the football should extend streaks of consecutive starts this week against Tulsa. Senior offensive lineman Josh Lind tops the list. Lind will make his 22nd straight start and the 24th of his OSU career. The preseason all-conference selection started all 11 games in 1999, 10 games in '98 and two in 1997. Senior defensive tackle Zac Akin will be making his 12th straight start and the 15th start of his OSU career this week. Like Lind, Akin started all 11 regular season games last season. Quarterback Tony Lindsay has more total starts than any other player on this year's roster and he will add to that number this week. Lindsay's start at Tulsa will be the 27th of his Cowboy career. He started six games in '99, 11 in '98 and nine in 1997. Other current Cowboys who have starts numbering in double figures include Kevin Williams (11) and Alvin Porter (13). Both will add to those numbers this week at Tulsa.
This Week's Opponent ... Tulsa
About Tulsa
Tulsa opens the 2000 campaign with a new head coach, Keith Burns, to go along with new uniforms and a new turf in Skelly Stadium. Burns replaces Dave Rader who manned the Golden Hurricane sidelines for 12 seasons. Burns spent the last two years as the defensive coordinator at Arkansas where he helped guide the team to a 9-2 record in 1998 and an 8-4 ledger in 1999. He will be looking to turn around a Tulsa program that has not had a winning season since 1991. Last year the Golden Hurricane finished 2-9 with the only victories against Southwest Missouri State and Texas-El Paso. TU lost its season opener to Norh Carolina 30-9 last Saturday in Chapel Hill.
Who To Look For
Tulsa returns 37 letterwinners, including six offensive starters and eight defensive starters, highlighted by Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Freshman Of The Year, quarterback Josh Blankenship. Last season, the Tulsa Union product completed 56 percent of his passes and averaged 222 yards per game in his five starts with seven touchdowns and 15 interceptions. Blankenship was 17-of-38 for 214 yards and threw a 78-yard touchdown pass in the loss to North Carolina. The Golden Hurricane lost its top running back John Moseley and top receiver Damon Savage to graduation but return junior runner Ken Bohannon who led the team with nine touchdowns and receiver Corey Brown who averaged 17.2 yards per catch. Brown led the Golden Hurrican with 107 receiving yards against UNC. Defensively, Tulsa is led by second-team All-WAC linebacker Ashon Farley who led the team with 85 tackles in 1999.
The Head Coach
Keith Burns has already made a splash in the local media as the head man at Tulsa with his colorful remarks and bold predictions. Burns was hired to his first job as a head coach at any coaching level in December of 1999. Prior to his arrival in Tulsa, Burns was the defensive coordinator at Arkansas and helped lead the team to Citrus and Cotton Bowl victories. He spent five seasons at Southern Cal (1993-97), the first as the secondary coach and the last four as the defensive coordinator before leaving for Arkansas. Burns began his collegiate coaching career at Pacific as the defensive secondary coach (1985-88) before moving to Rice (1989-92) as the secondary and defensive pass coordinator.
A Familiar Name
Keith Burns is a familiar name to OSU fans, as a linebacker by the same name played for the Cowboys from 1992-93. Burns earned All-Big Eight honors in both seasons and was a seventh round pick by the Denver Broncos in 1994. He played for the Chicago Bears in 1999 season and was one of the final cuts this preseason.
The OSU-Tulsa Series
The Cowboys own a 36-27-5 advantage over the Golden Hurricane in 68 meetings dating back to the 1914 season. OSU has won six out of the last 10 meetings and five out of the last seven, including a 46-9 decision last year in Stillwater. Tulsa has fared well at home against Oklahoma State with a 22-13-2 ledger. TU has won seven of the last 10 meetings at Skelly Stadium dating back to the 1964 season. The Cowboys last win in Tulsa was a 16-10 decision in 1993. The two teams have met on a yearly basis since 1981, except for the 1997 season (scheduling conflict).
