Better team, but better record?
Published: 8/24/2007 5:53 PM
Last Modified: 8/24/2007 5:53 PM
For the past few months, any time I have given thought about the upcoming OSU football season there have been two prevailing thoughts that always come to mind.
Defense and road games.
Those are two aspects that will ultimately determine if this season is a very good one or not. Some prognosticators have labeled OSU as a breakthrough team, one that can win eight or nine games. Heck, one particular football forecaster (Chip Brown of the Dallas Morning News) envisions OSU as a 10-win team that will contend for the Big 12 title.
Sorry, I'm not on that bandwagon.
Again, it boils down to defense and road games.
Can the Cowboys slow down opposing offenses? Are they mature enough and mentally tough enough to withstand the contests at hostile locales such as Georgia, Texas A&M, Nebraska and Oklahoma?
The talent is in place for the Cowboys to improve from last year's 7-6 record. Unless OSU shows some improvement defensively that could be the difference in winning some of those road games, I don't see much difference in OSU's record this season.
The prediction from this football forecaster is 7-5.
OSU wins games against Florida Atlantic, Troy, Texas Tech, Sam Houston State, Kansas State, Kansas and Baylor.
The Cowboys lose games against Georgia, Texas A&M, Nebraska, Texas and Oklahoma.
--- Matt Doyle
Written by
Bill Haisten
Sports Writer
