Oklahoma State University Athletics
No. 21 Cowboys Host Texas A&M Saturday
September 29, 2008 | Cowboy Football
Week Five
The Oklahoma State Cowboys, No. 21 in the Associated Press poll and No. 22 in the USA Today poll, and Texas A&M Aggies will open Big 12 play this weekend as they clash at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater. Kickoff is set for 6:05 p.m. There is no live television coverage, but OSU will distribute a highlight feed on Saturday night. More details on the feed will be announced as they become available during the week.
Quickly
Oklahoma State is 4-0 for the first time since 2004 and for the 13th time in school history after defeating Troy last week, 55-24. OSU has started a season 4-0 just seven times since 1976. The Aggies enter the game with a 2-2 record. Texas A&M is coming off a home win over Army (21-17). The Aggies also have a road win at New Mexico.
Sweet 18
Oklahoma State is one just 18 teams still undefeated after a month of the 2008 college football season. Five of those 18 teams reside in the Big 12 Conference, including four in the Big 12 South. Three unbeatens are in the state of Oklahoma. Four of the undefeated teams remain on Oklahoma State's schedule. By conference, the breakdown of the unbeatens includes five from the Big 12, four from the SEC, two from the Big East, Big 10, and Mountain West, and one from the MAC, Conference USA, and WAC.
Mini-Streak
Dating back to the Insight Bowl win over Indiana, Oklahoma State has won five straight games and six of its last seven. The winning streak is the longest for the Cowboys since they reeled off seven straight wins in 2003. While OSU's winning streak is still modest, it is tied for the nation's seventh longest active winning streak and it is the second longest winning streak in the Big 12, behind only Texas Tech's six straight wins.
Polling Places
The Oklahoma State Cowboys enter the Texas A&M game as a member of the Associated Press poll for the first time under Mike Gundy and for the first time overall since 2004.
Ranking Notes
In the Big 12 era, Oklahoma State is 9-11 when playing as a member of the AP top 25. That record breaks down to a 2-4 mark under Bob Simmons and a 7-7 record under Les Miles. The Cowboys are 2-2 against Texas A&M when the Cowboys are ranked. The wins came in 1988 (No. 18 OSU 52, Texas A&M 15) and in 2003 (No. 18 OSU 38, Texas A&M 10). The losses were in 1997 (No. 20 Texas A&M 28, No. 19 OSU 25 in two overtimes) and in 2004 (No. 23 Texas A&M 36, No. 16 OSU 20).
OSU And A&M
Oklahoma State and Texas A&M have played 23 times since the series began when both were members of the Southwest Conference. And even though the series dates back to 1913, there were only 11 meetings between the two schools prior to the formation of the Big 12 Conference in 1996. The Aggies hold a 17-6 series advantage, including four straight wins. In Big 12 play, the Aggies have won 10 of the 12 games between the schools. OSU has twice dropped overtime games to A&M as a conference foe. In Stillwater, Texas A&M holds a 6-3 series advantage with a current two-game winning streak.
Extra Points
Texas A&M has won two straight one-point games in the series against Oklahoma State. It was a 34-33 overtime win for the Aggies in 2006, the last time they visited Stillwater. Last season in College Station, A&M shook off a 17-0 halftime deficit to post a 24-23 win. Overall, seven of the 23 meetings between the schools have been decided by seven points or less.
Returning Numbers
Despite an annual game against the Aggies, very few of the Cowboys have accumulated much in the way of statistics against Texas A&M. While playing in parts of each of the last two games, Zac Robinson is 17-of-33 passing with 242 yards. He has four touchdown passes and is yet to throw an interception. On the ground, he has carried 15 times for 36 yards. Kendall Hunter came off the bench to run for 82 yards on just 10 carries in last year's game. Cowboy tight end Brandon Pettigrew has three receptions for 56 yards. Last year in College Station, Dez Bryant had one reception for seven yards as a true freshman. Over the last two games, safety/linebacker Andre Sexton has 25 tackles and a forced fumble. Linebacker Patrick Lavine has 18 tackles and 1.5 sacks in the last two games against the Aggies.
Aggies and Cowboys
As is the case with most of the Big 12 South schools, there are several connections between the football programs at Texas A&M and Oklahoma State.
• Aggie defensive line coach Buddy Wyatt held the same position at OSU in 1996. He was the defensive line coach at Alabama in 2006 when the Cowboys downed the Tide in the Independence Bowl.
• Aggie defensive coordinator Joe Kines was the interim head coach of that Alabama team that fell to the Cowboys, 34-31, in Shreveport in 2006.
• There will be four players from Lufkin, Texas, in Saturday's game, including OSU's Dez Bryant and the Aggies' Alton Dixon, E.J. Shankle and Javorskie Lane.
High School Reunion
Along with the the Lufkin connection, other high school/hometown alums reuniting on Saturday include:
• Houston Yates High School: OSU's Orie Lemon and Texas A&M's Leroy Chevalier.
• Tyler's John Tyler High School: OSU's Kendall Hunter and A&M's Adren Dorsey.
• Bryan: OSU's Artrell Woods and A&M's Evan Eike.
• DeSoto: OSU's T.J. Bell and A&M's Cyrus Gray, Tony Jerod, Von Miller and Garrick Williams.
• Houston Cypress Falls: OSU's Andre Sexton and A&M's Roger Holland and Derrick Stephens.
• Pearland: OSU's Quinton Moore and A&M's Cyril Obiozor and Brian Thomas.
• Tyler Lee: OSU's Brandon Pettigrew and A&M's Keondra Smith.
Big 12 Openers
Oklahoma State is 4-8 in Big 12 openers. Those numbers are eerily similar to the number of times the Cowboys have opened Big 12 play on the road. OSU has been on the road for its first Big 12 game nine times in the 12 years of the league's existence. OSU is 2-1 when opening Big 12 play at home. Oklahoma State has opened league play against Texas A&M just once before. That game came in College Station in 2001 and the Aggies won it by a score of 21-7. That was the first Big 12 game for former OSU head coach Les Miles. Overall, including the Southwest Conference, Big Eight Conference, Missouri Valley and Big 12, OSU is 35-53-2 in conference openers.
Scouting The Aggies
Texas A&M arrives in Stillwater with a 2-2 record following Saturday's 21-17 home win over Army. The Aggies are led by running back Michael Goodson, who has rushed for 220 yards and is averaging 4.2 yards per carry. For the third time this season, OSU is facing a team being directed by a first-year head coach. Mike Sherman is in his first year in College Station as the head man. Washington State and Houston were also playing under new coaches. A fourth first-year head coach will face the Cowboys when Baylor visits Stillwater for Homecoming.
High Fives
Oklahoma State is looking to start a season 5-0 for the first time under Mike Gundy, for the third time since 1997 and for the eighth time overall. OSU has never had a losing season after opening 5-0. In fact, OSU's worst season after opening with five straight wins was in 2004 with a squad that ended the year at 7-5 with a loss to Ohio State in the Alamo Bowl. That bowl game was the final game for Les Miles as the Oklahoma State head coach.
Oklahoma State Land Run
Prior to the 2006 football 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. And this year, Oklahoma State may have its eye on a bigger prize. OSU enters the Texas A&M game leading the nation in rushing with an average of 340.3 yards per game. Baylor, which is second to OSU on the Big 12 rushing charts, averages 116 yards per game less on the ground than the Cowboys. The Cowboys had a 99-yard, 11-play scoring drive against Troy that was entirely on the ground. Troy entered the OSU contest 11th nationally in total defense. The Cowboys have the top two rushers in the Big 12 in Kendall Hunter (154.5 ypg) and Keith Toston (92 yards per game).
Going Up
Oklahoma State enters the Texas A&M game ranked among the top 10 in the country in 12 different categories. OSU has the nation's top rushing attack (see previous note) and also leads the nation in punt returns (24 yards per effort) and fourth-down conversion percentage (5-of-5). The Cowboys have the country's third highest scoring team (51.8 points per game), and OSU ranks fourth in total offense (562.5), fourth in net punting (41.7) and fourth in passing efficiency (185.8). One year after finishing third in the nation in fewest sacks allowed (11 in 13 games), OSU is eighth in that category in 2008 with two sacks allowed through four games. OSU is 10th nationally in time of possession (more than 33:34 per game), third in first downs (more than 27 per game), eighth in third-down conversions (27 of 45), and ninth in red zone offense (23 scores on 24 chances),
Fun With Numbers
• After struggling with its new offense under first-year head coach Mike Gundy in 2005, Oklahoma State has sported one of the country's most lethal attacks over the past two-plus seasons. But even by Cowboy standards, the 2008 start has been a bit breathless...
• Oklahoma State had a 300-yard passer (Zac Robinson), a 200-yard runner (Kendall Hunter) and a 200-yard receiver (Dez Bryant) in the win over Houston. It marked just the fifth time in NCAA history that a 300/200/200 trifecta had been accomplished and it was a first for OSU.
• OSU's 699 yards of total offense against Houston marked the second highest total in Oklahoma State history, dating back to a 717-yard effort against Kansas in 1988. It is the second best total in the NCAA this season, ranking only behind Troy's 736-yard effort against Alcorn State. The Cowboys' 612 yards of total offense against Troy is seventh best at OSU meaning two of the top eight total offense performances in Oklahoma State history have come in the first month of the 2008 season.
• OSU has two of the top 18 total offense outputs in the country this season.
• OSU scored 56 points against Houston, 57 against Missouri State and 55 against Troy. It marks the first time the Cowboys have reached 50 points in three consecutive games since 1988 season and just the second time the feat has been accomplished in Oklahoma State history.
• In a span that overlapped the Missouri State and Houston games, Oklahoma State went 11 consecutive possessions without a turnover or punt. The result was 10 touchdowns and a kneel-down on the last play of the Houston game (at the Cougar 1-yard-line where OSU had a first and goal).
• Against Missouri State, the Cowboys had three rushers reach the 100-yard mark (Keith Toston, Beau Johnson and Kendall Hunter). It was just the second time in Cowboy history that a trio reached 100 yards. The first time came in 2007 against Texas Tech.
• OSU's 11 possessions against Troy resulted in nine scoring drives.
