Preview: Oklahoma State @ Texas Tech - November 8th
By Totals 4U
Oklahoma State (8-1, 4-1 Big 12) crushed Iowa State 59-17 last week at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, racking up 682 yards of total offense including 395 yards through the air by 6’3” 210 junior QB Zac Robinson (129 of 187 for 2082 yards, 20 TD, 5 INT) who found 6’2” 215 sophomore WR Dez Bryant (60 for 1054 and 15 TD) four times for scores. As impressive as that win was, Special Teams Coordinator Joe Deforest must have some concern. His crew has been largely sharp and includes Ray Guy ward Finalist senior P Matt Fodge (43.6 yards per punt, 1 blocked) but the Cyclones’ Leonard Johnson broke the All-Time NCAA single game kick return record with 319 yards on 9 returns with runs of 48, 72, and 73 yards. Now they hit the road again for their 3rd contest in 5 weeks against the NCAA’s Top 5 (won 28-23 at Missouri, lost 24-28 at Texas). The Cowboys have remained remarkably healthy this season just losing a handful of player-games all season including none by their experienced offensive line (just 10 sacks allowed) that has powered a blistering attack of 45.3 points on 512.0 yards per game (273.6 rush and 5.7 per with 29 TD, 238.4 pass at 10.9 per attempt and 24 TD). In addition to Bryant, who also returns punts at 19.2 yards per with a pair to the house, 6’5” 178 sophomore WR Damian Davis (9 for 222 and 2 TD) and 5’10” 186 junior WR Bo Dowling (9 for 172 and 2 TD) also work through the air where State has averaged a ridiculous 16.0 yards per completion. 6’6” 255 senior TE Brandon Pettigrew (21 for 236) missed 3 games this season and was used mostly in blocking against Iowa State but will become a bigger threat again as he gets healthier. And it only gets better on the ground. 5’8” 190 sophomore RB Kendall Hunter (182 for 1220 yards and 11 TD) may be the nation’s best small back while backups Keith Tolston (76 for 565 and 8 TD) and Beau Johnson (48 for 303 and 3 TD) offer opponents simply no drop off. With the set offense to dynamic, QB Robinson (92 rushes for 341 yards and 5 TD) hasn’t needed to run as much this season but with 1332 career yards on the ground he can unleash his wheels at any time.
Former Oklahoma State star quarterback and present Head Coach Mike Gundy (26-20 in 4th season) brings his best defense ever to the field this season, allowing 21.0 points on 357.4 yards per game. The base is 4-3 but Defensive Coordinator Tim Beckman will mix in plenty of 3-man line cross opponents up and it certainly has been effective against the run where the Cowboys yield just 3.8 yards per carry and 116.9 per game. The senior interior of defensive tackles 6’0” 310 Tonga Tea (14 T, 2 ½ TFL) and 6’3” 290 Jeray Chatham (8 T, 2 TFL, S) get great penetration as do backups Miller (10 T, 2 TFL) and Jarka (8 T, 3 TFL) who rotate heavily while 6’5” 253 sophomore left ends Ugo Chinasa (20 T, 6 ½ TFL, 2 S, I) and 6’2” 245 junior Jeremiah Price (17 T, 3 S, I) may not have huge sack numbers because of the scheme but are superb players that control the line of scrimmage. Benefiting from the discipline up front are backers Orie Lemon (60 T, 3 ½ TFL) Patrick Lavine (42 T, 2 TFL, 2 I), and especially 6’0” 217 junior SLB Andre Sexon (69 T, 4 TFL, S, I) who is able to work free most of the time behind Chiasa/Price. LCB Perrish Cox (21 T, I) – with speed that has produced 31.1 yards per kick return and a score - is the guy most passing offenses want to stay away from so 5’11” 175 senior RCB Jacob Lacey (37 T, TFL, 2 I) and 5’11” 175 NB Terrance Anderson (22 T, 1 ½ TFL, I) get plenty of action on a squad the allows 240.6 yards per game through the air at just 6.1 yards per attempt plus the Cowboy safeties hit like much bigger men. Quinton Moore (45 T) and backup TJ Bell (17 T, TFL) are solid players but keep your eyes on 6’1” 193 senior SS Ricky Price. Beckman will line up this kid from Houston all over the field where he has racked a pair of sacks among 4 ½ tackles for loss, snatched a pick, and piled up 48 tackles through 9 games.
Texas Tech (9-0, 5-0 Big 12) gave back a 19-0 lead and then came back to pull off the biggest victory in school history last week, 39-33 over the Longhorns, with a 28-yard Harrell to Crabtree through double coverage touchdown with a single second remaining on the clock, capping off a 31 first down and 5579 yards offensive performance. 6’3” 214 sophomore WR Michael Crabtree (70 for 921 yards and 15 TD) is simply in a class by himself looking to defend his 2007 Biletnikoff Award that he earned with NCAA bests 134 catches for 1960 yards (including 14 for 237 against the Cowboys) and 22 touchdowns in his freshman season. 6’3” 205 senior QB Graham Harrell’s (292 of 413 for 3621 yards, 30 TD, 5 INT) career numbers are just as eye popping with 4555 passing yards in 2006 and another 5705 last season plus he has added 5 scores on the ground this campaign. The biggest question about this pair is which one should with the Heisman Trophy with a secondary query of just who couldn’t put up numbers behind this offensive line? At 323 pounds and 6’6” per man this crew is a home-grown Texas force of nature and the right, power-rushing side of 6’7” 327 junior RT Marlon Winn and 6’7” 354 junior RG Brandon Carter should have their own time zone and may shift the earth’s axis if their Red Raiders make trip to Miami for the National Championship Game. Behind these behemoths, backs 5’11” 194 senior Shannon Woods (107 for 552 yards and 10 TD) and 5’11” 200 sophomore Baron Batch (82 for 588 and 5 TD) simply cannot be found while the receiving corps of Morris (46 for 498 and 5 TD), James (12 for 110 and TD), Lewis (50 for 637 and TD), Swindall (33 for 422 and TD), Britton (27 for 461 and 3 TD), Leong (11 for 122 and 3 TD), plus Crabtree give even offensive genius and Head Coach Mike Leach (74-37 in 9th season) more weapons than he has snaps for. By the numbers, Tech has piled up an astounding 47.0 points (#3 NCAA) on 559.3 yards (#2) including 424.6 (#1) through the air per game.
If you think Texas was a fluke, look no further than the 63-21 demolition the Red raiders performed on Kansas in Lawrence the week before and defense has been a key part of the equation, especially contributing to Texas Tech’s 238-94 first half scoring advantage. Often troubled RDE McKinner Dixon (24 T, 7 sacks) will be missed this week after being helped off the field against the Horns but backups 6’7” 255 senior Jake Ratliff (7 T, TFL) and 6’3” 239 junior Daniel Howard (6 T, 3 S) are ready to go in his place while LDE Brandon Williams (18 T, 10 sacks) flat-out can single-handedly change a game by himself plus defensive tackles 6’1” 272 junior Richard Jones (20 T, 4 TFL, S, I) and 6’2” 281 sophomore Colby Whitlock (26 T, 4 TFL, I, SF) do much more than just hold the point as one can see from the picks and tackles for loss. Backers Bront Bird (41 T, 3 TFL, S), Brian Duncan (63 T, TFL, I), and Marlon Williams (49 T, 3 TFL, 2 S) are each extremely quick to the ball plus – just like the Tech defensive line – have the keen awareness and ball skills to bat and deflect a ton of passes. 15 interceptions have been the tally for Defensive Coordinator Ruffin McNeill’s unit with 6’1” 196 senior FS Darcell McBath (48 T) and 5’11” 203 senior and Big 12 Defender of the Week SS Daniel Charbonnet (48 T, 2 TFL) each snatching 5 ball apiece. Against a team as effective through the air and around the ends on the ground as Oklahoma State, play from your corners is critical and the Raiders have a pretty sharp junior pair. 5’10” 195 LCB Jamar Wall (44 T, TFL, 2 I) and 6’0” 195 Brent Nickerson (26 T) bring the size necessary in the Big 12 Conference while backup safeties Rowland (21 T, TFL) and Hines (18 T) get most of the action in the nickel and dime. And then…there is…the Texas Tech…placekicking game. If you don’t know the story, Mike Leach was so beside himself with the numerous blocked kicks that he grabbed a kid from the student body. Earlier this season, in a shoot-a-ball-from-half-court-and-win-a-million-dollars type of deal, 5’10” 156 Matt Williams was selected at random from the student section to attempt a 30-yarder at halftime for a chance to win a free month of rent. Williams sailed the ball through, was flagged down by the Tech staff on the way back to his seat, and found himself in Coach Leach’s office come Monday. In his first game, Williams earned Big 12 Conference Special Teams Player of the Week honors by nailing 9 of 9 extra points against Kansas. If you made this stuff up, it would take about 3 seconds for someone to call “Bullshit”!
FREE SELECTION: This game has been moved to prime time (8:00 PM EST on ABC) and is unquestionably the game to watch this weekend. The Cowboys have blocked 3 kicks this season, have had one blocked, surrendered the all-time, single-game kick return mark last week, and have banked 3 return touchdowns of their own. The Red Raiders have had 9 of their own kicks blocked, feature a kid from the crowd making place kicks, have blocked a pair of their opponents attempts, and have taken a punt to the house. We’ll go with the Mike Leach’s crew to get their 12th consecutive home with over Oklahoma State but special teams play makes this contest a better game to watch than bet. Take Texas Tech –3 ½ at AT&T Jones Stadium.