2008 was the best season for the Cowboys of Stillwater since Barry Sanders rushed for them in the late 1980s. They put up great offensive numbers, and got everyone's attention with a win over Mizzou in October. Still, the team came up short against Texas, Oklahoma, and Texas Tech, finishing 4th in the Big12 South. With a majority of their team returning, can the Cowboys improve enough on defense to get over the hump and become the cream of the Big12 south cappuccino?
OFFENSE:
The offense is just loaded with talent. It all starts with QB Zac Robinson. He threw for 3064 yards, and TD-INT ratio of 25-10, completed 65% of his passes, and rushed for 562 yards. He is the "third" QB in the Big12 South, but could be better than the other two in the long run. At 6'3", he is targeted by many NFL scouts, and his senior season will be a great indicator of where he will land. His favorite target is WR Dez Bryant. Bryant caught 87 passes for 1480 yards and 19 TDs. Very impressive numbers for the junior. Bryant figures to be the first wide receiver taken in the draft if he decides to leave early. When I said that Bryant was his favorite target, I meant by a wide margin. The next leading receiver was TE Brandon Pettigrew, who only caught 42 passes. On top of that, Pettigrew is gone. If another WR doesnt step up, defenses will not wait long to double up on Bryant.
Last year in the Holiday Bowl, Bryant got injured mid-game. Once he did, the offense shut down. He stayed on the field for a while, played through injury, and was still a pretty effective decoy. He was running on one leg, and the Oregon defense still respected him enough to keep tight coverage on him, which opened up some other Cowboy Receivers. However, this was short lived, and Bryant had to come out of the game completely. When he did, the offense shut down. Despite not playing the whole game, Bryant caught 13 passes for 167 yards in the game.
But it is not just a pass happy offense for the Cowboys. The team returns RB Kendall Hunter. All Hunter did was rush for 1555 yards and 16 TDs last year. Backup RB Keith Toston ran for 686 yards and 9 TDs. Then, remember that Bryant ran for 562 yards, and you have a pretty good running attack. Combine that with the numbers they put up through the air, and Oklahoma State might be the most balanced team in the nation. They finished 8th in the nation in rushing offense, and 38th in passing, so technically they were more of a rushing team last year.
They return 3/5 starters on the offensive line, and there are none better than Russell Okung. Okung is a top 10-15 pick in waiting. They actually figure to be more of a rushing team than last year, even with Bryant returning.
DEFENSE:
But as is the case with all the teams in the PowderPuff12, the question is: can they play enough defense to stop anyone? In their four losses last year, they allowed 28, 56, 61, and 42 points. They ranked 76th in scoring defense, and 109th in pass defense. The strength of the defense this year will be their linebackers. All three starters return, the three top tacklers from last year, and they are all seniors. Worse yet though, they only return 1 player from their secondary. Having had such difficulty stopping the past last year, and returning only one starter could be a blessing or a sign that more trouble is ahead.
The defensive line is not absolved from any blame either. The Cowboys ranked 107th in the nation in sacks last year, averaging just over 1 a game. The secondary certainly wasn't good, but it could have gotten help if the line could had put any pressure on the quarterback. When you are/were playing the likes of Bradford, McCoy, Harrell, and then even Joe Ganz, Chase Daniel, and Todd Reesing from the North side, if you don't get any pressure on those guys, you will get eaten alive (they didnt play Kansas or Nebraska last year, so technically they didnt play Ganz, and they dont play Kansas this year so they dodge Reesing again). You get the point though, the PowderPuff12 is not the league you want to have a bad pass rush/pass defense in.
But the optimism lies in the offense. In a way, Okie State exceeded expectations last year. Cynics will say that the only bowl teams they beat were Mizzou and Houston. That, and that they lost to every good team they played. Optimists will say that they can have the best, or at least the most dynamic, offense in the nation this year. They weren't far off last year, and they could break through this year. None of that will happen until they improve their pass defense though.
Final:
9/5 Georgia ----- Win
9/12 Houston ------ Win (might see the highest o/u total of all time in this game)
9/19 Rice ------ Win
9/26 Grambling ---- Win
10/10 @ Texas A&M --- Win
10/17 Mizzou ----- Win
10/24 @ Baylor ----- Win
10/31 Texas ----- Loss
11/7 @ Iowa State ----- Win
11/14 Texas Tech ---- Win
11/19 Colorado ------- Win
11/26 @ Oklahoma ----- Loss
Another reason for optimism is their schedule. They get nearly all of their tough games at home (Texas, TT, UGA, Mizzou, ---- and they dodge Nebraska and Kansas from the north.) They have to travel a few miles to Norman, and the Big12 South title could be on the line at that point ---- or some bastardized 3 way tie version of it like last year. I would love to be in Stillwater for Halloween this year when Texas rolls into town.
10-2 (6-2)
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