Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys face final North Division Opponent
October 18, 2004 | Cowboy Football
Oklahoma State (5-1, 2-1) at
Missouri (4-2, 2-1)
Saturday, Oct. 23, 2004 • 2:30 p.m. [CDT]
Faurot Field [68,349] • Columbia, Mo.
Cowboys Travel to Missouri
Oklahoma State, 5-1 overall and 2-1 in Big 12 Conference play, will try to get back on the winning track Saturday afternoon when the Cowboys face Missouri in Columbia. It’s OSU’s first trip to Columbia since 2000 and the Cowboys will be trying to snap a two game losing streak to the Tigers on their home field. It will be homecoming at Missouri, and the Tigers will carry an overall record of 4-2 and a 2-1 Big 12 record into Saturday’s contest. Kickoff at Faurot Field in Columbia is set for 2:30 p.m. (CDT) in a game that will be regionally televised by ABC.
Going for a Northern Sweep
This week, the Cowboys will not only be trying to extend their season record to 6-1 and their league record to 3-1, but they will be trying to finish off a three game sweep of Big 12 North Division opponents. OSU has already defeated Iowa State (36-7) and Colorado (42-14). If the Cowboys can win Saturday in Columbia, it would mark the first time since the inception of the Big 12 Conference the Pokes have won all three non-divisional games. Last year, the Cowboys lost at Nebraska before defeating both Kansas State and Kansas. In 2002, the Cowboys lost at Kansas State, but posted victories over Kansas and Nebraska. Oklahoma State’s all-time record vs. teams from the North (since 1996) is 9-15 ahead of this week’s game at Missouri.
Cowboys on the Road
Oklahoma State will travel to Columbia early Friday afternoon via air charter. The Cowboys will stage a brief walk-through on Faurot Field at a time to be determined. Oklahoma State players are not available for interviews after Wednesday, but head coach Les Miles will be available in Columbia either just prior or just after the Cowboys’ walk-through. Oklahoma State will return to Stillwater immediately following Saturday afternoon’s game. Oklahoma State’s dressing room is closed to the media, both at home and away. Coach Miles will conduct a postgame press conference just outside the OSU dressing room approximately 10 minutes following the game. Requested OSU players will also be available outside the dressing room.
Road Friendly in 2004
When the Cowboys face Missouri Saturday afternoon on hostile soil, the Cowboys will be trying to capture their third-straight road win of the season and seventh since early in the 2003 season. The Cowboys were successful in their season opener this year at UCLA (31-20), and won two weeks ago at Boulder by a 42-14 margin. Since a 17-7 loss at Nebraska in the 2003 season opener, Oklahoma State is 5-1 on the road, with the lone setback last year at Oklahoma.
National Rankings: Loss Drops Cowboys to 21st
Oklahoma State suffered its first loss of the 2004 season Saturday night and dropped six spots in the latest USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll. The Cowboys fell from 15th to 21st in this week’s poll. It’s the same spot the Cowboys occupied prior to their 42-14 win at Colorado two weeks ago. Missouri, which was ranked 24th last week, fell out of the top 25 and would be 28th this week if the poll were extended. Oklahoma State is No. 22 in this week’s Associated Press poll.
OSU-Missouri, Briefly
Saturday’s game between Oklahoma State and Missouri will feature two teams very much in the hunt for their respective division titles and the Big 12 Conference championship. The Tigers suffered their first league loss at Texas last Saturday and will bring an overall mark of 4-2 and a Big 12 mark of 2-1 into this week’s game against the Cowboys. The Tigers are tied for the top spot in the North with Nebraska. Saturday will be the 47th meeting between OSU and Missouri on the gridiron, and the Tigers have a 27-19 overall series advantage. Missouri has won the last four meetings between the two schools, including a 24-10 win on Faurot Field in 2000, the last time Oklahoma State visited Columbia. There is much more on the OSU-Mizzou series elsewhere in this release.
Missouri Memories
While Saturday will be the Cowboys’ first appearance at Missouri since 2000, Oklahoma State does have some pleasant memories of past trips to Faurot Field:
1995 — In Bob Simmons first year as Oklahoma State’s head coach, the Cowboys went to Missouri with a 1-5 record but came away with a 30-26 win. That victory snapped a 20 game conference winless streak for Oklahoma State.
1985 — Tenth-ranked Oklahoma State dodged a Missouri bullet as the Cowboys scored three times over a span of 2:11 in the second quarter and survived a 21-19 scare from a 1-9 Missouri team. Thurman Thomas had 172 yards on 32 carries.
1964 — After six previous trips to Columbia and six losses, Oklahoma State won for the first time ever on Faurot Field by a 10-7 margin. The victory came one week after the Cowboys beat Iowa State and one week before they defeated Colorado.
OSU-Missouri, On the Air
Oklahoma State’s game at Missouri Saturday will be broadcast to a regional television audience by ABC. It will be Oklahoma State’s third ABC appearance of the season (UCLA, Colorado and Missouri). Brad Nessler, Bob Griese and Lynn Swann will describe the action. The game will also be broadcast live on the Cowboy Radio Network with Dave Hunziker, Tom Dirato and Robert Allen describing the action. The network broadcast begins one hour before kickoff. The Oklahoma State Radio Network is a property of Host Communications, Lexington, Ky. The game broadcast can be heard across the state of Oklahoma on more than 30 radio stations.
Another ABC Appearance
Okahoma State’s game at Missouri Saturday afternoon will mark the Cowboys’ third 2004 appearance on ABC and the schools’ seventh ABC slot over the past two seasons. The Cowboys went from 1986 through 1996 without appearing on the network, but has 12 appearances since 1997.
Homecoming Sellout Another Positive Note
Oklahoma State had its highest attendance of the home season Saturday night when nearly 48,000 packed Boone Pickens Stadium on homecoming. The capacity crowd raised Oklahoma State’s home attendance average even higher. Through four home games of 2004, the Cowboys have drawn 189,634 fans for an average of 47,408 per game. The Cowboys’ surge in attendance is also reflected in a record number of season tickets in 2004. This year, 38,674 season tickets have been sold. That number tops the previous high of 35,142 established a year ago. The third-highest number of season tickets sold was 35,115 in 1985.
Reviewing the Texas A&M Game
Oklahoma State’s bid for a sixth-straight win to open the 2004 season was not successful as Texas A&M handed the Cowboys a 36-20 loss at Boone Pickens Stadium. The opportunistic Aggies scored 14 first-quarter points and had a 20-0 lead before Oklahoma State even got on the scoreboard. A&M led 27-6 at the half before Oklahoma State outscored their visitors, 14-9, in the second half, but it wasn’t enough. Texas A&M quarterback Reggie McNeal passed for 288 yards and a pair of touchdowns and rushed for 98 more yards and two more touchdowns to spark the Aggies to their first win over Oklahoma State since 2001. OSU tailback Vernand Morency did continue his string of 100 yard rushing games with 111 yards on 28 carries. Morency scored a touchdown, a one yard run, early in the fourth quarter. Redshirt freshman quarterback Donovan Woods completed 15 of 28 passes, both season highs, for 202 yards, another season high, and one touchdown. D’Juan Woods was on the receiving end of five of Donovan’s passes for 92 yards. Tight end Billy Bajema had five catches for 55 yards and a touchdown. As a team, Oklahoma State had 182 rushing yards and 202 passing yards while allowing the Aggies 191 yards on the ground and 288 through the air.
Head Coach Les Miles
OSU’s game at Missouri Saturday afternoon will be the seventh of Les Miles fourth season as Oklahoma State’s head Football Coach. Miles and his Cowboys are 5-1 overall and 2-1 in Big 12 play, and he will carry a career record of 26-17 into the game against Missouri. Miles, OSU’s offensive coordinator from 1995-97, returned to Stillwater prior to the 2001 season and has clearly reordered the landscape of Cowboy Football. The former Michigan offensive lineman has the OSU program firmly planted on a nationally competitive foundation. He has guided the Cowboys to back-to-back bowl games, including the school’s first New Year’s Day bowl since the late 1940s. Under Miles, the Cowboys have won 21 of 37 games, and seven of those 16 losses came in his first season. Miles, the Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year in 2002, has built the Cowboys into winners without compromising integrity in the classroom. OSU had 100 percent graduation of its senior class a year ago, and an overall grade point average higher than the regular student-body average.
Cowboys Still High in Turnover Margin
Oklahoma State lost its first two fumbles of the 2004 season in a 36-20 loss to Texas A&M Saturday night, but the Cowboys continue to rank extremely high nationally in turnover margin. Through six games of the 2004 season, Oklahoma State has gained 11 fumbles and six interceptions while losing two fumbles and throwing just two interceptions. that’s a positive turnover margin of 2.17, ranking second only to Texas A&M, which has a positive margin of 2.33.
Thompson Has Double Digit Tackles, Tops Defense
Safety Jamie Thompson had the best statistical night of his Cowboy career with 12 tackles in the loss to Texas A&M Saturday. Thompson was credited wih 11 solo tackles and one assist. Through six games of the 2004 season, the Sparr, Fla., junior leads the Oklahoma State defense with 40 total tackles. Thompson’s defensive stats for the season includes 34 primary tackles, six assists, two tackles for minus 13 yards (both quarterback sacks), two pass deflections and an interception.
Duren Steady Again in 2004
Linebacker Paul Duren has been one of Oklahoma State’s most consistent defensive players of the past two and a half seasons. He has led Oklahoma State’s defense the past two seasons in total tackles. In Saturday night’s loss to Texas A&M, Duren had five primary tackles. Two weeks ago at Colorado, however, the Del City junior did something he was yet to do in an Oklahoma State uniform. He came up with a pair of interceptions, and returned one of those for a touchdown. Duren’s first-career interception came at the 8:51 mark of the third quarter on a 3rd-and-3 play from the OSU 10. Duren intercepted the ball on the five, thwarting a Colorado scoring threat. His second interception came with 2:07 remaining in the game on a fourth-down pass from the Colorado 15. Duren intercepted the ball on the 34 and returned it for a touchdown. For the game, Duren not only had the two interceptions, but also five tackles, including one for minus one yard. For the season, Duren is third on the OSU tackle chart with 32 total tackles. He has two tackles for minus four yards and a sack for minus three.
Offense Fourth on NCAA Rushing Chart
More than halfway through the 2004 season, Oklahoma State continues to rank among national leaders in rushing offense. Saturday night vs. Texas A&M, the Cowboys managed 182 net yards on 53 carries. It was the lowest yardage total of the season, but the Cowboys are still fourth in the country in rushing offense. For the season, Oklahoma State has rushed the football 336 times for 1,622 yards and 19 touchdowns. The Cowboys are averaging 231.7 yards per game and 4.8 yards per rush. O-State’s season high came in the season opener at UCLA, where the Cowboys amassed 426 yards on 67 carries. OSU has gone over the 200 yard mark in four of its first six games.
Yards Have Led to Points
Oklahoma State’s offense is not only producing yardage on the ground and through the air, the Cowboys are among the top scoring teams in the country. After six games, the Cowboys are second in the Big 12 and ninth nationally in scoring with an average of 37.7 points per game. The Cowboys had topped the 30 point mark in each game in 2004 until Saturday night’s 20 point performance against Texas A&M. Through six games, Oklahoma State has scored 30 touchdowns — 19 rushing, nine passing, one on an interception return and one on a punt return.
Check out the Passing Efficiency
While Oklahoma State’s total passing numbers are down somewhat from the past two seasons, its overall passing efficiency is up. Redshirt freshman quarterback Donovan Woods had a season high in completions, attempts and yards Saturday against Texas A&M. While Woods doesn’t have the minimun number of passes to be ranked in national passing efficiency, the Oklahoma State offense remains fourth in that category this week. Oklahoma State’s rating of 168 trails only California, Auburn and Toledo.
Morency Getting Heisman Mention
College football observers across the country are finding out what most Okahoma State followers have known for a while. Cowboy tailback Vernand Morency could well be the best running back in the college game, and should certainly be considered a candidate for college football’s most prestigious award. Morency was the subject of Sports Illustrated’s Inside College Football column last week, and got prime mention in at least two mid-season Heisman Trophy watch lists. Morency was fifth in USA Today’s Heisman list and eighth according to ESPN.com.
On the Field
Morency added another 100 yard rushing game to his resumé Saturday night against Texas A&M. In the 36-20 loss to the Aggies, Morency had 28 carries for 111 yards and a touchdown. His touchdown came from one yard out at the 14:57 mark of the fourth quarter. V-Mo has now rushed for 100 or more yards in all six games this season and in eight consecutive regular-season games dating back to the final two games of the 2003 regular season.
Twenty to 1,000
Morency will go into this week’s game at Missouri needing just 20 yards to reach the 1,000 yard mark for the season. At a school known for talented backs, Oklahoma State has had 14 previous 1,000 yard rushing seasons by nine different players. Tatum Bell, now of the Denver Broncos, just recorded back-to-back 1,000 yard seasons for Oklahoma State. Terry Miller had three 1,000 yard seasons, while Thurman Thomas had two, as did David Thompson.
Morency’s Last Nine
Over the last nine games (the final three in 2003 and the first five in 2004), OSU’s Vernand Morency has put up numbers that are more than impressive. Dating back to the Kansas game in 2003, Morency has 231 carries for 1,535 yards and 15 touchdowns. That’s a nine game average of 170 yards per game, and a 6.6 yards per carry average. In addition, Morency’s rushing success has translated into team success for the Cowboys. The Cowboys are 7-2 over those last nine games, including a 7-1 mark when Morency has rushed for 100 or more yards.
NCAA Numbers
Oklahoma State’s tailback went into last week’s game vs. Texas A&M leading the country in rushing and he will go to Columbia this week ranked second in that category. He has led the country in rushing two of the last four weeks and, if he can finish the season on top of the NCAA rushing chart, he will become OSU’s first national rushing champion since Gerald Hudson in 1990.
And, in All-Purpose Yards and Scoring
Morency is also high in Big 12 and NCAA all-purpose running statistics. Darren Sproles of Kansas State tops the Big 12 chart while DeAngelo Williams of Memphis tops the NCAA All-Purpose list. Morency is 10th on the list with an average of 163 yards per game. In scoring, Morency is second in the Big 12 lead and 17th nationally.
McLemore Starts, Makes Impact
Junior cornerback Daniel McLemore gained his first start of the season against Colorado two weeks ago, and the Duncanville, Texas, product came up big. With All-Big 12 and preseason All-American Darrent Williams temporarily sidelined, McLemore used the opportunity to show that the Cowboy secondary is deep and talented. All McLemore did in the Cowboys’ 42-14 rout of Colorado was total nine tackles. One of his tackles was a critical third-down stop.
Farden One of Big 12, NCAA’s Best
Oklahoma State punter Cole Farden was one of 36 college punters named to the watch list for the 2004 Ray Guy Award, given annually to the nation’s top punter. Farden was a second-team All-Big 12 selection a year ago and was a first-team preseason All-Big 12 honoree. Farden is one of just four punters from the Big 12 on the early list. He joins Texas Tech’s Alex Reyes, John Torp of Colorado and Baylor’s Daniel Sepulveda. In Two weeks ago at Colorado, Farden had season long 63 yard punt. Against the Buffs, he punted seven times for a 48.1 yard average and nailed four of the seven inside the Colorado 20 yard line. Farden’s six game numbers include 29 punts for 1,254 yards and an average of 43.2 yards per punt. His punting numbers are 17th in the country and third in the Big 12.
Equally Impressive on Kickoff Chores
Not only is Farden one of the best in the conference/country in punting, he is one of the most efficient in handling kickoff chores. Through six games, Farden has kicked off 41 times with 27 of those going for touchbacks. In OSU’s win over Colorado last week, Five of his six kickoffs went into or out of the endzone for touchbacks. Against Texas A&M on Saturday night, three of the four kickoffs were not returned.
Red Zone
Oklahoma State’s offense continues to show it is effective when operating in the red zone. Through six games and 28 possessions inside the opponent’s 20 yard line, the Cowboys have scored 26 times. Included among the red zone scoring are 22 touchdowns and four field goals. On the other side of the ball, Oklahoma State’s defense has allowed only 15 red zone penetrations with opposing offenses scoring on nine of those.
