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Can Cowboys cruise to 5-0?

OSU's Kendall Hunter finished with 107 yards rushing and two scores against Washington State. Stephen Pingry/Tulsa World
 
By BILL HAISTEN World Sports Writer
Published: 9/1/2008  2:07 AM
Last Modified: 9/1/2008  3:58 AM

 SEATTLE — First, it should be strongly emphasized that Washington State isn't very good.

In beating the Cougars 39-13 in Saturday's opener at Qwest Field, Oklahoma State simply made a routine par. The Cowboys were favored, and if their offense had not been so inconsistent, this would have been a 56-13 outcome.

Washington State has been picked to finish last in the Pac-10. That distinction seems appropriate.

The updated reasonable expectation for OSU fans? At the very least, they should expect a 5-0 record before the Cowboys play at Missouri on Oct. 11.

OSU now can look ahead to consecutive home dates with Houston (this Saturday), Missouri State (Sept. 13) and Troy (Sept. 27). The Big 12 schedule opens with yet another home game as Texas A&M visits Stillwater on Oct. 4.

Did you see what happened to Texas A&M on Saturday? The Aggies lost 18-14. At home. To Arkansas State.

After consecutive one-point losses to A&M, the Cowboys should be plenty motivated to pummel the Aggies at Boone Pickens Stadium.

The Cowboys have not been 5-0 since 2004 (Les Miles' final season as coach), but this OSU squad seems to have the wherewithal to match that start.

At that point, the Oklahoma State season becomes really interesting and challenging. There are trips to Mizzou, Texas, Texas Tech and Colorado. There is Bedlam on Nov. 29 in Stillwater.

Against Washington State, there were signs that October-November could be compelling for Cowboy fans. The OSU offense had an off-day against the Cougars and still managed three field goals and three touchdowns. The OSU defense was surprisingly effective, limiting WSU to only 196 total yards (a paltry 3.3 per snap). Perrish Cox scored on a 90-yard kickoff return TD, while Dez Bryant and Ricky Price had big punt returns.

So, yes, OSU mashed Washington State. The trick now is to avoid stumbles against the likes of Houston and Troy. If the Cowboy defense really is substantially improved, and if the special-teams units can be exceptional on a weekly basis, it ultimately could mean the difference between, say, an Independence Bowl berth and a flight to the Holiday Bowl.



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

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5 comments have been made for this team so far. Tell us what you think below!
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T Bone, (9/1/2008 10:54:09 AM)
Bill: Sure don't agree with you that WSU will be at the bottom of the PAC 10. The reason, it was the first game of the year for both WSU and OSU, and both looked a little sloppy. OSU was testing its defense (26 defensive players played) and the rushiing offense sure didn't look as good when they played Indiana last year. Gundy had a lot of guts to call the plays that he did as it sure did not spread WSU's defense and WSU running defense played fairly good. Maybe both teams will have rouble with their pass defense. Both teams played hard.
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Lance-a-lot, Tulsa (9/1/2008 9:07:35 PM)
They may go 5-0, but somewhere along the line, Gundy will screw the pooch like he always does.
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Dave in Houston, (9/2/2008 11:27:03 AM)
5-0 perhaps but, what good is that when it is followed up by 2-5. I agree with Adre Ware who said this morning on local Houston radio, "OSU is one of those teams that always looks good on paper and has high expectations but they always find a way to end up short."
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SixGunSam, (9/2/2008 12:35:08 PM)
UCLA played their first game of the year too... and beat Tennessee.

You ever notice how with some coaches, it doesn't take a lot of time in their system and years to produce? Those guys must just be lucky.

The Houston Coach must be pretty lucky too because his players didn't seem to need a lot of time in his system before looking pretty darned good.
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Dave in Houston, (9/2/2008 1:43:53 PM)
SixGunSam said: "The Houston Coach must be pretty lucky too because his players didn't seem to need a lot of time in his system before looking pretty darned good."
...That or they played Div I-AA Southern :/
 

 
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