ESPN experts like OSU's chances
Published: 8/28/2007 5:37 PM
Last Modified: 8/28/2007 5:37 PM
Oklahoma State's game at Georgia on Saturday not only will be televised by ESPN2, but will have the attention of more than a few ESPN college football experts.
In a teleconference Tuesday, ESPN college football studio host Rece Davis and analysts Kirk Herbstreit and Larry Coker consider the OSU opener at Georgia as one of the nation's biggest games this week.
Davis on OSU's hopes at Georgia: "They're my sleeper team in the entire country. Some of their strengths, namely an explosive offense with Adarius Bowman on the outside, plays very well against some of Georgia's question marks with their offseason loss of (cornerback) Paul Oliver. That offense is difficult to contain under any circumstances. Now you're asking a Georgia offense with some question marks on the offensive line to make sure if they can outscore them. I don't know if I'm willing to say that Oklahoma State is good enough to walk in between the Hedges and beat them. But that's one of the games I've circled as a potential upset for the first Saturday of the season."
Herbstreit on OSU's carryover effect from the Independence Bowl: "Oklahoma State is a classic example of utilizing a victory in the Independence Bowl against Alabama. The experience alone of playing a powerhouse and using that as a springboard into their offseason with the bulk of their team coming back will help. They will not walk into that Georgia game thinking "Can we really win this?" What they did against Alabama and because so many of those guys are back, they probably will think they can play with Georgia. This is the one game, in talking with people around the country, they all say Oklahoma State will give Georgia fits. I agree with that."
Coker, a former OSU offensive coordinator, on OSU under coach Mike Gundy: "The win over Alabama was a huge confidence builder going into the offseason and this game. They have a lot of talent. I coached their coach (Gundy) and he is about as confident as any quarterback I've ever been around."
--- Matt Doyle
Written by
Bill Haisten
Sports Writer
