Game Notes: Cowboys Set to Face Texas A&M in Texas Bowl

Complete Texas Bowl Media Guide

The Basics
The Oklahoma State football team (8-4 overall; 5-4 Big 12) makes its 14th consecutive bowl appearance when it travels to Houston to face Texas A&M (7-5 overall; 4-4 SEC) in the Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl at 5:45 p.m. CT on Friday, Dec. 27 in NRG Stadium.

Get Your Tickets
Tickets to the Texas Bowl are available now through the OSU ticket office, with seats available on the OSU's side of the stadium starting at $85. Club level seats are also available for $125 while supplies last. A direct link to purchase tickets can be found on the front page of okstate.com. Fans can also purchase tickets by calling the OSU ticket office at 877-ALL-4-OSU, and can text the OSU ticket office at 877-255-4678.

On the Air
The game will be televised by ESPN with Kevin Brown, Andre Ware and Alyssa Lang 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. The game will also air nationally on ESPN Radio, with Taylor Zarzour, Matt Stinchcomb and Taylor Davis on the call.

In the Rankings
Oklahoma State was included in every week of this year's CFP Rankings, closing out the season at No. 25. The Cowboys were also included in the last AP rankings before the bowl season, also coming in at No. 25, and received enough votes in the coaches poll to sit just one spot out of the top 25. OSU has reached the top 15 of the AP poll at some point in 10 of the past 12 seasons, and has also seen a top 10 AP ranking at some point in eight of the past 12 seasons. The Cowboys have appeared in the CFP rankings in four of the past five seasons. Texas A&M is not ranked, but is receiving votes in the AP poll.

The Series
The Texas Bowl will mark the 28th meeting between Oklahoma State and Texas A&M, with the series dating back to 1913. It is the first time the teams have met since 2011, when OSU defeated TAMU, 30-29, during the Aggies' final season in the Big 12 Conference. The Aggies own a 17-10 all-time advantage in the series, but the Cowboys have won each of the past four matchups. TAMU also holds a 3-1 advantage in neutral site meetings, with the most recent occurring in the 1981 Independence Bowl. OSU's four-match win streak against the TAMU marks its longest in the history of the series. Coach Mike Gundy is 4-3 in his career against Texas A&M, while Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher is 1-0 in his career against the Cowboys, as he coached No. 1 Florida State to a narrow 37-31 win over OSU to open the 2014 season.

Oklahoma State Among The Best In Bowl Games
Oklahoma State is 19-10 in its 29 all-time bowl appearances. Its 65.5% winning percentage ranks second among all schools with a minimum of 20 bowl appearances. A closer look:

Rank	School	Wins	Losses	Ties	Games	Pct.
1.	Utah	17	5	0	22	0.773
2.	*Oklahoma State*	19	10	0	29	*0.655*
3.	USC	34	18	0	52	0.654
4.	Ole Miss	24	13	0	37	0.649
5.	Syracuse	16	9	1	26	0.635
6.	Florida State	28	16	2	46	0.63
7.	Penn State	29	18	2	49	0.612
8.	Alabama	41	26	3	70	0.607
T9.	Georgia	31	21	3	55	0.591
T9.	Mississippi State	13	9	0	22	0.591

Oklahoma State's Bowl Results

1945	Cotton Bowl	vs. TCU	W	34-0
1946	Sugar Bowl	vs. St. Mary's	W	33-13
1949	Delta Bowl	vs. William & Mary	L	0-20
1958	Bluegrass Bowl	vs. Florida State	W	15-6
1974	Fiesta Bowl	vs. BYU	W	16-6
1976	Tangerine Bowl	vs. BYU	W	49-21
1981	Independence Bowl	vs. Texas A&M	L	16-33
1983	Bluebonnet Bowl	vs. Baylor	W	24-14
1984	Gator Bowl	vs. South Carolina	W	21-14
1985	Gator Bowl	vs. Florida State	L	23-34
1987	Sun Bowl	vs. West Virginia	W	35-33
1988	Holiday Bowl	vs. Wyoming	W	62-14
1997	Alamo Bowl	vs. Purdue	L	20-33
2002	Houston Bowl	vs. Southern Miss	W	33-23
2004	Cotton Bowl	vs. Ole Miss	L	28-31
2004	Alamo Bowl	vs. Ohio State	L	Jul-33
2006	Independence Bowl	vs. Alabama	W	34-31
2007	Insight Bowl	vs. Indiana	W	49-33
2008	Holiday Bowl	vs. Oregon	L	31-42
2010	Cotton Bowl	vs. Ole Miss	L	21-Jul
2010	Alamo Bowl	vs. Arizona	W	36-10
2012	Fiesta Bowl	vs. Stanford	W	41-38 (OT)
2012	Heart of Dallas Bowl	vs. Purdue	W	58-14
2014	Cotton Bowl	vs. Missouri	L	31-41
2015	Cactus Bowl	vs. Washington	W	30-22
2016	Sugar Bowl	vs. Ole Miss	L	20-48
2016	Alamo Bowl	vs. Colorado	W	38-8
2017	Camping World Bowl	vs. Virginia Tech	W	30-21
2018	Liberty Bowl	vs. Missouri	W	38-33

Longest Active Bowl Streaks
For the 14th consecutive season, Oklahoma State is in a bowl game. A look at the nation's longest active bowl streaks:

1. Virginia Tech	28
2. Georgia	23
3. Oklahoma	21
4. LSU	20
5. Boise State	18
Wisconsin	18
7. Alabama	16
8. Clemson	15
*9. Oklahoma State*	14
10. Texas A&M	11

Oklahoma State from a Distance
Oklahoma State is 8-4 overall and tied for third in the Big 12 standings with a 5-4 conference record. 2019 marks the 14th consecutive bowl game and winning season for the OSU football program. It also marks the 10th time in the past 12 years the Cowboys have won at least eight games. The Cowboys got to 8-4 by winning four of their final five regular season games. The stretch is more impressive when considering the OSU offense was without All-America wide receiver Tylan Wallace for three of the wins and without starting quarterback Spencer Sanders for one. The story of the season was the emergence of star running back Chuba Hubbard, who went from relative unknown entering the season to an All-American and Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year. Hubbard enters the bowl season leading the nation in nearly every statistical rushing category, including rushing yards, rushing yards per game, all-purpose yards, all-purpose yards per game, yards after contact (via Pro Football Focus) and more. His average of 161.3 yards per game is 14.5 yards per game better than second-place Jonathan Taylor of Wisconsin. Hubbard also leads the nation in rushes of at least 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80 and 90 yards. With the loss of Wallace and Sanders, wide receiver Dillon Stoner and quarterback Dru Brown have emerged. Stoner has been OSU's leading receiver in the final half of the season, and Brown completed 44-of-61 pass attempts for 403 yards with two touchdowns in his two games as a starter. On the defensive side of the ball, the Cowboys have done their best work in the second half of the season. In fact, the 2019 OSU defense became the first in school history to hold four straight Big 12 opponents under 28 points in one season. OSU also created 10 turnovers during that stretch. A first-team All-Big 12 honoree, safety Kolby Harvell-Peel was the breakout star on defense in 2019, as he ended the regular season ranked No. 1 among all Power Five players with 18 passes defended this year. He is the only Power Five player who ranks among the top 30 nationally in both interceptions and fumble recoveries. He set a school record at Iowa State with six pass breakups and generated three turnovers against TCU. Both second-team All-Big 12 honorees, linebackers Malcolm Rodriguez and Amen Ogbongbemiga have been the heart of the defense. They are the team's leading tacklers and have accounted for 22.6% of the team's tackles in 2019. They both rank among the Big 12's top five tacklers this season. On special teams, OSU kicker Matt Ammendola is putting the finishing touches on a great career. The senior out of Pennsylvania ranks third on OSU's career list for made field goals with 60, and is fourth on OSU's career list for points scored with 356. He needs just five points in the bowl game to pass Barry Sanders for third place.

Texas A&M from a Distance
Texas A&M finished the 2019 regular season at 7-5 overall, with a 4-4 record in the SEC. Don't be deceived by the record, however, as the Aggies faced a schedule that would take most any team under. TAMU became the first team in college football history to face three AP No. 1 teams in the same season, as it fell to No. 1 Clemson on Sept. 7, No. 1 Alabama on Oct. 12 and No. 1 LSU on Nov. 30. In fact, all five of the Aggies' losses came against highly-ranked teams, as their two other losses were to No. 8 Auburn and No. 4 Georgia. The Aggies' record against teams outside of the AP top eight was 7-0. On offense, Texas A&M is led by quarterback Kellen Mond, who has passed for 2,802 yards and 19 touchdowns against nine interceptions. His favorite target is Jhamon Ausbon (862 yards and four touchdowns), but Quartney Davis and Jalen Wydermyer are also prominent receivers as each have more than 30 catches and 400 yards this season. Mond also plays a key role as TAMU's second-leading rusher with 384 yards and seven rushing touchdowns this season. Mond and Johnny Manziel are the only Aggies in program history to pass for 7,000 yards and rush for 1,000 in their careers. Running back Isaiah Spiller leads the team on the ground with 155 carries for 869 yards and nine touchdowns. The offensive attack has helped TAMU to rank No. 14 in the nation with an average time of possession of 33:01. Defensively, TAMU is ranked in the top 30 of the FBS in both rushing defense (129.1 yards per game) and pass efficiency defense (117.5). TAMU's leading tacklers are linebackers Buddy Johnson and Anthony Hines III, while defensive lineman Justin Madubuike, a highly-regarded NFL prospect, has been one of the unit's most disruptive players with 11.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks this season. The most notable Aggie special teams player is punter Braden Mann, who was the 2018 Ray Guy Award winner and a unanimous All-American. TAMU has also excelled on the other side of the punting game, ranking No. 18 in the FBS with an average of 13.08 yards per return.

Notable Streaks and Trends Entering the Game
• OSU is 21-7 in its past 27 games decided by fewer than 10 points.
• OSU has scored on its opening drive in 14 of its past 21 games.
• OSU is 25-2 in its last 27 games when leading at halftime, dating back to Sept. 17, 2016.
• OSU has outrushed its opponent in 28 of its past 39 games and in 30 of its past 42 games.
• OSU has had at least one 100-yard receiver in 19 of its past 30 games.
• OSU has had a 100-yard rusher in 28 of its past 39 games.
• OSU has forced a turnover in 44 of its past 52 games and in 53 of its past 62 games, dating to 2015.
• Dating back to 2005, OSU is 38-2 when not committing a turnover.
• Dating back to 2008, OSU is 61-6 when winning the turnover battle.
• OSU has won three straight overtime games.
• Chuba Hubbard has rushed for at least 100 yards in each of the past 10 games, which marks the longest active streak in the FBS and the third-longest streak in school history.
• Chuba Hubbard has rushed for at least 100 yards in 14 of his past 16 games. He has a rushing touchdown in every game but one this season.
• Dillon Stoner has at least one catch in 36 of his past 37 games.
• Matt Ammendola has made 23 of his past 27 field goal attempts.
• OSU has scored on a play of at least 50 yards in six of its past eight games.
• OSU has won 68 consecutive games when holding its opponent to fewer than 20 points, dating back to Sept. 13, 2003 – the longest active streak in the nation.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Matt Ammendola

Dru Brown

Kolby Harvell-Peel

Chuba Hubbard

Amen Ogbongbemiga

Malcolm Rodriguez

Spencer Sanders

Dillon Stoner

Tylan Wallace

Oklahoma State University Athletics