Oklahoma State University Athletics
Homecoming In Stillwater As No. 8 Cowboys Host Baylor
October 18, 2008 | Cowboy Football
No. 8/10 Oklahoma State vs. Baylor
Saturday, Oct. 18, 2008 :: 2:00 p.m.
Boone Pickens Stadium (60,000 capacity)
TV: None
Radio: Cowboy Radio Network (Dave Hunziker, John Holcomb, Robert Allen)
Internet: okstate.com
Week Seven
The Oklahoma State Cowboys return to Boone Pickens Stadium Saturday afternoon as they host the Baylor Bears in a Big 12 battle. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. as OSU celebrates its 2008 Homecoming. The Cowboys enter the game with a perfect 6-0 record, including a 2-0 mark in Big 12 play. Oklahoma State is coming off a 28-23 win at No. 3 Missouri. Baylor is 3-3 overall with a 1-1 Big 12 mark. The Bears are coming off a 38-10 win over Iowa State. There is no live television coverage of the game, but OSU will provide a highlight feed that will be available Saturday night. Information on the satellite transmission will be announced as it becomes available.
Polling Places
Following the victory at Missouri, Oklahoma State climbed to No. 8 in the Associated Press poll. It is Oklahoma State's first appearance in the AP top 10 since 1988 when Barry Sanders and the Cowboys were No. 10 following a 4-0 start. It is OSU's highest ranking by the AP since Nov. 23, 1985, when the Cowboys were No. 7 heading into a road game at Iowa State. OSU is 9-7 when playing as a member of the AP top 10. The highest the Cowboys have ever climbed in the AP is No. 3 back in 1984. When the Cowboys entered the national polls on Sept. 28 following the 55-24 win over Troy, it marked their first national ranking since 2004 and their first appearance ever in the polls under fourth-year head coach Mike Gundy.
In Other Precincts
The Cowboys are No. 10 in the latest Harris Interactive Poll. Oklahoma State is also No. 10 in the USA Today coaches poll.
Big 12 Polling
Oklahoma State becomes the fourth member of the Big 12 South and the fifth member of the conference to reach the Associated Press top 10 this season. OSU, Oklahoma, Missouri, Texas and Texas Tech have all been in the top 10 at some point during 2008. Kansas climbed as high as No. 11 in the coaches poll earlier this season. Four of the top eight teams in this week's Associated Press poll are from the Big 12 South.
Quickly
Oklahoma State is 6-0 for the first time since 1997 and for just the second time in school history with the undefeated team of 1945 the only other OSU squad to start 6-0. The Cowboys are riding a seven-game winning streak and are 2-0 in the Big 12 for first time since 2004 when OSU, under Les Miles, opened conference play with wins over Iowa State and Colorado.
Winning Ways
Oklahoma State, with its 6-0 start, has reached its regular-season win total for each of the past two seasons when OSU was 6-6 prior to posting bowl wins. A seventh win in the regular season would be a first under Mike Gundy.
High-Ways
Oklahoma State's 28-23 win over Missouri in Columbia was historical for Oklahoma State. It marked OSU's first win over a team rated as high as third in the Associated Press poll since 2002 when the Cowboys knocked off No. 3 Oklahoma, 38-28, in Stillwater. It marked Oklahoma State's first road win over a team ranked as high as third in the AP since 1967 when the Cowboys knocked off No. 3 Colorado, 10-7, in Boulder.
This Just In...
Homecoming is a big, big deal at Oklahoma State. The Oklahoma State-Baylor football game will complete a week of festivities that annually surround Homecoming week. Billed as “America's Greatest Homecoming Celebration”, some of the week's events include the Harvest Carnival and Chili Cook Off, Orange Ambiance (in which thousands of orange lights illuminate the OSU campus), Wednesday night's street painting, and the famous “Walkaround” on Friday night in which city streets are turned into sidewalks as thousands of OSU students and alumni enjoy the Homecoming decorations, Also on Friday night is “Homecoming And Hoops” from Gallagher-Iba Arena and on Saturday morning the football game is preceded by the annual “Sea of Orange” parade. Visit www.okstate.edu for more Homecoming information.
Homecoming Heroes
Oklahoma State is 44-37-7 (.559) in Homecoming games. Last season the Cowboys broke a three-game Homecoming losing streak with a 41-39 win over No. 25 Kansas State. OSU is 3-3 in its last six Homecoming games and 25-12-2 on Homecoming since 1969. Baylor has served as OSU's Homecoming opponent just once. That game came back in 1972 with the Cowboys claiming a 20-7 victory.
The Series
Oklahoma State leads the football series with Baylor, 14-12. The Cowboys have won 11 of the 12 games between the two schools since the formation of the Big 12 Conference. The lone Cowboy loss came in 2005 in Waco. The series dates back to 1914. After Oklahoma A&M claimed the first game by a 60-0 count, the Bears reeled off nine straight wins in the series (all prior to 1942). Baylor's last victory in Stillwater came in 1939.
Cowboys And Bears Lately
Since losing 44-34 in Waco in 2005, OSU is 2-0 against Baylor and has outscored the Bears in the process, 110-38. On Baylor's last visit to Stillwater, the Cowboys were 66-24 winners. That game marked OSU's highest point total since Oklahoma State scored 70 against Southern Illinois in 1973. It is also the most points OSU has ever scored against a conference opponent. Oklahoma State hasn't scored less than 34 points against the Bears since 1998.
Waco Connection
Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy, offensive line coach Joe Wickline and co-offensive coordinator Trooper Taylor all have ties to Baylor. Gundy was in Waco just one season (1996) before heading to Maryland. Wickline was in Waco in 1997 and 1998. Taylor is a Baylor graduate and lettered as a defensive back for the Bears in 1988-91. At the time of his graduation, he held the Baylor record with 1,063 kickoff return yards. His wife, Evi, was a track athlete at Baylor and they were married on the playing field of Floyd Casey Stadium. Taylor also coached at Baylor from 1992 through 1997 before heading to New Mexico. OSU defensive back Perrish Cox is a product of a Waco's University High School and true freshman Victor Johnson hails from Waco High School.
Last Year In Waco
In the game that stamped Oklahoma State as a bowl-eligible team in 2007, the Cowboys defeated Baylor in Waco, 45-14. Zac Robinson rushed for 144 yards and passed for 202 yards. It was against the Bears that Robinson eclipsed the school's single-season total offense record. Oklahoma State had 545 yards of total offense, two 100-yard rushers as Dantrell Savage added 109 yards to Robinson's total in the game. Savage eclipsed 1,000 yards for the 2007 season against the Bears. Kendall Hunter rushed for 77 yards in Waco and Dez Bryant had two catches for 12 yards.
Scouting The Bears
Baylor, under the direction of first-year head coach Art Briles, will enter the OSU game with a 3-3 record. Baylor is 1-1 in the Big 12. Baylor is No. 18 nationally in rushing with 206.2 yards per game. That number is second in the Big 12 only to OSU. Baylor is No. 38 nationally in total offense and No. 58 in total defense, allowing 351.2 yards per game. Baylor's Joe Pawelek is fourth nationally with 11.3 tackles per game. That average leads the Big 12 Conference.
Home-Field Advantage
Oklahoma State has won its last four home games (4-0 in 2008) and is 10-3 in its last 13 games in Stillwater. The Cowboys are 13-4 in their last 17 at home and since the beginning of the 2002 season, OSU is 31-11 at home. OSU has scored at least 55 points in its 2008 home games. Twelve times since 2006 the Cowboys have scored at least 39 points at Boone Pickens Stadium.
Winning Ways
Oklahoma State is 6-0 in 2008. The Cowboys have won eight of their last nine games, and 12 of their last 16 contests. Since the beginning of the 2006 season, Oklahoma State is 20-12. OSU has won five of its last six games away from Stillwater, including the Insight Bowl win in Tempe.
Defending The Zou
Oklahoma State's defensive superlatives at Missouri are easy to document when comparing the eye-popping numbers the Tigers had accumulated prior to the OSU game with those they posted Saturday night.
• Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel was picked off three times by the Cowboys after entering the game with just one interception for the season. In fact, Missouri had turned the ball over just five times in 2008 entering the Cowboy contest.
• Missouri's first-team offense had not gone three-and-out on any possession in 2008. OSU forced the Tigers into a pair of three-plays-and-a-punt possessions.
• The Cowboys became the first opponent in 2008 to hold Missouri without a touchdown on the Tigers' game-opening drive.
• Missouri running back Derrick Washington entered the game averaging 100 yards per contest and 7.5 yards per carry. OSU limited him to 11 yards on eight carries while the Tigers were held to just 64 rushing yards (3.6 yards per attempt).
Turnover Turnaround
The Cowboy defense has grown into a serious turnover threat in 2008. The Cowboys began the season by forcing just three turnovers through the first three games. Over the last three games, however, Oklahoma State has forced 11 turnovers. Through the first three games, OSU had just one interception. It was recorded by linebacker Justin Gent at Washington State. Over the last three games, the Cowboys have picked off seven passes. For the season, OSU's eight interceptions have been recorded by seven different players.
