Altered expectations
Published: 9/27/2007 4:31 PM
Last Modified: 9/27/2007 4:31 PM
After the Cowboys were beaten and embarrassed at Troy, I really believed an 0-8 conference mark was plausible for OSU. Troy completely dominated OSU.
Now, after having seen the OSU offense total 610 yards and 49 points against Texas Tech, the Texas A&M and Nebraska games seem winnable. Even with a defense that gave up 718 yards last week, and even on the road. Remember this:
* OU crushed the Miami Hurricanes 51-13. Last week, Texas A&M played at Miami. The 'Canes had a 31-0, third-quarter lead, and the dreadfully dull Aggies mustered only 240 total yards. A&M is an average team.
* On its homefield, Nebraska rallied from a nine-point, fourth-quarter deficit to edge Ball State 41-40. Ball State! The Huskers gave up an astounding total of 610 yards. Ball State averaged 7.7 yards per snap.
When OSU visits Lincoln on Oct. 13, the Huskers and their fans should be more engaged than was the case for the Ball State game. Against Ball State, Nebraska clearly suffered from a post-Southern Cal hangover. But if Ball State can get 610 yards against Nebraska, regardless of the circumstances, then OSU has the potential to have big numbers. No one on the Ball State roster has the talent of OSU's Dantrell Savage, Adarius Bowman and Brandon Pettigrew.
(Ball State University is located in what city? And who is the school's most prominent grad?)
Regarding Saturday's Sam Houston State-OSU contest: Has the Cowboys' preparation been affected by the Mike Gundy-Jenni Carlson national controversy? If the Cowboys don't mash this middleweight opponent, you can reasonably presume that the Gundy-Carlson thing diluted OSU's focus.
Or you can presume that the Cowboys will really, really struggle at A&M and Nebraska.
Then again, can anyone ever really predict, with any certainty or consistent accuracy, what a Gundy-coached OSU team might do?
This is what the Cowboys need to do: improve defensively, significantly and immediately, and beat Big 12 teams. Gundy's record against Big 12 opposition is 5-12.
(Ball State answers: Muncie, Ind., and David Letterman).
-- Bill Haisten
Written by
Bill Haisten
Sports Writer
