OSU football talking points
BY BILL HAISTEN World Sports Writer
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
9/21/11 at 8:40 AM
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Can Gundy record a statement victory?
For having led Oklahoma State to an 11-2 record - the first 11-win finish in program history - Mike Gundy was voted the 2010 Big 12 coach of the year. Gundy has guided the Cowboys to a 3-0 start, six consecutive road victories and the No. 7 position in this week's Associated Press poll. Can he win again this week, against a favored Texas A&M team at sold-out Kyle Field in College Station? In road games against opponents ranked in the top 10, Gundy-coached Cowboy teams are 1-5. The only victory was recorded in 2008, when OSU prevailed 28-23 at then-No. 3 Missouri. Winning on Saturday, against a motivated and talented Aggie team horrified by the potential of a fourth consecutive loss to OSU, would be as impressive as winning at Mizzou three years ago.
Can Weeden2Blackmon quiet Kyle Field?
Oklahoma State's marketing people capitalized on the return of Justin Blackmon and Brandon Weeden. On Twitter, the Cowboys' passing-game stars are known as Weeden2Blackmon (hashtag #W2B). They attended Caravan events in Tulsa and Oklahoma City. They were a huge reason that OSU broke the school record for season-ticket sales. If OSU wins at Texas A&M, Weeden2Blackmon likely will be a huge reason for that, too. Texas A&M's defense was excellent against OSU last season, but Blackmon had 10 receptions for 127 yards and a touchdown. Former Cowboy coach Pat Jones refers to games like OSU-A&M as "big-boy football." OSU probably can't win at Kyle Field without a "big-boy football" performance from Weeden2Blackmon.
What is the truth about OSU's run defense?
Oklahoma State's run defense was dismal against the University of Tulsa. The Golden Hurricane rushed for 365 yards - 148 more than any previous opponent since Bill Young became OSU's defensive coordinator in 2009. The absence of co-coordinator Glenn Spencer, summoned back to Stillwater because of the death of his wife, absolutely was a factor. Spencer is Young's primary contact in the press box. Without Spencer, Young coached upstairs instead of on the sideline. TU attacked with a second-half formation that OSU had not expected. The Cowboys had some backups on the field. The TU game didn't even start until 12:16 a.m. So, was the TU failure an anomaly? More than likely, yes. Even against talented backs like A&M's Cyrus Gray and Christine Michael, the Cowboy run defense should be significantly better than it was on a rainy Sunday morning at TU.
STATISTICS
| OSU | OPP |
| Scoring | 157 | 81 |
| Per game | 52.3 | 27.0 |
| First downs | 88 | 67 |
| by rushing | 31 | 29 |
| by passing | 56 | 34 |
| by penalty | 1 | 4 |
| Rushing yards | 579 | 514 |
| Avg. per game | 193.0 | 171.3 |
| Passing yards | 1224 | 727 |
| Avg. per game | 408.0 | 242.3 |
| Offensive plays | 259 | 231 |
| Total yards | 1803 | 1241 |
| Avg. per play | 7.0 | 5.4 |
| Avg. per game | 601.0 | 413.7 |
| Kick returns-Yds | 15-338 | 12-245 |
| Punt returns-Yds | 6-31 | 2-34 |
| Interceptions-Yds | 5-51 | 6-138 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 1-0 | 7-4 |
| Penalties-Yds | 22-220 | 21-134 |
| Punts-Avg. | 9-49.2 | 18-43.8 |
| 3rd downs | 29-50 | 19-49 |
| 4th downs | 2-4 | 2-5 |
| Sacks by-Yds | 9-51 | 3-28 |
Individual leaders
Y/A=Yards/attempt; Y/G=Yards/game stats
| RUSHING | No. | Yds | Y/A | Y/G | TD |
| J. Randle | 62 | 378 | 6.1 | 126.0 | 7 |
| J. Smith | 35 | 136 | 3.9 | 45.3 | 3 |
| D. Roland | 10 | 68 | 6.8 | 34.0 | 0 |
| PASSING | C-A-Int | Yds | Y/G | TD |
| B. Weeden | 95-131-6 | 1154 | 384.7 | 8 |
| C. Chelf | 4-5-0 | 70 | 35.0 | 1 |
| RECEIVING | No. | Yds | Y/A | Y/G | TD |
| J. Blackmon | 27 | 329 | 12.2 | 109.7 | 3 |
| J. Cooper | 14 | 151 | 10.8 | 50.3 | 1 |
| T. Moore | 13 | 200 | 15.4 | 66.7 | 1 |
| J. Randle | 12 | 117 | 9.8 | 39.0 | 0 |
| PUNT RETURNS | No. | Yds | Avg. | TD |
| J. Cooper | 5 | 34 | 6.8 | 0 |
| KICK RETURNS | No. | Yds | Avg. | TD |
| J. Gilbert | 8 | 228 | 28.5 | 1 |
| KICKING | FG-A | Long | PAT |
| Q. Sharp | 6-7 | 46 | 19-20 |
| DEFENSE | Tackles | TFL | Sacks | INT | FR |
| D. Lowe | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| M. Martin | 21 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| J. Mitchell | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| J. Blatnick | 12 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 |
| S. Lewis | 12 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 |
| A. Elkins | 11 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| C. Lavey | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D. Imade | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| J. Thomas | 8 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 1 | 1 |
2011 SCHEDULE
Tickets: tulsaworld.com/osusports
S. 3 La.-Lafayette W, 61-34
S. 8 Arizona W, 37-14
S. 17 at Tulsa W, 59-33
S. 24 at Texas A&M 2:30p.m. KTUL-8
O. 8 Kansas TBA
O 15 at Texas TBA
O. 22 at Missouri TBA
O. 29 Baylor TBA
N. 5 Kansas State TBA
N. 12 at Texas Tech TBA
N. 18 at Iowa State 8 p.m. ESPN2-26
D. 3 Oklahoma TBA KTUL-8
Original Print Headline: OSU: Talking Points
UP NEXT
Oklahoma State (3-0) at Texas A&M (2-0)
2:30 p.m. Saturday
TV: KTUL-8
Radio: KFAQ am1170
Associated Images:
OSU head coach Mike Gundy motions to his team early Sunday after their game at Tulsa. Gundy has a chance to record one of the most impressive wins of his career this Saturday. TOM GILBERT / Tulsa World
Oklahoma State's Justin Blackmon picks up yardage after a catch against Tulsa's Alan Dock (left) and Marco Nelson early Sunday. MIKE SIMONS / Tulsa World
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