The day after Baylor
Published: 10/19/2008 4:00 PM
Last Modified: 10/19/2008 4:00 PM
In each of the past two seasons, victories against Baylor gave Oklahoma State six wins for the season and made the Cowboys bowl eligible.
How things have changed in 2008. Saturday's 34-6 homecoming victory over the Bears improved OSU to 7-0, its best start to a season since the last time the Chicago Cubs played in the World Series (that's 1945 for those of you keeping score at home).
Instead of hearing talk about being bowl eligible, now there is talk about the Cowboys' position - sixth - in the initial Bowl Championship Series ranking.
BCS? That's right, BCS!
Instead of settling for playing in second-tier bowl games, OSU now is a player on college football's big-boy stage. This week, the biggest of those big boys awaits, a showdown at top-ranked Texas.
This week, everyone will hear plenty about the troubles and heartache OSU has experienced with Texas in recent years. However, the power of positive belief is filtering through the entire program these days.
"We have a great opportunity in front of us," quarterback Zac Robinson said. "It's going to be a big game."
Game balls
***Dez Bryant: Another big day for the sensational sophomore wide receiver. Just think how big the day would have been if a penalty didn't nullify his first-quarter punt return for a touchdown.
***Andre Sexton: The hybrid linebacker/safety continues to play at an All-Big 12 level with a team-high eight tackles and a few big hits.
***Ricky Price: The senior strong safety was flying all over the field with six tackles, a sack and a fumble recovery.
***Zac Robinson: OSU's quarterback may not be putting up eye-popping numbers each week. But his play against Baylor, steady and pretty consistent, has been the case all year in OSU's 7-0 start.
Cowboy checklist
***Is Spud slowing down?: There is no questioning the impact Kendall Hunter has had this year with 955 yards rushing. But Spud already has 151 carries this year, which is 44 more than he had last season in rushing for nearly 700 yards. It took Hunter a career-high 26 carries to churn out a hard-earned 93 yards Saturday against Baylor.
***The second option: Brandon Pettigrew's return will help alleviate some of the attention given to Bryant in the passing game. I understand utilizing Bryant as much as possible (15 of Robinson's 20 passes against Baylor went to Dez). But the concern remains whether another consistent viable option in the throwing game can emerge this season.
---Matt Doyle
Written by
Bill Haisten
Sports Writer
