College Football News Preview 2020: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the Oklahoma State Cowboys season with what you need to know.
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– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Schedule Analysis
– Oklahoma State Previews 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015
2019 Record: 8-5 overall, 5-4 in Big 12
Head Coach: Mike Gundy, 16th year, 129-64
2019 CFN Final Opinion Ranking: 31
2019 CFN Final Season Formula Ranking: 50
2019 CFN Preview Ranking: 24
NOTE: Obviously, no one knows what’s going to happen to the 2020 college football season. We’ll take a general look at where each team stands – doing it without spring ball to go by – while crossing our fingers that we’ll all have some well-deserved fun this fall. Hoping you and yours are safe and healthy.
5. College Football News Preview 2020: Oklahoma State Cowboys Offense 3 Things To Know
– The Oklahoma State offense was terrific, but for the second straight season it suffered a few strange power outages. With so many shootouts in the Big 12, the offense has to keep scoring on a consistent basis, going 2-8 over the last two seasons when scoring 31 points or fewer.
Putting up points in bunches shouldn’t be a problem with this year’s group.
A few starters are done on the line, but nine regular starters are expected back overall including – potentially – some of the most dangerous skill starts in college football. It all starts with …
CFN in 60 Video: Oklahoma State Cowboys Preview
– Chuba Hubbard is back. He would’ve been one of the top running backs off the board had he left early for the NFL, but now he’s back after running for close to 2,100 yards with 21 touchdowns as one of the fastest and most consistent backs in the country. Now it’s time to give him a little more help.
Senior LD Brown added 221 yards and two scores, and JUCO transfer Dezmon Jackson will start to get more work after seeing a little time in a few games. The offensive line will be good enough to give them all room to move.
The tackles are set, and getting West Virginia transfer Josh Sills helps fill in a gap at guard. Overall, though, the front five can’t allow so many tackles for loss and have to do a better job in pass protection.
– For now, Spencer Sanders appears to be the main man to run the attack. He had a few down games, threw too many picks, and was banged up late in the year, but he runs well and should be past the freshman inconsistencies – at least, that’s the hope.
He’s not a 100% lock for the gig, though, with 6-5, 226-pound freshman Shane Illingworth good enough to take over right away. No matter who’s under center, the receivers will be there to shine.
The receiving corps has the potential to be devastating it the main man is healthy. Tylan Wallace was on his way to a special season before suffering a torn ACL. He caught 53 passes for 903 yard and eight scores before going down, but that allowed Dillon Stoner and junior Braydon Johnson to step up and do more. Four reserve receivers might be transferring out, but 6-5 LSU transfer Dee Anderson is on his way in
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Oklahoma State Cowboys Defense 3 Things To Know
4. College Football News Preview 2020: Oklahoma State Cowboys Defense 3 Things To Know
– The defense was good enough. Oklahoma State will never push Alabama when it comes to killer Ds, but as long as it can hold serve once in a while in the Big 12 so the offense can do its thing, it’s doing its job.
There wasn’t one crippling issue last season – the Cowboys finished seventh in the Big 12 in total defense and fifth in scoring D – but it could still stand to be a wee bit better, and that’s about to happen.
12 of the top 13 tacklers are back, most of the top pass rushers return, and there’s enough size and depth to expect an overall production upgrade.
– The line was okay at getting behind the line, but it could use more from the ends and hope for more on the inside with a stronger rotation. The ends got their feet wet – they were all underclassmen last season – with Trace Ford the undersized speedster with the upside to bet the game-wrecker last year’s bunch was missing. There isn’t a true 320-pound thumper on the inside, but there’s good enough production and depth to be better.
– The linebackers should be the stars early on. Canadien Amen Ogbongbemiga was the do-it-all force, but safety-sized Malcolm Rodriguez led the team in tackles. More option and depth in the 4-2-5 would be nice, but those two are good as it.
The secondary loses star corner AJ Green, but everyone else is back including terrific-hitting safety Kolby Harvell-Peel. Considering the alignment prefers to use three safeties, get excited about the top six options all returning.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Top Oklahoma State Cowboys Players
College Football News Preview 2020: Top Oklahoma State Cowboys Players
Best Oklahoma State Cowboys Offensive Player
RB Chuba Hubbard, Jr.
The 6-0, 201-pounder was a yardage machine with well over 100 yards in every game but the blowout win over McNeese State – he wasn’t needed – with 2,094 yards and 21 touchdowns in an all-star season.
While he’ll be pegged as a track guy playing football – in a good way, like former Minnesota Viking star Robert Smith – he proved he was more than tough enough to handle the workload with 328 carries and with 20 or more runs in every FBS game except for the 19 he got in the bowl loss to Texas A&M. He might be a marked man, but it doesn’t matter – he’ll still get his 100 yards.
2. WR Tylan Wallace, Sr.
3. QB Spencer Sanders, Soph.
4. WR Dillon Stoner, Sr.
5. OT Teven Jenkins, Sr.
Best Oklahoma State Cowboys Defensive Player
LB Amen Ogbongbemiga, Sr.
An all-star on the field and in the classroom, the 6-1, 231-pound thumper on the inside finished second on the team with 100 tackles and led the way with five sacks and 15.5 tackles for loss. While he has the speed and the timing to get behind the line when the line isn’t, he’s at his best using his range from sideline-to-sideline.
2. LB Malcolm Rodriguez, Sr.
3. S Kolby Harvell-Peel, Jr.
4. DT Israel Antwine, Jr.
5. DE Trace Ford, Soph.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Oklahoma State Cowboys Keys To The Season
College Football News Preview 2020: Oklahoma State Cowboys Keys To The Season
Biggest Key To The Oklahoma State Cowboys Offense
Don’t turn the ball over so much. Duh, that matters for everyone, and Oklahoma State actually managed to survive a few multi-turnover games. However, the team was 5-0 before the bowl loss when it turned the ball over once or not at all. Over the last four years, the Cowboys are 12-2 when they don’t give the ball away.
Again, giveaways weren’t always a deathblow last season, but they were when there were more than two.
OSU gave it up five times in the loss to Texas Tech and three times to Baylor. For a team that has the pieces in place to come up with a fabulous season, turnover margin should be the difference – five of the last ten games were decided by a touchdown or less.
Biggest Key To The Oklahoma State Cowboys Defense
Just don’t get totally torched through the air. Everyone will get ripped up from time to time in the Big 12 by at least one of the great passers, but Oklahoma State really can’t seem to handle the big plays.
The pass rush needs to be stronger and more dominant, but it should be okay. The secondary is loaded with veterans and options, and there’s more than enough talent to be as good as most of the pass defenses in the league. However, there are two key aspects to the team’s secondary over the years.
Multiple interceptions, and yards per attempt.
Oklahoma State is 0-12 going back to 2012 when allowing teams to complete 9.9 yards or more per pass. The last time it won when giving up double-digit yards per attempt was against Andrew Luck and Stanford in the epic 2012 Fiesta Bowl.
Going back to 2010, the program is 16-1 when picking off three or more passes including a great 3-0 run last year when it intercepted nine passes in three games.
Key Oklahoma State Cowboys Player To A Successful Season
QB Spencer Sanders, Soph.
When the 6-2, 195-pounder was on last year, the team was all but unstoppable. There were a few misfires in big games – like the two picks given up in the loss to Texas, and the three to Texas Tech – but for the most part he was terrific before getting knocked out for the final two games of the regular season.
He’s a slippery runner, he can handle the workload from time to time, and he’s got the timing to grow into more of a big play passer.
This year, he should be the best quarterback in just about every game – Oklahoma, Iowa State and Texas the outliers – and if he’s not, that’s what star recruit Shane Illingworth is for.
Key Game To The Oklahoma State Cowboys Season
Oklahoma, Oct. 24
Enough. It’s time to win this Bedlam thing again.
Get by the Sooners, and with home games against Iowa State and Texas, it would be time to think really, really big. But there’s one problem …
Oklahoma State can’t beat Oklahoma lately.
The Sooners have won five straight – basically, they’ve won ever since they regained superpower status again – and 15 of the last 17 games.
– Oklahoma State Cowboys Schedule Breakdown & Analysis
2019 Oklahoma State Fun Stats
– Penalties: Opponents 96 for 884 yards – Oklahoma State 67 for 612 yards
– 1st Quarter Scoring: Oklahoma State 116 – Opponents 50
– 4th Down Conversions: Oklahoma State 11-of-21 (52%) – Opponents 8-of-21 (38%)
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Oklahoma State Cowboys Win Total Prediction, What Will Happen
1. College Football News Preview 2020: Oklahoma State Cowboys Win Total Prediction, What Will Happen
Oklahoma State is overdue for a ten-win season again.
The program was on a terrific run of six double-digit win campaigns in eight years from 2010 to 2017, but the last two years were a bit rough.
The offense had some strange lapses, the defense couldn’t quite pull through in enough close games, and going 15-11 is the worst two-season stretch for Mike Gundy since he got past his first three seasons.
This year’s team should be ready to bust out again.
It’s not just that there’s experience and talent across the board, it’s that there’s enough depth to fill in the gaps when and where needed. It was actually a big plus that no Cowboy got drafted in April – almost everyone is back.
Set The Oklahoma State Cowboys Regular Season Win Total At … 9
Bet at BetMGM Win Total Line: 8.5
Oregon State, Tulsa and Western Illinois have to be no-brainer home wins to kick things off before getting a week off. The Cowboys get Texas and Iowa State at home, and while there’s a road game against a significantly weaker Baylor team, the real test will be the trip over to Norman to deal with OU.
However, this year’s team should be good enough and explosive enough to at least pull off nine regular season wins while setting the bar at a spot in the Big 12 Championship.
Here’s the call – the Texas game in Stillwater to end the regular season will be for a spot in the conference title game.
