Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Set To Face No. 22 Southern Mississippi
April 08, 2003 | Cowboy Football
The No. 22 Golden Eagles (1-1) are coming off a 21-0 win at then-No. 15 Alabama last Saturday night, but their schedule doesn't get much easier as they visit the Cowboys in the last of a season-opening three-game road trip.
Oklahoma State (2-0) has a 17-game winning streak at Lewis Field against non-conference opponents since losing 24-21 to TCU on Sept. 21, 1991.
The Cowboys have an average victory margin of 20.1 points during the streak, which will be tested by a ranked opponent for just the second time. Mississippi State was ranked 25th when it visited Stillwater on Sept. 19, 1998.
"We have known for a long time that the first three games were on the road," Southern Mississippi coach Jeff Bower said. "We know that we are going to be on the road seven times, I don't make a big deal of it with our football team. Our players know that we have to go on the road and we have to win on the road."
Oklahoma State has dominated its first two games, outscoring opponents 59-26 to open 2-0 for the third time in six seasons.
The Cowboys, who defeated Southwest Texas State 23-0 last Saturday, are averaging 402 yards of offense and are giving up only 288, including an average of 49 rushing yards.
"They have a blitzing, quick, fast defense," Bower said. "We are going to see a lot of different looks and a lot of movement and a number of blitzes so its quite a challenge for our football team.
"They are playing at home, they're excited. I am assuming that it will be a sellout up there. It will be an emotional game for them. We have to get ourselves ready to play real well this week."
