OSU hosts Missouri without Dez Bryant, Kendall Hunter
After an important Big 12 South road win at Texas A&M, Oklahoma State will take on Missouri Saturday in their drive for a conference title.
OSU beat A&M 36-31 at College Station - an important road win for the surging Cowboys.
OSU will have to take on the Tigers without All-American receiver Dez Bryant, who was suspended indefinitely last week for lying to the NCAA about a meeting with Deion Sanders.
Also, star running back Kendall Hunter is still sidelined with an injury.
“The A&M game was a good win for us,” said OSU coach Mike Gundy. “The defense made plays in crucial situations and the offense made plays at big times in third-and-long situations. There were players on both sides of the ball that made plays that nobody would have expected prior to the season. The same thing with special teams, I thought Perrish Cox was a huge lift for us in the return game. All three phases contributed to a good win.”
The Tigers, who lost to Nebraska last week, will be a test for the Pokes.
“They’re a very good football team,” Gundy said.”This will be a great challenge for us in all phases. Missouri moves the ball offensively, their system hasn’t changed much. Their quarterback is making plays. Obviously, he’s much bigger size-wise than Chase Daniel was. They are using the same system. They’ve got two receivers and those guys are making plays for them. They spread the ball out. Defensively, they tackle very well. There are some new guys up front compared to what they had last year. Some of their younger players, in our opinion, have developed and are good football players up front. Obviously, Sean Weatherspoon is a really, really good football player. He’s one of the best we’ve seen in years. This will be a great challenge for us.”
Last year, OSU and Missouri met in Columbia and both were unbeaten. Then-No. 17 OSU won 28-23 over the No. 3 Tigers. Missouri had won 18 of its 19 previous home games, including 10 in a row. Missouri became the highest ranked team to fall to Oklahoma State in a road game.
“Last year is last year and this year is this year,” said OSU’s Swanson Miller. “I think we’ll approach this game as we approached this season as a new season. This will be a new game, so we’ll have to go out there, be prepared and don’t take anybody lightly and just come out ready to play.”
“Everybody just came out with a good attitude and a little bit of swagger about themselves and they were ready to make plays, so we’re looking forward to doing it this year,” said OSU safety Victor Johnson.
Gundy applauded the efforts of his reserve running backs, Beau Johnson and Keith Toston.
“Beau and Keith did a great job for us,” Gundy said. “I don’t mention those guys a lot because they are veteran players and we expect that from them. They really stepped up and got some tough yards for us. As we talked about after the game, the yards after contact were really good. They picked up the blitz very well. We were concerned going into that game with the blitz and the way (A&M’s) Von Miller had put pressure on other teams and created opportunities for sacks. Those guys did a nice job of picking up the blitz.”
Zac Robinson connected with RB Toston on a 34-yard screen pass in the first quarter. The reception was the longest of Toston’s career until the two connected on a 40-yard screen pass later in the quarter. Toston finished the game with 74 receiving yards to set a new single-game career high.
As more and more teams are going to a spread offense, defenses are catching up, Gundy said.
“Five years ago, we talked about zone blitzes, running defenses and three years ago we talked about offenses spreading people out and getting into space and they had the advantage,.” Gundy said. “I think now, defenses are back to catching up. We’re turning full circle again. I think defenses are playing smarter with some of the inside stunts and twists and disguising of coverage. In my opinion, defenses are now starting to play a little catch-up. I don’t necessarily relate that to Missouri or A&M, it’s just all across the country.”
Gundy is confident his receiving corps will continue to respond to the absence of Bryant.
“We’ve got a number of guys that can step up and make some plays,” Gundy said. “They’ve made some catches at crucial times. They are a long way from arriving. They’ve got a long way ahead of them and a lot of work to do. We’re very encouraged with their effort.”
“Tracy Moore has been doing well,” said wideout Justin Blackmon. “Dameron Fooks, Josh Cooper and Hubert Anyiam - everyone’s been stepping up and doing their part. That’s what we needed to do.
“Obviously, you’re losing a big part of our team, but it’s just like an injury. If he was hurt, that’s the way the cards are dealt and you’ve just got to go on and try your best.”
Missouri leads the all-time series with the Cowboys, 28-21. The first meeting came back in 1915.
The two schools met every year from 1961 through 1997 as Big Eight Conference foes. Missouri leads the series by a 5-2 count during the Big 12 era. The road team has won the last four games in the series (two each in Stillwater and Columbia). In Stillwater, the all-time series is even at 11-11 with Missouri riding a four-game winning streak in its last four visits to Stillwater.
Oklahoma State won all three games against members of the Big 12 North last season, and has won four in a row against the division overall. Dating back to 2006, the Cowboys are 7-2 vs. the North with at least one win against every school in the division. Since the creation of the Big 12, OSU is 19-20 vs. the North.
OSU offensive lineman Andrew Lewis said the Cowboys are ready for a tough battle in the running game, if needed, against Missouri.
“If we’re put in that situation, I’d hope to say that we can do that again this week,” It just depends on what the game situation is, but we’ll definitely look forward to putting that on our shoulders again in the near future.
“We definitely have more confidence. I think the Grambling State game got us on our feet and then in the A&M game, it just seems like we have a lot more confidence going into the next game.”
The Tigers outgained OSU by a 454-404 count last year, but OSU intercepted Chase Daniel three times and held the Tigers 19 points below their scoring average.
The Cowboy defense limited Derrick Washington to 11 rushing yards on eight attempts. The Cowboys got a 68-yard rushing touchdown from Hunter and Damian Davis hauled in a pair of Robinson touchdown passes.
Hunter ran for 154 yards and Robinson was 19-of-28 for 215 yards with an interception and two TD passes.
He also rushed for 34 yards and a score.