Numbers to Know: Texas-Oklahoma State

I don’t think it’s any secret: the Oklahoma State Cowboys need a win badly on Saturday against the Texas Longhorns at Boone Pickens Stadium. The losses to Central Michigan and Baylor have already knocked the Cowboys out of contention for the College Football Playoff before the calendar has flipped to October.

But that doesn’t mean there isn’t still quite a bit to play for in 2016. The Big 12 is still wide open for the taking, and Oklahoma State has the next 8 games to fight for the Big 12 title and a big time bowl game.

On the flip side, a loss on Saturday to Texas could derail this season, and turn it from a disappointing start into a full fledged dumpster fire. There’s been some well publicized grumbling from T. Boone this week after the loss to Baylor, and 2-3 would be a monumental failure after five games, after many Cowboys fans expected to challenge for a Big 12 title and perhaps a spot in the College Football Playoff.

Texas (2-1) is coming off of a bye week, so they’ve had two weeks to prepare for Oklahoma State. The Longhorns kicked off their season in style, taking down the then 10^th Ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish in a double-overtime thriller, 50-47. The Longhorns followed that up with a strong win over UTEP 41-7, but fell in week 3 to California 50-43, in a fairly controversial finish. So what else is there to know about Oklahoma State and Texas?

1. Can Mike Gundy keep beating Bevo?

A win over Texas on Saturday would make it five out of the last seven against Texas. Similar to last week against Baylor, a win over the most recognizable and prestigious football team in the state of Texas would be enormous for ‘Crootin. The vast majority of top recruits on Oklahoma State’s radar are playing their high school ball in Texas, and odds are Charlie Strong and his staff have an eye on them as well. Plus, what better way to shut up a certain wealthy booster than to take it to the Longhorns on Saturday?

2. But doesn’t Texas have an 8-Game Winning Streak in Stillwater?

Yep, they sure do. The Cowboys have amazingly not beaten the Texas Longhorns in Stillwater since 1997. The last time the ‘Horns came to town, they ran the Cowboys off their own field, 28-7 in 2014. The Pokes did get some sweet revenge in Austin last year, but don’t think Gundy and the staff know that they haven’t beaten the burnt orange at BPS since they got here.

3. It sounds like the 2016 Longhorns don’t play much defense?

You’re right, they haven’t so far. Notre Dame and Cal almost combined to hit triple digits in points in their two games against them, and there’s no reason Mason, The President, and the rest of the offense can’t have a field day against that defense. Texas is giving up 386.3 yards per game (68^th in the NCAA) and 235.7 passing yards per game (75^th in NCAA), and they haven’t seen an offense like the Cowboys yet. Oh yeah, and hush up about the fumbles- it’s time to let Justice loose as the feature back.