Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Travel To Troy For Nationally-Televised Game
September 10, 2007 | Cowboy Football
Friday Night Lights
The Oklahoma State Cowboys, 1-1 on the season following Saturday night's victory over Florida Atlantic, will have a short work week as they return to action Friday night at Troy against the Trojans from the Sun Belt Conference. The Trojans are 0-2 after a difficult start that has included road trips to Arkansas and Florida. Kickoff is set for 7:05 p.m. (Troy is in the central time zone). The Trojans are opening their home season by hosting the Cowboys.
TV Talk
OSU will make its second appearance on ESPN2 in three games as the cable network will be on hand with Sean McDonough (play-by-play), Chris Spielman (analyst) and Joe Schad (sidelines) calling the action. Next week's game against Texas Tech will reach a national cable audience on FSN, giving the Cowboys three nationally televised games in the first four weeks of the season.
Troy And OSU
The Cowboys and Troy have never met on the football field. The Trojans join Sam Houston State, OSU's Sept. 29 opponent, as first-time opponents on the 2007 Cowboy schedule. In fact, when factoring in Georgia and Florida Atlantic, OSU entered the season the 2007 season having played its four non-conference opponents a total of four times.
Troy Briefly
Troy University, located in Troy, Ala., joined the Division I football ranks in 1993. Before reaching the top level in football, Troy won a national championship at the NAIA level, and was a two-time national semifinalist in Division I-AA (now call the Championship Subdivision). The Trojans played in a bowl game in 2004 (Silicon Valley) and 2006 (New Orleans).
Schedule Strength
Troy's game with Oklahoma State continues its history of battling teams from power conferences. Since the opening of the 2005 season, the Trojans have faced Missouri, South Carolina, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Nebraska, Arkansas and Florida.
Another Bowl Foe
Troy is the second 2006 bowl champion on OSU's September schedule, having demolished Rice in last season's New Orleans Bowl (41-17). Troy is one of eight Cowboy opponents this season coming off of bowl appearances.
Dangerous Territory
The last time a Big 12 school visited Troy was Sept. 9, 2004 and the Trojans picked up a 24-14 victory over the No. 17 Missouri Tigers. Since that time, Troy has lost two straight to Big 12 teams (Missouri in 2005 and Nebraska in 2006) with both games coming on the road.
Non-Con Numbers
The win over Florida Atlantic improved Oklahoma State to 15-3 in its last 18 non-conference games with the losses coming at No. 13 Georgia, to No. 24 Ohio State in the Alamo Bowl (2004) and to No. 18 Ole Miss (Jan. 1, 2004 Cotton Bowl). Under Mike Gundy, the Cowboys are 8-2 in non-conference games.
Sun Belt Success
Troy is the second straight Sun Belt opponent for OSU. Oklahoma State has not lost a game to a member of the Sun Belt Conference (current membership) since a 1978 setback against North Texas. The Cowboys are 20-1 all-time against the league.
Batting .500
Oklahoma State improved to 1-1 on the season with the win over Florida Atlantic. The last two OSU squads to open a season 1-1 have eventually gone bowling. The Cowboys recovered from a season-opening loss at Louisiana Tech in 2002 to go 8-5 and win the Houston Bowl and in 2003 the Cowboys dropped their season opener at Nebraska, climbed to 1-1 and eventually faced Ole Miss in the Cotton Bowl.
FAU Recap
The Oklahoma State offense shook off a slow start to roll up 488 yards of total offense against the Owls and scored in every quarter as the Cowboys posted a 42-6 win. Zac Robinson passed for 250 yards and three touchdowns and Adarius Bowman hauled in six catches for 135 yards with two scores.
A Case For The Defense
OSU entered the season with a completely rebuilt defensive line. Through the first two games of the season, the defensive wall has more than held up and Tim Beckman's first Oklahoma State defense overall has acquitted itself well. Consider the following:
:: The Cowboys have allowed a total of 41 points through two games with 17 of those points coming on 44 yards of total offense by the opponent.
:: The Cowboys are allowing just 2.1 yards per rush on 81 attempts. OSU will enter the Troy game No. 36 nationally in rushing defense, allowing 85 yards per game.
:: OSU is No. 32 in the country and fourth in the Big 12 in total defense, allowing 289 yards per game.
:: Florida Atlantic managed just 28 rushing yards against the Cowboys. That defensive performance ranks No. 23 all-time by an OSU defense against a rushing attack.
:: Of the Owls' final nine drives, only one netted more than 20 yards.
:: Oklahoma State picked off two passes against the Owls. OSU had just two games last season (FAU and Baylor) with multiple interceptions.
The Age Factor
One statistic about the Cowboy defense that's easy to forget is the age factor. Heading into the third week of the season, three of the Cowboys' top four tacklers are sophomores. Soph linebacker Patrick Lavine leads OSU and is No. 20 in the Big 12 with 14 tackles. Another sophomore linebacker, Chris Collins, has 13 stops and is No. 25 in the league. Safety Andre Sexton is fourth on the squad with 11 tackles. He returned an interception for a touchdown against Florida Atlantic.
Sophomore Jinx?
Those three sophomore defenders, Patrick Lavine, Chris Collins and Andre Sexton, are coming off strong freshman seasons. Lavine and Collins were Rivals.com Freshman All-Americans. Sexton was a Football Writers Association of America Freshman All-American and the Big 12 Conference defensive freshman of the year in 2006.
The Oklahoma State Cowboys, 1-1 on the season following Saturday night's victory over Florida Atlantic, will have a short work week as they return to action Friday night at Troy against the Trojans from the Sun Belt Conference. The Trojans are 0-2 after a difficult start that has included road trips to Arkansas and Florida. Kickoff is set for 7:05 p.m. (Troy is in the central time zone). The Trojans are opening their home season by hosting the Cowboys.
TV Talk
OSU will make its second appearance on ESPN2 in three games as the cable network will be on hand with Sean McDonough (play-by-play), Chris Spielman (analyst) and Joe Schad (sidelines) calling the action. Next week's game against Texas Tech will reach a national cable audience on FSN, giving the Cowboys three nationally televised games in the first four weeks of the season.
Troy And OSU
The Cowboys and Troy have never met on the football field. The Trojans join Sam Houston State, OSU's Sept. 29 opponent, as first-time opponents on the 2007 Cowboy schedule. In fact, when factoring in Georgia and Florida Atlantic, OSU entered the season the 2007 season having played its four non-conference opponents a total of four times.
Troy Briefly
Troy University, located in Troy, Ala., joined the Division I football ranks in 1993. Before reaching the top level in football, Troy won a national championship at the NAIA level, and was a two-time national semifinalist in Division I-AA (now call the Championship Subdivision). The Trojans played in a bowl game in 2004 (Silicon Valley) and 2006 (New Orleans).
Schedule Strength
Troy's game with Oklahoma State continues its history of battling teams from power conferences. Since the opening of the 2005 season, the Trojans have faced Missouri, South Carolina, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Nebraska, Arkansas and Florida.
Another Bowl Foe
Troy is the second 2006 bowl champion on OSU's September schedule, having demolished Rice in last season's New Orleans Bowl (41-17). Troy is one of eight Cowboy opponents this season coming off of bowl appearances.
Dangerous Territory
The last time a Big 12 school visited Troy was Sept. 9, 2004 and the Trojans picked up a 24-14 victory over the No. 17 Missouri Tigers. Since that time, Troy has lost two straight to Big 12 teams (Missouri in 2005 and Nebraska in 2006) with both games coming on the road.
Non-Con Numbers
The win over Florida Atlantic improved Oklahoma State to 15-3 in its last 18 non-conference games with the losses coming at No. 13 Georgia, to No. 24 Ohio State in the Alamo Bowl (2004) and to No. 18 Ole Miss (Jan. 1, 2004 Cotton Bowl). Under Mike Gundy, the Cowboys are 8-2 in non-conference games.
Sun Belt Success
Troy is the second straight Sun Belt opponent for OSU. Oklahoma State has not lost a game to a member of the Sun Belt Conference (current membership) since a 1978 setback against North Texas. The Cowboys are 20-1 all-time against the league.
Batting .500
Oklahoma State improved to 1-1 on the season with the win over Florida Atlantic. The last two OSU squads to open a season 1-1 have eventually gone bowling. The Cowboys recovered from a season-opening loss at Louisiana Tech in 2002 to go 8-5 and win the Houston Bowl and in 2003 the Cowboys dropped their season opener at Nebraska, climbed to 1-1 and eventually faced Ole Miss in the Cotton Bowl.
FAU Recap
The Oklahoma State offense shook off a slow start to roll up 488 yards of total offense against the Owls and scored in every quarter as the Cowboys posted a 42-6 win. Zac Robinson passed for 250 yards and three touchdowns and Adarius Bowman hauled in six catches for 135 yards with two scores.
A Case For The Defense
OSU entered the season with a completely rebuilt defensive line. Through the first two games of the season, the defensive wall has more than held up and Tim Beckman's first Oklahoma State defense overall has acquitted itself well. Consider the following:
:: The Cowboys have allowed a total of 41 points through two games with 17 of those points coming on 44 yards of total offense by the opponent.
:: The Cowboys are allowing just 2.1 yards per rush on 81 attempts. OSU will enter the Troy game No. 36 nationally in rushing defense, allowing 85 yards per game.
:: OSU is No. 32 in the country and fourth in the Big 12 in total defense, allowing 289 yards per game.
:: Florida Atlantic managed just 28 rushing yards against the Cowboys. That defensive performance ranks No. 23 all-time by an OSU defense against a rushing attack.
:: Of the Owls' final nine drives, only one netted more than 20 yards.
:: Oklahoma State picked off two passes against the Owls. OSU had just two games last season (FAU and Baylor) with multiple interceptions.
The Age Factor
One statistic about the Cowboy defense that's easy to forget is the age factor. Heading into the third week of the season, three of the Cowboys' top four tacklers are sophomores. Soph linebacker Patrick Lavine leads OSU and is No. 20 in the Big 12 with 14 tackles. Another sophomore linebacker, Chris Collins, has 13 stops and is No. 25 in the league. Safety Andre Sexton is fourth on the squad with 11 tackles. He returned an interception for a touchdown against Florida Atlantic.
Sophomore Jinx?
Those three sophomore defenders, Patrick Lavine, Chris Collins and Andre Sexton, are coming off strong freshman seasons. Lavine and Collins were Rivals.com Freshman All-Americans. Sexton was a Football Writers Association of America Freshman All-American and the Big 12 Conference defensive freshman of the year in 2006.
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