Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Travel To Houston For Battle Of Unbeatens
October 01, 2006 | Cowboy Football
Oklahoma State at
Houston
Robertson Stadium • Houston, Texas
Saturday, September 23, 2006 • 8 p.m.
Television — CSTV
Carter Blackburn (play-by-play)
Brian Jones (analyst)
Jon Norton (producer)
Radio — Cowboy Radio Network
Dave Hunziker (play-by-play)
John Holcomb (analyst)
Robert Allen (sidelines)
Joe Riddle (engineer)
Satellite — Sirius Radio Channel 118
Internet — okstate.com
Storylines
The Oklahoma State Cowboys will try to improve to 4-0 for the second time in three seasons and for the third time in 10 years when they head to Texas for a Saturday night battle against the unbeaten University of Houston Cougars.
The trip to Houston marks the first of three straight road games for Oklahoma State. Throw in an open date and the Cowboys will not spend a Saturday at Boone Pickens Stadium from Sept. 16 until they host Texas A&M on Oct. 21st in the 2006 Homecoming game.
While the Cowboys are regular visitors to Texas, Saturday's game marks the first for Oklahoma State in Houston since the 2002 Houston Bowl. That trip resulted in a 33-23 Cowboy victory over Southern Mississippi.
Saturday's game also marks a return home for 22 Cowboys who hail from the Houston area.
And finally, the Houston game marks an anniversary of sorts for one Cowboy. On Sept. 20, 1986 (20 years and three days from game night), true freshman quarterback Mike Gundy was summoned off the Cowboy bench and inserted into the lineup for the first time in an OSU loss to Houston. Gundy made his first career start the following week against Illinois State.
Week Four
The Oklahoma State Cowboys will be looking for their first 4-0 start under head coach Mike Gundy Saturday night at Robertson Stadium. The Cowboys will also be looking for their fifth win in the last six games of the Houston series and their third straight road win in the series against the Cougars.
Four-Word
Opening a season with four straight victories usually bodes well for the Cowboys. Dating back to 1912, OSU has recorded at least four straight wins to open a season 12 times. Nine of those squads advanced to a bowl game and each team concluded the season with a winning record.
The Cougars Quickly
The resurgent Houston Cougars are 3-0 entering the OSU contest. They are seeking their third bowl invitation in four years under head coach Art Briles. Prior to his arrival, Houston had suffered through four straight losing seasons and played in one bowl game from 1989 through 2002. Houston is off to a 3-0 start for the first time since 1990.
Sentimental Journey
The Cowboys and Cougars have not played since the 1986 and 1987 seasons. As mentioned earlier, Mike Gundy saw his first collegiate action when the true freshman quarterback was summoned off the bench by head coach Pat Jones in a 28-12 loss to Houston. In his first game, (Sept. 20, 2006), the Midwest City product was 12-of-22 passing for 163 yards with a 28-yard touchdown to Bobby Riley. Also in that game, Thurman Thomas ran for 86 yards and his backup, freshman Barry Sanders, ran for 48 yards. OSU won the rematch a year later in the Astrodome, 35-0, in the last meeting between the schools. In that win, Gundy was 14-of-27 passing for 162 yards and a one-yard TD run. Thomas ran for 111 yards, and Sanders had a 68-yard punt return for a score.
