Critical year for Oklahoma State

By Raul Colon
rcolonfrias@yahoo.com

Oklahoma State has been teasing the Big Boys of the Big 12 now for the last five years. Ever since the innovating Mike Gundy (36-27 in five years) took the helm of the Cowboys, the ‘other’ Oklahoma school has steadily improved its level of play. Win total, the benchmark administrators usually use to measure a head coach success, has raise since 2005, going from a low of 4 victories in the fall of ’05 to 9 in both, the 2008 and 2009 campaigns. Paring the win increase has been an improvement in recruiting. State will never match the star power Big Brother Oklahoma has to attract prospects, but in Gundy’s tenure, OSU has amassed an impressive haul. They will never be a top 30 recruiting school, but a 45 average (over the last 3 years) is better than all but three conference schools.

Despite the number success, Gundy’s team hasn’t escaped the underachieving label. Their record against top 25 ranked opponents since 2005 is a very pedestrian 5-13. The biggest win, a 28-23 squeaker over an overrated Missouri team in 2008, left something to be desire. OSU’s bowl mark isn’t that pretty either. Wins over a mediocre Alabama team (2006 Independence) and a real bad Indiana one (2007 Insight) are sandwiched between bad losses to Ole Miss (2003 and 2009 Cotton), Ohio State (2004 Alamo) and Oregon (2008 Holiday). Enter 2010, a year which should mark State’s route for the next five years. Gone are the recruiting classes that saw QB Zac Robinson, WR Dez Bryan and OL Russell Okung emerge as team, and in the case of Bryan, national star.

Now its time to see how far the team can go with a relative young roster. The projected starting quarterback, Brandon Weeden, a former minor leaguer, has a better arm and more pocket presence than Robinson. He does lacks some mobility which can be an issue playing behind a line that return just one (RG Lane Taylor) starter. Look for RB Kendall Hunter (1,555 rushing yards, 16 TDs) to shoulder the lead early on as the offense transition from a rushing spread (the Cowboys has led the Big 12 in rushing the last four years) to a more balance attack.

New offensive coordinator, Dana Holgorsen, a Mike Leach protégé who was the architect of Houston’s top rate passing attack last year, believes the Cowboys have whet it takes to become a top notch aerial team. “I think we have in place the pieces to produce a better offense through the air. The receivers are young but their talent is undeniable. The line, although young, is big and athletic. Plus, our QB is a 26 year old with a very solid arm. Yes, I’m feeling confident”, said Holgorsen a few minutes after he arrived at Stillwater.

Supplanting the offense as the team main stay, at least in the early going, will be an athletic but inexperience defense. Only three (DEs Ugo Chinasa and Jaime Blatnick and FS Markelle Martin) full time starters return from a unit that was ranked 31st overall in the nation. The return of senior OLB Orie Lemon should improve a front seven that already boast two (Chinasa and Blatnick) of the best defensive linemen in the conference. The backfield is well manned by budding superstar Martin. The 6-foot-1 junior is one of the better players, regardless positions, in the country. The unit should be good enough to limit opponents below 22 ppg. A mark that by itself, in the offensive-minded Big 12, should produce at least three wins.

The schedule is conducive for a big year. Replacing Georgia at the beginning of the season is hapless Washington State. Gone is the scary Houston Cougar. In its place, Troy comes to Stillwater. An easy 3-0 beginning is all but guarantee with Tulsa visiting on the third week of September. The home stand ends with a visit from the Texas A&M. The Aggies are one of the sleepers teams in the conference and should handle Gundy’s squad its first loss of the year. The second should come two weeks later when State travel to Lubbock to tangle with the always exiting Red Raiders of Texas Tech. Nebraska should handle the Cowboys their third loss. November will be a brutal month for OSU. A trip to Austin should equal another loss as does a season end home game versus archrival Oklahoma.

A 7-4 mark and another mid level bowl bid can be considered a monumental step forward for a program on the rise. At the same time, if the club slip to a 6-5 mark, a distinct possibility with games versus upstart Baylor and the always dangerous Kansas State, they will be branded as underachieving. A label no head coach wants to tag his name on.