Game Notes: Oklahoma State Faces UCF for First Time in Program History

Complete Notes (PDF)

The Basics
The No. 15/17 Oklahoma State football team (7-2 overall; 5-1 Big 12) travels to Orlando, Florida, this week for its first matchup against UCF (4-5 overall; 1-5 Big 12) in program history, with kickoff set for 3:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, November 11, in FBC Mortgage Stadium.

On the Air
The game will be televised live on ESPN with Mike Monaco, Robert Griffin III and Kris Budden on the call. It 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 The Varsity Network app. The broadcast can also be heard on SiriusXM channel 382.

In the Rankings
The Oklahoma State football team is ranked No. 15 in the AP Top 25 and No. 17 in the USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll, marking their highest ranking of the year. Including the 2023 season, Oklahoma State has been ranked in the top 15 of the Associated Press poll in 14 of the past 16 seasons and has reached the top 10 in 11 of those 16 years. Although this week's College Football Playoff Rankings won't be released until Tuesday, the Cowboys did come in at No. 22 in last week's rankings and expected to rise in this week's rankings after the win against Oklahoma last Saturday. OSU has been part of the CFP rankings in eight of the past nine seasons, including 2023. UCF is not ranked.

The Series - Back to the Sunshine State
Saturday's game will mark the first meeting in program history between Oklahoma State and UCF, as 2023 also marks the first year the schools have been members of the same conference. Although the Cowboys have never faced the Knights, they have made several trips to the Sunshine State to play football. This matchup will mark OSU's 10th game in program history played in the state of Florida, and it has gone 5-4 in its previous trips. Those games have included regular season matchups with Florida State (1978), Florida (1990), Miami (1991) and FAU (2005), as well bowl games against BYU (1976 Tangerine Bowl), South Carolina (1984 Gator Bowl), Florida State (1985 Gator Bowl), Virginia Tech (2017 Camping World Bowl) and Miami (2020 Cheez-It Bowl). OSU holds a 3-0 all-time record in Orlando, and the Cowboys have won all three games played in Florida during the Mike Gundy coaching era. UCF coach Gus Malzahn has not faced Oklahoma State during his career as a head coach.

Oklahoma State from a Distance
Following a 27-24 win over then-No. 9 Oklahoma last week, the Oklahoma State football was honored by the FWAA as the Cheez-It National Team of the Week. OSU is now on a five-game winning streak and is in a two-way tie with Texas for first place in the Big 12 standings. Prior to the Bedlam win, the Cowboys defeated Kansas State, 29-21; No. 23 Kansas, 39-32; West Virginia, 48-34; and Cincinnati, 45-13. The Cowboy defense has produced 13 total turnovers in those five wins while the offense has only turned it over five times during that stretch. Sophomore running back Ollie Gordon II is the favorite for the Doak Walker Award and has inserted himself into the race for the Heisman Trophy, producing six consecutive 100-yard rushing games with a 138-yard, two touchdown day to help knock off the Sooners last week. He now ranks No. 1 among all FBS players in rushing yards, rushing yards per game, yards after contact, 20-yard carries, 30-yard carries, 40-yard carries, 100-yard games and 200-yard games. He's also third in all-purpose yards per game and among the top six FBS players in rushing yards per carry, rushing touchdowns and total touchdowns. He recorded 282 rushing yards in the win at West Virginia to rank as the most for any FBS player in a game this season and followed that up with 271 rushing yards against Cincinnati to join Heisman-winner Barry Sanders as the only two players in school history with back-to-back 250-yard rushing games. Prior to that, he had 284 yards from scrimmage against Kansas, making him the only FBS player in the past 10 seasons to produce three consecutive games with more than 250 scrimmage yards. Quarterback Alan Bowman has also impressed since taking over as the full-time starting quarterback, averaging 279.8 passing yards per game and accounting for 10 total touchdowns in the six games he has played as the full-time starter. On the defensive side, linebacker Nickolas Martin is making his case for Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year. The Cowboy sophomore leads all Big 12 players and ranks No. 12 in the FBS in total tackles with 10.2 per game and is fourth in the conference and No. 25 in the FBS with 1.3 tackles for loss per game. He's joined by linebacker Collin Oliver and safety Kendal Daniels as the biggest defensive playmakers this year, as Daniels leads the Big 12 in fumbles recovered and Oliver leads the Big 12 in fumbles forced. Other notable Cowboys this season include placekicker Alex Hale, who ranks No. 1 in the FBS with 2.22 made field goals per game, and center Joe Michalski, who has been one of the main reasons the Cowboy offensive line has surged into the levels of success it has seen over the past month.

An Oklahoma State Win Would ...
• Give it at least eight wins for the 13th time in Mike Gundy's tenure as head coach.
• Mark its sixth-straight conference win, matching the ninth-longest streak in school history and the longest since a seven-game stretch from October 2021 - October 2022.
• Improve Mike Gundy's record in November games to 40-30.
• Improve Mike Gundy's record in road games to 56-40.
• Improve Mike Gundy's record in Big 12 games to 101-62, moving him closer to matching Bill Snyder's 104 wins for the second most in the history of the conference.
• Improve its record against UCF to 1-0.
• Improve Mike Gundy's record against UCF to 1-0.
• Make it 29-10 in its past 39 games overall, dating back to the 2020 season.
• Make it 9-6 in its past 15 road games.
• Make it 155-72 in its history when playing as an AP-ranked team.
• Make it 142-43 in its history when playing as a higher AP-ranked team than its opponent.
• Make it 92-23 in its past 115 games vs. opponents outside of the AP Top 25, dating to 2010.

Notable Streaks and Trends Entering the Game
• Ollie Gordon II has rushed for more than 100 yards in six straight games.
• Ollie Gordon II has rushed for more than 270 yards in two of the past three games.
• OSU has forced 13 turnovers and only surrendered five turnovers in the past five games.
• OSU's offensive line has not allowed a sack in three straight games nor in four of its past five games.
• OSU has held 34 of its past 39 Big 12 opponents under their season scoring average entering the game.
• OSU has won 85 consecutive games when holding its opponent to fewer than 20 points, dating back to Sept. 13, 2003 – the longest active stretch of time in the FBS and longest since at least 1980. Including games when opponents have scored 20 points or fewer, the streak begins at the same date and includes 92 games.
• The Cowboy defense has produced a shutout half in two games this season.
• OSU has held its opponent scoreless on its game-opening drive in 37 of its past 53 games.
• OSU has held its opponent to less than a 50% third down conversion rate in 44 of its past 47 games.
• OSU is 37-16 in its past 53 games decided by fewer than 10 points.
• OSU is 48-8 in its past 56 games when leading at halftime, dating back to Sept. 17, 2016.
• Dating back to 2005, OSU is 48-4 when not committing a turnover.
• Dating back to 2008, OSU is 79-8 when winning the turnover battle.
• OSU has won three of its past five overtime games.
• Over the past 46 games, OSU has held opponents to 213-for-704 (30.3%) on third down.
• OSU has held its opponents to just 3-of-18 on fourth down attempts this season - the No. 2 percentage in the nation.

Game Notes: Oklahoma State Faces UCF for First Time in Program History

Players Mentioned

Alan Bowman

Kendal Daniels

Ollie Gordon II

Alex Hale

Nick Martin

Joe Michalski

Collin Oliver

Oklahoma State University Athletics