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No. 21 Cowboys make poll debut
 
By BILL HAISTEN World Sports Writer
Published: 9/29/2008  2:06 AM
Last Modified: 9/29/2008  2:53 AM

 Oklahoma State has achieved a milestone — a first in the Mike Gundy era — and yet the Cowboys' head football coach seems completely unaffected.

During his Sunday teleconference, a reporter asked, "Are you glad to be in the Top 25?"

Gundy's response: "Yeah."

For the first time since November 2004 (about seven weeks before Gundy was named the head coach), the Cowboys have surged into the AP poll.

Having rocked Troy (Ala.) University 55-24 on Saturday, OSU improved to 4-0 and is No. 21 in the Associated Press rankings. The Cowboys are No. 22 in the USA Today coaches' poll.

"We have not arrived," Gundy said. "We have a ways to go."

After rushing for 358 yards against a Troy team that previously was outstanding against the run, the Cowboys lead the nation in rushing at 340.3 yards per game. OSU is third nationally in scoring (51.8-point average) and fourth in total offense (562.5 yards per game).

This Saturday, the Cowboys open Big 12 play as Texas A&M (2-2) visits Stillwater for a 6:05 p.m., non-televised contest. Against the run, the Aggies rank No. 115 nationally, having allowed 227.5 yards per game.

Cowboy sophomore running back Kendall Hunter leads the Big 12 and is third nationally in rushing. He had 169 yards and two touchdowns against Troy, boosting his per-game average to 154.5. Hunter averages 7.7 per attempt.

Oklahoma State is one of six Big 12 teams in the Top 25. Oklahoma is No. 1, followed by Missouri at No. 4, Texas at No. 5, Texas Tech at No. 7 and Kansas at No. 16.

During Les Miles' final two seasons (2003 and 2004) as the OSU coach, the Cowboys had a national ranking in 14 games. In those contests, the Cowboys were 7-7.

Before 2003, the Cowboys had not been ranked since 1997 (when they started 6-0 and climbed to No. 12 in the country). And before 1997, OSU had not been ranked since closing the 1988 season at No. 12.

Following the Cowboy victory over Troy, OSU safety-linebacker Andre Sexton said he and teammates were "excited" about the prospect of being in the Top 25.

"That was one of our goals, and if you don't talk about it, it can't happen," Sexton said. "We talked about being in the Top 25, and hopefully (on Sunday) they will vote right for us. It should happen."

After facing A&M, OSU's schedule becomes extremely difficult. The current combined record of the Cowboys' final seven regular-season opponents is 23-5.



Bill Haisten 581-8397
bill.haisten@tulsaworld.com
By BILL HAISTEN World Sports Writer

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Rhymeister, Tulsa (9/29/2008 4:23:54 AM)
Gundy has the right attitude. It's not necessarily a great thing to be in the Top 25 at this point in the season they wanna be there at the end!

Okie State needs to keep improving, Zac Robinson is getting there but he has room for improvement, we kinda think he can be one of the best in the country, and the defense definitely is getting better every game but needs to toughen up because the big boys on the sked are up soon.
 

 
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