Oklahoma State University Athletics
Game Notes: Cowboy Football Hosts South Alabama
September 03, 2018 | Cowboy Football
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The Basics
The Oklahoma State football team (1-0 overall; 0-0 Big 12) hosts South Alabama (0-1 overall; 0-0 Sun Belt) at 7 p.m. Saturday night in Boone Pickens Stadium. The game marks the second of a four-game home stand for the Cowboys to open the 2018 season.
Get Your Tickets
Season tickets and single-game tickets are available at www.okstate.com/tickets or by calling the OSU ticket office at 877-ALL-4-OSU. Fans interested in tickets can also text the OSU ticket office at 877-255-4678.
On the Air
The game will be televised by FSN with talent to be announced. It will air locally on Fox Sports Oklahoma and Fox Sports Southwest. 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 outside of the Cowboy Radio Network can listen to the OSU broadcast for free through TuneIn Radio or the TuneIn Radio app.
In the Rankings
Week two rankings won't be released until Tuesday, but the Cowboys are No. 25 in the preseason USA Today Coaches Poll and are also receiving votes in the Associated Press Poll. OSU has been in the preseason rankings for three consecutive seasons and seven times in the past 10 years. OSU has also been ranked in the top 25 of at least one of those polls since week 10 of the 2016 season. OSU has reached the top 15 of the A.P. poll at some point in nine of the past 10 seasons and the top 10 of the A.P. poll in eight of the last 10 seasons. The Cowboys are also one of only five teams to be ranked in every set of College Football Playoff rankings since the beginning of 2015, joining Alabama, Clemson, Oklahoma and Ohio State.
The Series
Oklahoma State faces South Alabama for just the second time Saturday, with the Cowboys winning the first matchup in Mobile last season, 44-7. This year's game will mark South Alabama coach Steve Campbell's first time facing the Cowboys, while Mike Gundy led the Cowboys to victory last season in his first matchup with the Jaguars. Additionally, Gundy is 8-1 in his career against current members of the Sun Belt Conference.
Oklahoma State From a Distance
Oklahoma State cruised in its season opener over Missouri State, winning, 58-17, and resting its starters for the majority of the second half. Senior quarterback Taylor Cornelius put up solid numbers in his first career start, throwing for 300 yards and five touchdowns on 25-for-35 passing (71.4 pct.). It was the fourth-most passing yards in a starting debut in Cowboy history. The Cowboy backfield is what really stole the show, however, as four running backs accounted for more than 75 yards of total offense each. Doak Walker candidate Justice Hill led the way with 122 rushing yards and freshman Chuba Hubbard led the team with a 149 all-purpose yards in his first college game. LD Brown also chipped in with 110 rushing yards and J.D. King added 77 yards of total offense as well. Jalen McCleskey scored two receiving touchdowns and a rushing touchdown. The game also provided the first look at new defensive coordinator Jim Knowles' 4-2-5 scheme. At first glance, linebacker Calvin Bundage seemed to greatly benefit from the change, as he was OSU's most disruptive player on the field. Bundage finished with a team-high seven tackles, while also adding a sack and a quarterback hurry. The Cowboys held Missouri State to nine three-and-outs, which matches the most in any game for the OSU defense in 2017. Additionally, 20 of the Bears' 27 offensive first-down plays produced three yards or less and MSU gained zero yards on 10 of its 16 third-down plays.
Big Screen TV
The 2018 season marks the debut of Boone Pickens Stadium's new Daktronics video board, which measures 110 feet wide by 56 feet tall and is suspended on the side of Gallagher-Iba Arena in the stadium's east end zone. The board is the eighth-largest at a college football-only stadium and can show better than 1080HD resolution. The board's brightness registers at 11,000 nits while most similar boards measure at 7,000 nits. The amplified brightness is to account for the fact that OSU's board faces west, and the brightness can be adjusted manually depending on the position of the sun. It was made possible through a gift from Gary and Claudia Humphreys.
An Oklahoma State Win Would...
• Improve the Cowboys to 20-4 in their last 24 games and 34-9 in their last 43 games.
• Make the Cowboys 2-0 all-time vs. South Alabama.
• Improve Mike Gundy's career record vs. Sun Belt teams to 9-1.
• Improve Mike Gundy's record in non-conference games to 47-11.
• Give the Cowboys eight straight wins in non-conference games
• Improve the Cowboys to 30-5 in their last 35 non-conference games
• Improve the Cowboys to 20-4 in their last 24 games overall.
• Make OSU 61-7 in its last 68 games vs. unranked opponents, dating back to 2010.
• Make OSU 37-10 at Boone Pickens Stadium since the start of the 2011 season.
Notable Streaks and Trends Entering the Game
• Oklahoma State has won 19 of its last 23 games overall.
• OSU is 15-2 in its last 17 games decided by less than 10 points.
• OSU has won 16 straight games when leading at halftime, a streak that began Sept. 17, 2016.
• Justice Hill has rushed for at least 100 yards in eight of his last 11 games and in 12 of his last 18 games.
• OSU has won three straight overtime games.
• OSU has had at least one 100-yard receiver in five of its last six games.
• OSU has had a 100-yard rusher in 10 of its last 15 games.
• OSU has outrushed its opponent in 12 of its last 15 games and in 14 of its last 18 games.
• Oklahoma State has won 33 of its last 42 games overall, dating back to the end of the 2014 season.
• OSU has forced at least one turnover in 28 straight games and in 37 of the last 38 games, dating to 2015.
• Dating back to 2005, the Cowboys have won 33 of their last 35 games when not committing a turnover.
• Dating back to 2008, the Cowboys have won 57 of their last 62 games when winning the turnover battle.
• OSU has won seven straight non-conference games.
• Dillon Stoner has at least one catch in each of his last 14 games.
• Jalen McCleskey has at least one catch in 38 of his 40 career games played.
