Tulsa World: OSU surprising, capable

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OSU surprising, capable

Texas defender Earl Jones intercepts a pass over Oklahoma receiver Ryan Broyles on Saturday. DARYL WILSON/Tulsa World

By JOHN KLEIN Senior Sports Columnist
Published: 10/13/2008 2:03 AM
Last Modified: 10/13/2008 3:02 AM

HOW MANY PEOPLE expected Oklahoma State and Tulsa to be the only unbeaten teams in this state the second week of October?

"Zero," OSU coach Mike Gundy said Sunday.

Oklahoma State pulled off the nation's biggest stunner to stay undefeated and Tulsa needed another frantic fourth quarter rally to survive SMU as the good times continued for the Cowboys and Hurricane.

In the aftermath of a loss to Texas, Oklahoma didn't take a big hit in the ratings and Oklahoma State got a huge boost from the weekend of mixed results from the two huge games the Sooners and Cowboys played on Saturday.

The Sooners should feel relieved and the Cowboys rewarded.

OU, formerly No. 1, dropped just three spots and OSU leaped nine to No. 8 in the latest poll, a fairly accurate reflection of what the Sooners and Cowboys did over the weekend.

"Nothing changes for us in preparation," Gundy said. "Just stay the course."

Texas dominated the fourth quarter to put away the Sooners 45-35, while OSU pulled off the week's biggest surprise by going on the road to Missouri and coming away with a convincing 28-23 victory over the previously No. 3 Tigers.

Tulsa needed a couple of miracles in a remarkable rally to put away SMU and that was enough to keep TU out of the ratings for yet another week.

OU coach Bob Stoops repeated on Sunday what he said on Saturday about the midpoint of this season.

"The national champion last year had two losses," Stoops said Sunday. "There's a lot of football left."

Yes, there's lots standing between OU, OSU and TU and where they would like to finish the season.

Still, thus far, the most surprising of the three has been the Cowboys. In less than a month, OSU has gone from unranked to No. 8. The Cowboys find themselves the talk of national college football writers and broadcasters.

"I'm really excited for our players," Gundy said. "They've had to earn it. "We've still got a lot of work ahead of us."

The Cowboys can make it to 7-0 if they take care of business this week when Baylor comes to Stillwater. Gundy expects OSU to keep playing at a high level.

"We're not good enough to overlook anybody," Gundy said.

OU didn't have much success slowing down Texas quarterback Colt McCoy in the second half after losing linebacker Ryan Reynolds to an injury. Oklahoma had been decent on defense until it found itself trying to replace Reynolds.

The Longhorns, who had struggled to run the ball, suddenly found holes in the middle of Oklahoma defense. McCoy had more time to pick apart OU's secondary.

"He (Reynolds) makes a difference," Stoops said. "These other guys are going to have to step up."

Late in the game, with the outcome still in doubt, the guys making plays were the Longhorns.

"In the fourth quarter they made a few plays and obviously we were not able to make a stop."

As a result, there is no room for error for the Sooners.

Obviously, OU is still having trouble covering kickoffs. And the running game is still very unproductive.

Some say running the football is not that important any more. That might be true, if you have a player the caliber of Sam Bradford. Still, not having a legitimate running threat can be a factor.

"We've still got to find our way to work it better," Stoops said.

The Sooners are far from being out of the fight. Yes, they will need help and need to be near perfect the rest of the season. That may not be out of the question. Texas has a brutal schedule ahead with Missouri, OSU and Texas Tech.

Of course, Oklahoma isn't out of the woods, either. Kansas, a capable offensive team, will be in Norman this week.

"It's not that easy," Stoops said about winning college football games in an era of increasing parity. By JOHN KLEIN Senior Sports Columnist

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MexiMike, tulsa (10/13/2008 7:24:14 PM)

This article starts about OSU but quickly drifts away into talking about OU...hmmm.

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