Game Notes - Cowboys, Sooners Clash With Much At Stake - Oklahoma State University Athletics

Saturday, November 28

Stillwater, OK

7 p.m.

Oklahoma State University

Oklahoma

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Photo by: OSU Athletics

Game Notes - Cowboys, Sooners Clash With Much At Stake

November 23, 2015 | Cowboy Football

Complete Release in PDF Format

Up Next For Cowboy Football
Oklahoma
7 p.m. CT | Nov. 28, 2015 | Boone Pickens Stadium (60,218 cap.)

TV: ABC (Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Heather Cox and Tom Rinaldi)
In Stillwater - Suddenlink 5/HD 105, DirecTV 5, Dish 5, U-verse 8
In OKC - Cox 8/HD 705, DirecTV 5, Dish 5, U-verse 5/HD 1005
In Tulsa - Cox 1008/HD 708, DirecTV 8, Dish 8, U-verse 1008
Radio: Cowboy Radio Network (Dave Hunziker, John Holcomb & Robert Allen)
National Radio: Compass Media (Drew Bontadelli and Tony Hill)
Satellite Radio: Sirius channel 84, XM channel 84
Internet Radio: http://okla.st/osutunein
Live Stats: okstate.com
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The Basics

The Oklahoma State football team (10-1 overall; 7-1 Big 12) returns home to face Oklahoma (10-1 overall; 7-1 Big 12) at 7 p.m. Saturday in Boone Pickens Stadium.

On the Air

The game will be televised by ABC Sports with Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Heather Cox and Tom Rinaldi on the call. The contest will also be carried live on the Cowboy Radio Network, with Dave Hunziker handling play-by-play, John Holcomb providing analysis and Robert Allen reporting from the sideline. Fans can listen to the game online at http://okla.st/osutunein. Compass Media Networks will also be on hand to broadcast the game to a national radio audience, with Drew Bontadelli and Tony Hill on the call.

ESPN's College GameDay on Hand

ESPN's College Gameday program originates from Oklahoma State this week, marking the fifth time that the Cowboys have hosted the wildly popular national pre-game show. Saturday marks the third time in the last five Bedlam Series games played in Stillwater that College Gameday has been on hand.
OSU previously hosted College Gameday for the 2004, 2008 and 2010 installations of Bedlam, plus the 2013 matchup against Baylor. In addition to hosting Gameday those four times, the Cowboys also played in the featured College Gameday game in 2003 (Bedlam in Norman) and 2014 (vs. Florida State).

In the Polls

Unranked to start the season, Oklahoma State is No. 9 in this week's Associated Press poll and is No. 10 in this week's Amway coaches poll. Oklahoma is No. 5 in both polls. Saturday's game marks the second matchup of A.P. top-10 teams played in Boone Pickens Stadium since 1985, the first of which came last week when the Pokes hosted Baylor.
The Cowboys have achieved a top 15 national ranking by the AP in seven of the last eight seasons and a top 10 A.P. ranking in six of the last eight seasons. Since 2008, OSU has been ranked in the A.P. poll in 75 of its last 100 games.

Oklahoma State from a Distance

    For the fourth time in the last six seasons, Oklahoma State is 10-1 after 11 games. Only Alabama, Ohio State, Florida State and Oklahoma State have been 10-1 or better through 11 games in at least four of the past six seasons.
    Three times this year has OSU erased a deficit of at least 15 points to win a game. The Cowboys are 4-0 in games decided by one score and dating back to last year, Mike Gundy has coached the Pokes to a 7-0 record in the last seven games decided by a single score.
    Mason Rudolph ranks sixth nationally with 3,591 passing yards, while J.W. Walsh ranks 34th nationally with 132 points responsible for, despite having only 84 total offense attempts this season (1.57 points per total offense attempt). For perspective on that, the next-best points per total offense attempt performer (min. 130 points responsible for) is Appalachian State's Taylor Lamb at 0.65. In Power Five conferences, the next-best performer is Oklahoma's Baker Mayfield at 0.52 points per total offense attempt.
    On the defensive side of the ball, All-America candidate Emmanuel Ogbah leads the Big 12 in both sacks and tackles for loss. He is the NCAA's active leader with 27 career sacks. He's the top performer for an OSU defense that ranks second nationally in turnovers gained, sixth nationally in sacks and 14th nationally in tackles for loss.

High Stakes Bedlam

Saturday's game marks the sixth time in the last eight years that both Oklahoma State and Oklahoma are ranked in the Associated Press poll going into the Bedlam game, but only the second time in series history that both teams are ranked in the A.P. top 10 at the time of Bedlam. The 1984 matchup saw the No. 3 Cowboys lose a 24-14 decision to the No. 2 Sooners in Norman.
Saturday's game marks the fifth time in the last eight years that Bedlam has had a direct impact on who won the Big 12. A look:

• In 2008, winning Bedlam sent Oklahoma to the Big 12 championship game.
• In 2010, losing Bedlam cost Oklahoma State an appearance in the Big 12 championship game.
• In 2011, the Cowboys clinched an outright Big 12 championship by winning Bedlam. Losing Bedlam cost the Sooners a share of the Big 12 title that year.
• OSU had a chance to clinch the Big 12 outright in 2013, but the Sooners' surprising Bedlam win ended those hopes and set the stage for Baylor to clinch the league title later that night.
• In 2015, Oklahoma can clinch the Big 12 title with a win. Also, any combination of a Bedlam win plus a Baylor loss would make Oklahoma State the Big 12 champion.

Bedlam Brothers are Big 12's Best

Oklahoma State and Oklahoma are the Big 12's two best teams this decade.
A look at every Big 12 team's record in conference games since 2010 shows that the road to the Big 12 title runs through Bedlam:

Oklahoma: 39-13 (.750 pct.)
Oklahoma State: 37-15 (.712 pct.)
Baylor: 36-15 (.706 pct.)
Kansas State: 31-20 (.608 pct.)
TCU*: 20-15 (.571 pct.)
Texas: 26-25 (.510 pct.)
West Virginia*: 14-20 (.412 pct.)
Texas Tech: 18-34 (.346 pct.)
Iowa State: 13-39 (.250 pct.)
Kansas: 3-49 (.006 pct.)

* TCU and West Virginia didn't join the Big 12 until 2012.

Oklahoma State's Home Field Advantage

With a 43-10 record in its last 53 games played in Boone Pickens Stadium (81.1 pct), Oklahoma State has been tough to beat at home for some time now. In home games this year ...

• The Cowboys have outscored their opponents, 279-140, for an average score of 47-23.
• The Cowboys have forced 17 turnovers and committed just four of their own. Furthermore, Oklahoma State has made its opponents pay when they turn the ball over, as OSU holds an 80-7 advantage in points off turnovers.
• The Cowboy defense averages 3.0 sacks per game.
• The Cowboy offense has 21 touchdowns in 27 red zone attempts (77.8 pct.)
• The Cowboys are averaging 7.1 yards per play on offense.
• Mason Rudolph has thrown 16 touchdowns against just two interceptions. He's averaging 367.5 passing yards per game.
• J.W. Walsh has been on the field for 41 total offense plays (rushes plus pass attempts). Those 41 plays have resulted in an astounding 66 points for the Cowboys.

An Oklahoma State Win Would...

• Keep the Cowboys' hopes for a Big 12 championship alive. Any combination of an Oklahoma State win and a Baylor loss would result in the Cowboys winning their second Big 12 championship in the last five years.
• Bring the Cowboys to 11-1, matching the 2011 season for most regular-season wins in school history.
• Match a school record for most home wins in a single season with six. It would also mark the sixth time in the last eight seasons that OSU has won at least six home games.
• Mark the Cowboys' second straight victory over Oklahoma. OSU was a 38-35 winner over the Sooners in Norman last season. The last time the Cowboys won back-to-back Bedlam games was in 2001 and 2002.
• Mark the sixth time that the Cowboys have beaten a team ranked in the top 10 of the Associated Press poll since 2008.
• Mark the 18th time that the Cowboys have beaten an opponent ranked in the top 25 of the Associated Press poll since Mike Gundy took over as head coach in 2005.
• Mark the third 11-win season in Oklahoma State's history, joining the 11-win campaign of 2010 and the 12-win season of 2011.
• Improve the Cowboys to 6-1 at home this year and 44-10 in their last 54 games played in Boone Pickens Stadium, dating back to the start of the 2008 season.

Streaks and Trends Entering the Oklahoma Game

• Oklahoma State has won 12 of its last 13 games, dating back to last season.
• In the last five games, Oklahoma State holds a 13-2 turnover advantage over its opponents.
• The Oklahoma State offense has scored touchdowns on 22 of its last 24 trips into the red zone (91.7 pct).
• Oklahoma State has scored at least 30 points in each of its last 10 games, matching the second-longest such streak in school history.
• Oklahoma State has scored at least one non-offensive touchdown in four of its last six games.
• The Oklahoma State defense has at least two sacks in 10 of 11 games this year.
• Dating back to 2005, the Cowboys have won 24 of their last 25 games when not committing a turnover.
• Dating back to the 2008 season, the Cowboys have won 44 of their last 47 games when winning the turnover battle.
• Oklahoma State has won nine of its last 10 when playing as a ranked opponent.
• Defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah has shared in at least one sack in 15 of the last 19 games.
• Quarterback Mason Rudolph has thrown 12 touchdown passes against just one interception in his last five games.
• Quarterback J.W. Walsh has accounted for at least one touchdown in every game this season and has accounted for 16 touchdowns the last six games.
• J.W. Walsh has posted a pass efficiency rating above 200 in eight of his last nine games.

Wins Over A.P. Top-10 Teams Under Mike Gundy

Oct. 11, 2008 at No. 3 Missouri        W, 28-23
•  Missouri entered the game averaging 53.4 points and 568.9 yards of total offense per game, but OSU's defense slowed the high-powered Tigers and the Cowboys' balanced offense made MU pay for exaggerating its defensive strategy to stop receiver Dez Bryant.

Sept. 24, 2011 at No. 8 Texas A&M W, 30-29
•  Texas A&M held a 20-3 lead at half, but a furious rally from OSU fueled by tempo on offense and turnovers forced on defense paralyzed the Aggies in the second half. The Cowboys scored 27 unanswered points to start the second half.

Jan. 2, 2012 vs. No. 4 Stanford       W, 41-38 (OT)
•  Stanford dominated on the ground and dominated time of possession in the 2012 Fiesta Bowl, but it didn't matter, as six of OSU's seven scoring drives took less than two minutes off the clock.

Nov. 23, 2013 No. 3 Baylor              W, 49-17
•  Baylor entered the game averaging 61.2 points and 684.8 yards of offense per game, but the Cowboys buried the Bears by racing out to a 35-3 advantage through three quarters. OSU held Baylor 44 points and 231 yards below its season averages and the red zone stats were telling - Baylor was 1-for-4 with only a field goal, while OSU was 4-for-4, will all four scores being touchdowns.

Nov. 7, 2015 No. 5 TCU W, 49-29
•  TCU entered the game ranked second in the nation in both scoring offense (48.9 ppg) and total offense (616.3 ypg), but the Cowboys intercepted Heisman hopeful Trevone Boykin four times and also recorded a goal line stand, plus forced a second turnover on downs in the red zone to cement their victory. OSU won the battle up front, sacking Boykin three times. Entering the game, Boykin had been sacked only five times in his previous eight games.