Oklahoma State University Athletics
No. 9 Cowboys Host Iowa State Saturday
October 27, 2008 | Cowboy Football
Saturday, Nov. 1, 2008 :: 2:30 p.m.
Boone Pickens Stadium (60,000 capacity)
TV: ABC Sports (Ron Franklin, Ed Cunningham and Jack Arute)
Radio: Cowboy Radio Network (Dave Hunziker, John Holcomb and Robert Allen)
Internet: okstate.com
------------------------------------------------------------------
WEEK NINE
The Oklahoma State Cowboys (7-1 overall and 3-1 in Big 12 play) return to Boone Pickens Stadium Saturday afternoon as they host the Iowa State Cyclones (2-6/0-4) in a Big 12 battle. Kickoff is set for 2:37 p.m. The game will be televised on a regional basis as part of the ESPN on ABC television package.
OSU QUICKLY
The Cowboys are coming off of nail-biting 28-24 at No. 1 Texas in Austin. OSU was one of the country's nine unbeaten teams entering play last weekend. The setback ended the Cowboy's eight-game winning streak, which dated back to November of 2007. Despite the loss, the Cowboys enter the Iowa State tilt with their best record after eight games since 2003 when OSU was also 7-1. OSU has started a season 7-1 five times. Only once, in 1945, has OSU had a better record after eight games. In 1945, the Cowboys were 9-0 for the season. A victory over the Cylcones would improve OSU to 8-1 for just the third time. In 1984 OSU began the season 9-1, and in 1985 OSU was 8-1 after nine games. The 9-0 start will remain the best in OSU history.
Best Eight-Game Starts
Year Start Final Worth Noting
1945 8-0 9-0 Sugar Bowl Champs
2008 7-1 TBD 3-1 in Big 12 play
2003 7-1 9-4 Cotton Bowl Participant
1987 7-1 10-2 Sun Bowl Champs
1985 7-1 8-4 Gator Bowl Participant
1984 7-1 10-2 Gator Bowl Champs
1944 7-1 8-1 Cotton Bowl Champs
WOULD EIGHT BE ENOUGH?
If Oklahoma State records an eighth win this season:
• It would mark the first time OSU has reached eight wins since 2003 when OSU went 9-4 and made a Cotton Bowl appearance.
• It would mark just the fourth time in 20 years, dating back to the 1987 and 1988 teams, that OSU has won eight games in a season.
• It would mark just the 14th eight-win season in school history and just the 10th since 1945.
• If the Cowboys get their eighth win on Saturday, it would mark the first time that the football program would have reached eight wins by Nov. 1.
A NEVER-EVER NOTE
A win on Saturday over Iowa State would give Oklahoma State a 4-1 start in Big 12 play for the first time since the league was formed in time for the 1996 football season. It would also guarantee the Cowboys a .500 conference record in two straight seasons for the first time since OSU had three straight winning (or break-even) conference records in 2002, 2003 and 2004. OSU has never won more than five games in Big 12 play.
SPEAKING OF THE 1980s
Oklahoma State will officially celebrate those 1987 and 1988 teams during the Iowa State game. Reunions of the '87 Sun Bowl champs and the 1988 Holiday Bowl champions are planned for this weekend in Stillwater.
ABC AGAIN
For the second consecutive week, Oklahoma State will play in front of the ABC television cameras. Ron Franklin handles play-by-play with Ed Cunningham providing analysis and Jack Arute on the sidelines. OSU is hosting ESPN on ABC for the first time this season. The network was in town twice last season (Texas and Kansas). ABC featured the OSU-Texas game last week.
TOP TEN-DENCIES
Oklahoma State is ranked No. 9 in this week's Associated Press poll. The Cowboys are in the top 10 for a third consecutive week for the first time since the 1985 season when OSU spent three weeks in the top 10 late in the season and four weeks in the top 10 in September and October. OSU last played a November game as a member of the AP top 10 on Nov. 23, 1985. In that game, Iowa State upset the No. 7 Cowboys, 15-10, in Ames. 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 in the polls under fourth-year head coach Mike Gundy.
QUICK CLIMBERS
Oklahoma State did not enter the Associated Press poll until Sept. 28. Once the nation discovered the Cowboys, however, OSU's place in the national balloting became fluid. The Cowboys climbed from the “also receiving votes” category on Sept. 21 to No. 21 on Sept. 28, to No. 17 on Oct. 5, No. 8 on Oct. 12 and No. 7 on Oct. 19. The jump from 17th to eighth was the largest ever for the Cowboys in one week.
IN OTHER PRECINCTS
OSU dropped two spots to No. 10 in the USA Today coaches' poll and are No. 9 in both the BCS and the Harris polls.
HIGH-WAYS
Oklahoma State's 28-23 win over Missouri in Columbia was historical because 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. The wins against the '67 Buffaloes and 2008 Missouri Tigers represent the highest ranked teams to fall to the Cowboys in an OSU road game
COWBOYS AND CYCLONES
Oklahoma State and Iowa State renew their rivalry Saturday after the two-year conference rotation off of each other's schedule. OSU leads the series, 23-17-3. However, the Cowboys have lost three of their last four games against Iowa State. In 2005, Mike Gundy's first year as the Cowboy head coach, the Cyclones were 37-10 winners in Ames. That was the most recent meeting between the two teams. In the Big 12 era, the teams have split six games. In Stillwater, OSU holds a 13-6-2 advantage. OSU has a 7-2-1 home record in the series since 1982. OSU is 4-2 against Iowa State when playing as a member of the Associated Press top 25. The Cowboys and Cyclones first met on the football field in 1925.
SCOUTING THE CYCLONES
Iowa State is 2-6 overall and 0-4 in the Big 12 Conference. The Cyclones have lost six straight games, but that streak includes a two-point loss vs. Kansas and an overtime loss to UNLV. For the season, Iowa State is generating 350.9 yards of total offense per game to rank No. 74 nationally in that category. ISU scores 26.6 points per game and is allowing 31.6 points per contest.
LAST MEETING
Oklahoma State's football program is hardly recognizable when compared to the 2005 squad that lost 37-10 in Ames. However, a few familiar Cowboy faces participated in the setback. Freshman receiver Ricky Price, now OSU's starting safety, caught five passes covering 55 yards. Tight end Brandon Pettigrew had a 14-yard reception and Jeremy Broadway had an 11-yard catch. Jacob Lacey had two tackles and Quinton Moore had a stop. OSU turned the ball over five times in the setback.
THE NORTH AND SOUTH OF IT
Oklahoma State is 1-0 vs. the Big 12 North this season with the win at No. 3 Missouri. OSU has won five of its last six games against the North. The Cowboys have not gone 3-0 against the North since 2004 when OSU defeated Iowa State, Colorado and Missouri. On the flip side, OSU has had just one losing record against the North (2005) since the beginning of the 2002 season.
STREAKING IN STILLWATER
Oklahoma State enters the Iowa State game with a 5-0 record in Boone Pickens Stadium in 2008. The five wins are already the most home victories by Oklahoma State in a season since it went 6-1 in 2002. A win over Iowa State would give the Cowboys six home wins for just the fourth time in school history. OSU's current five-game home winning streak is the longest for the Cowboys since OSU won 10 straight home games from Sept. 21 2002 through Oct. 18, 2003.
SAFE AT HOME
OSU is 14-4 in its last 18 home games, dating back to 2005. All four of the losses have come to teams ranked in the top 25, including three losses to teams in the top 15 of the AP poll. Under Mike Gundy, OSU is 16-7 in home games with three of the losses coming in 2005 in his first season as head coach.
HOME NUMBERS
Oklahoma State's offense has been at its best in home games. In their last 17 home games, the Cowboys have scored at least 34 points 14 times. OSU has scored more than 40 points 11 times in their last 17 games and has cracked the 50-point mark six times. During that same 17-game run at home, OSU has reached 500 yards in total offense eight times.
THE TEXAS RECAP
Oklahoma State's near-miss at No. 1 Texas stamped the Cowboys as one of America's top teams. In front of 98,518 fans, the largest crowd ever to watch a game in the state of Texas, OSU went down to the wire with the team that currently sits atop every major poll. In the game, both the Cowboys and Longhorns averaged 6.5 yards per play. Other highlights of the trip to Austin...
• OSU rushed for 217 yards against a Texas team that was allowing just 48 rushing yards per game.
• OSU limited Texas to just 28 points, more than 20 points below the Longhorns' average.
• Texas managed just seven second-half points.
• Texas quarterback Colt McCoy tossed his first interception in a home game this season.
• OSU's 416 yards of total offense easily surpassed the 323 yards Texas had been allowing entering the game.
• The 28 points scored by the Longhorns were their fewest against the Cowboys since 2002 when Texas was a 17-15 winner in Austin.
• OSU has lost its last two games to Texas by a total of seven points.
UNDER THE OVER
Oklahoma State's defense continues to display its' new-found muscle – even in the loss at Texas. The Cowboys forced a pair of Texas turnovers (and had another interception wiped out by penalty) while allowing just 28 points. In fact, by holding Texas 20 points below its scoring average, the Oklahoma State defense continued what has become a season-long trend. OSU has held seven of its eight 2008 opponents below their season scoring average.
TOPPING THE DEFENSE CHART
Halfway through the Big 12 race finds Oklahoma State leading the league in scoring defense in conference games. OSU is allowing 21.2 points per Big 12 contest and has given up a conference-low 12 touchdowns to Big 12 foes. OSU also leads the Big 12 in pass efficiency defense (130.6 rating) and the Cowboys top the Big 12 charts with six interceptions in four conference games.
OKLAHOMA STATE LAND RUN
Prior to the 2006 season, Oklahoma State had never led its conference in rushing. Fast forward to 2008 as the Cowboys now try to lead the Big 12 in rushing for a third straight season. OSU enters the Iowa State game sixth nationally and tops in the Big 12 in rushing with an average of 274.88 yards per game.
SOPH FEET
Kendall Hunter's super sophomore season continued Saturday as the Tyler, Texas, running back sliced up the acclaimed Longhorn rushing defense for 161 yards on just 18 carries (that's 8.9 yards per attempt). In the process, Hunter climbed to No. 4 on America's rushing charts with an average of 139.5 yards per game. He is the Big 12 Conference's leading rusher. In fact, the Big 12's second leading rusher, Oklahoma's DeMarco Murray, averages just 78 yards per game.
KENDALL MEETS THURMAN
Saturday afternoon in Austin, Kendall Hunter became just the second Cowboy sophomore rusher to reach 1,000 yards in a season. The only other soph to accomplish the feat was Cowboy great and NFL Hall of Famer Thurman Thomas, who rushed for 1,553 yards in 1985. Hunter's 2008 season marks the 17th time a Cowboy has rushed for 1,000 yards.
FOURTH WITH AN *
Kendall Hunter enters the Iowa State game with 1,116 rushing yards. That total is fourth nationally. However, it is worth noting that Hunter's total has come on fewer carries. Among the nation's top four runners (the only four to break 1,000 yards to date), Hunter leads with 6.6 yards per attempt. Hunter averages nearly one full yard per carry more than the NCAA's leading rusher, Donald Brown of Connecticut.
HUNTER TIDBITS
Kendall Hunter has recorded 10 rushing touchdowns this season with eight of those scores coming from more than 20 yards out. To date, his 1,116 rushing yards rank No. 13 on OSU's single-season list. His 10 rushing TDs represent the 12th best single-season total in OSU history and are the most by a Cowboy since Julius Crosslin ran for 12 touchdowns in 2005. Hunter is currently No. 22 all-time at OSU with 1,812 rushing yards. He needs just three more touchdowns to reach No. 15 all-time at OSU in career rushing touchdowns.
A MOMENT WITH DEZ
Oklahoma State sophomore receiver Dez Bryant was a highly recruited prepster. He had a strong freshman season and put up impressive numbers when senior wideout Adarius Bowman was temporarily lost to injury. However, even those clippings could not properly set the stage for a sophomore season that could become one of the best in Oklahoma State history and one of the tops in the country in 2008.
• Bryant is currently third nationally with 110.4 receiving yards per game.
• He is third in the country with 11 touchdown receptions.
• Bryant is 15th in the country in scoring (9.75 points per game).
• He is fourth nationally in punt returns (20.6 per return) and is one of just three players in the country with two punt returns for scores this season.
• He is averaging 17.3 yards per reception.
• He is 18th nationally with 156.9 all-purpose yards per game.
• Bryant has two of the top nine receiving games in the country this season. His 236 yards against Houston ranks as the second best game in America this season and his 212-yard effort against Baylor is ninth.
• He was the Walter Camp national player of the week for his efforts against Houston (which also included a 71-yard punt return for a score.
• For the season he has earned one Big 12 offensive player of the week award and one Big 12 special teams player of the week honor.
• Bryant has played 20 career games and scored 19 career touchdowns.
• It's worth noting that Bryant did not have any offensive statistics against Missouri State when the Cowboys threw the ball just 10 times in rolling to the victory.
• Bryant has six 100-yard receiving games in his brief career.
• Bryant had a spectacular punt return for a score against Texas A&M. The 78-yarder was ESPN SportsCenter's top play of the day.
DEZ AND THE RECORD BOOK
Dez Bryant is already weaving his name into OSU's record book, in the midst of his sophomore season. He already joins All-American Rashaun Woods as the only other Cowboy with multiple 200-yard receiving games. Bryant has two while Woods had three. His 11 receptions against Baylor represent the sixth best total in OSU history. His 883 receiving yards this season already place him ninth on the single-season list with at least five games remaining, assuming a bowl appearance. His 51 receptions are No. 11 on OSU's single-season list. His 78 points rank him No. 16 on the single-season list. His 17 touchdown receptions are already the fifth best total in Oklahoma State history.
COUNTDOWN TO 1,000
Dez Bryant will enter the Iowa State game needing 117 receiving yards to reach 1,000 for the season. OSU has had a 1,000-yard receiver just six times with Rashaun Woods accounting for three of those campaigns and Adarius Bowman accomplished the feat twice. Hart Lee Dykes was the other Cowboy to reach 1,000 yards in a season.
BRANDON'S BACK
After being sidelined by injury for much of the early going, first-team all-Big 12 tight end Brandon Pettigrew returned to form in Austin. He led the Cowboys against the Longhorns with eight catches covering 83 yards. Pettigrew entered the Texas game with just 11 receptions on the season. His catches tied his career best, which was eight in 2007 against Texas. His 83 receiving yards against the ‘Horns are second only to the 87 he had against Texas in 2007. Pettigrew is No. 13 all-time at OSU with 1,192 receiving yards. He is also No. 13 with 89 career receptions.
AMERICA'S TOP 10
Oklahoma State enters the Iowa State game ranked among the top teams in the country in several major categories. Oklahoma State is:
• No. 2 nationally in punt returns with 22 yards per try
• No. 4 nationally in team passing efficiency (178.95)
• No. 4 nationally in net punting (41.0 yards)
• No. 6 in rushing offense (274.9 yards per game)
• No. 6 nationally in scoring (43.6 points per game)
• No. 8 nationally in total offense (490.8 ypg)
No. 11 nationally in kickoff returns (24.9 yards per return)
Z-ROB
Zac Robinson continues to be his efficient self. And while his numbers don't scream for headlines because of OSU's effective ground game, Robinson's statistics show he is one of the nation's most effective quarterbacks.
• Robinson is the NCAA's fith-rated active career passer (157.02 rating).
• His career average of 7.7 yards of offense per play per play ranks him fourth among all active NCAA players.
• Robinson's 2008 passing efficiency of 183.88 ranks him fourth in the country.
• He's No. 17 nationally in the “points responsible for” category with 15 per game.
• He is third all-time at OSU with 41 career touchdown passes.
• Robinson is now second all-time at OSU with 6,122 yards of total offense. He trails only head coach Mike Gundy, who had 7,749 yards of total offense from 1986 through 1989.
• Robinson has 4,856 career passing yards to rank third at OSU. He trails only Mike Gundy (7,997) and Josh Fields (6,090).
• The junior signal caller has 1,266 career rushing yards.
• In 2008, Robinson's 320 passing yards vs. Houston marked the 11th-best game in Cowboy history. He now owns the top passing day in OSU history, along with the 11th, 17th, 23rd and 24th best passing days by a Cowboy. He has passed for 300 yards three times, including a school record 430 yards vs. Texas last season.
