Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys face Longhorns in South Division Tilt
November 01, 2004 | Cowboy Football
Oklahoma State (6-2, 3-2) at
Texas (7-1, 4-1)
Saturday, Nov. 6, 2004 • 6 p.m. [CST]
Texas Memorial Stadium [80,082] • Austin, Texas
Cowboys Face Longhorns in Big 12 Road Test
Oklahoma State goes back on the road this week as the Cowboys face Texas at Austin in a crucial Big 12 South battle. The Cowboys will try to get back on the winning track after a 38-35 setback to No. 2 Oklahoma in Stillwater last week. Texas posted a third-straight win by defeating Colorado at Boulder on Saturday, and the Longhorns will be playing at home after two straight weeks on the road. Kickoff at Texas Memorial Stadium is set for just after 6 p.m. in a game that will be televised to a national cable viewing audience by TBS.
Let the Rush Begin
When Oklahoma State and Texas square off Saturday night in Austin, the game will feature two of the best rushing offenses in the country. Oklahoma State will go into the game averaging 254 yards on the ground through eight games. The Cowboys are sixth in the country in rushing offense. Texas has an eight game average of 304.8 yards per game, ranking the Longhorns second in the country in rushing offense.
Records and Streaks
Oklahoma State travels to Austin this week with an overall record of 6-2 and a Big 12 Conference mark of 3-2. The Cowboys will be trying to win in Austin for just the second time ever and for the first time since 1944. Texas comes home with an overall record of 7-1 and a Big 12 mark of 4-1. After a 12-0 loss to Oklahoma in early October, the Longhorns have resonded with three straight wins (Missouri, Texas Tech and Colorado).
A Lot at Stake
Make no mistake, there is a lot to play for when Oklahoma State goes to Austin this weekend. Already bowl eligible at 6-2, a win would continue to push the Pokes up the bowl ladder. A win in Austin would also give the Cowboys a third-straight season with seven or more victories. The Big 12 Conference has contractual ties with eight postseason bowls, and there are currently four league teams that are bowl eligible.
Cowboys Looking for Another Road Win
Life on the road can be treacherous in college football, but Oklahoma State has enjoyed its share of successes away from Boone Pickens Stadium. When the Cowboys face Texas in Austin Saturday, they will be looking for a fourth-straight road victory in 2004, and a victory that would be their seventh in the last eight road outings. Over the past two seasons, Oklahoma State is currently 6-2 away from home.
Cowboys-Longhorns, Briefly
Oklahoma State and Texas will be meeting for the 19th time in a series that was first played in 1916. The Longhorns have a commanding lead in the overall series at 16-2, and Texas is 11-1 in games played between the two teams in Austin. Two of Oklahoma State’s last three trips to Texas Memorial Stadium have resulted in narrow Texas victories. In 2002, Texas escaped with a 17-15 win, and in 1998, the Longhorns prevailed by a 37-34 margin. There is much more on the OSU-Texas series later in this release.
National Rankings: Cowboys Move Up, Again
Oklahoma State’s three point loss to the second-ranked team in the country was impressive enough to result in a move up in this week’s USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll. The Cowboys are 19th this week, up from No. 20 in last week’s poll. OSU has 352 points in this week’s poll. Texas is ranked seventh in this week’s poll, up from No. 9 a week ago. Oklahoma State has now been among the ranked for seven straight weeks. In this week’s Associated Press Top 25, Oklahoma State is also 19th.
OSU-Texas, On the Air
Okahoma State’s game at Texas will be broadcast by TBS to a national cable audience. Former Oklahoma City sportscaster Ron Thulin, Charles Davis and Craig Sager will describe the action. It will be Oklahoma State’s first appearance on TBS since it entered into a contractual relationship with the Big 12 Conference. OSU did appear on TBS in the 1985 season opener at Washington when Lindsey Nelson and Paul Hornung described a Cowboy win over the Huskies. 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.
Bedlam Sellout Increases Attendance Average
Saturday’s game between Oklahoma State and Oklahoma drew a Boone Pickens Stadium capacity crowd of 48,837. Through five home games of 2004, the Cowboys have drawn 237,571 fans for an average of 47,514 per game. The Cowboys’ surge in attendance is also reflected in a record number of 38,674 season tickets in 2004.
Reviewing the Oklahoma Game
Oklahoma State was inches, literally, from its sixth victory over Oklahoma in the past 10 seasons, but the Sooners held on for a 38-35 victory. A late fourth-quarter pass from Donovan Woods to Prentiss Elliott was inches out of the true freshman’s grasp, and a field goal attempt with 11 seconds to play was inches to the left, leaving 48,837 Boone Pickens Stadium patrons gasping for air after one of the more electrifying Bedlam games in the history of the series. Oklahoma scored first Saturday, but the Cowboys answered with back-to-back touchdowns to take a 14-7 lead with less than seven minutes to play in the second quarter. Oklahoma scored 21 unanswered points, and the Sooners looked to have the game in hand, but the Cowboys would not fold. A 39 yard pass from Woods to Elliott narrowed the lead to 28-21 at the 8:45 mark of the third quarter. After an Oklahoma touchdown to make it 35-21, Vernand Morency scored from two yards out at the 2:52 mark to make it 35-28. Morency would score Oklahoma State’s final touchdown from four yards at the 10:34 mark of the fourth quarter to bring the Cowboys within three, 38-35, setting up Oklahoma State’s final drive that fell just wide left.
Texas Last Week
Texas used a 141 yard performance from Cedric Benson to outmuscle Colorado, 31-7, at Boulder on Saturday afternoon. The Longhorns scored four touchdowns, all on the ground, to erase a 7-0 Colorado lead and race to their seventh victory in eight tries in 2004. Benson carried the ball 32 times for 141 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Quarterback Vince Young had 15 carries for 69 yards and the other two Texas touchdowns. Kicker Dusty Mangum provided the other UT points with a 33 yard field goal late in the third quarter. For the day, Texas had 326 rushing yards and 71 through the air. The Texas defense allowed Colorado just three net rushing yards and 218 passing yards.
