What’s Scary About Oklahoma State?
Mike Gundy's coaching career at Oklahoma State has turned in a respectable 36-27 record over five years. With four straight winning seasons under his belt now, this streak looks to be tested. Now in his sixth year, Gundy will be fielding one of his least experienced teams to date. While possibly struggling to reach .500, it doesn't mean that they are not a dangerous team to face off against. They have some returning talent, along with a new high powered offensive coordinator, who could spell disaster for teams not wary of the potential threats the Cowboys bring to the table.
It's clear that in the Big 12 right now, the "Age of the Quarterbacks" has ended and the "Year of the Running Backs" is coming up. A likely candidate to lead the charge would be Kendall Hunter. Due to injuries last year, he was only able to muster 382 yards, but for his career he's at 2633 yards. Don't be surprised to see him top another 1000 yard season.
A healthy Hunter is a homerun threat who can take it to the house on any given play. With a couple of change of pace backups, Hunter will be able to stay fresh throughout the season. The only thing that might keep his numbers down is the change of offensive style brought on by new offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen. That new offensive style is another reason that this team gives Husker fans some anxiety.
The name Hologrsen might be recognized for a couple of reasons. From 2000-2007, he was under the tutelage of Mike Leach at Texas Tech as Offensive Coordinator and Co-Coordinator. But in the last two seasons, he's been running the offense of the Houston Cougars, helping Heisman hopeful Case Keenum pile up some major passing numbers. There's no denying the impressive nature of the 42 points/game, 563 yards/game, 434 passing yards/game and 70% completion stacked up last year at Houston. Holgorsen will have to try and put together a solid offense with Brandon Weedon at the helm. While he was able to pull an impressive comeback win against Colorado in the second half last year along with some spot duty, he's probably not another Zac Robinson, nor is he of the same mold as Keenum.
With the questionable defense that the Cowboys bring to the table, teams are no doubt going to put up some yards and points against Oklahoma State. But the last thing a team like Nebraska would want to do is get into a shootout with the new style of play that they will bring to the table. Holgorsen's return to the Big 12 means that not all teams are buying into the long term idea that offense will be shifting back to a more balanced attack to make an impact in the conference.
Ankeny, IA
8/24/2010
Here’s a fear factor for you:
NU is 1 & 3 against OSU from 2000 - today.
0 & 2 in Stillwater and 1 & 1 in Lincoln.
Not that the past reflects on the present, but they’ve had our number recently.
8/24/2010
2 things concern me.
1 - as NU-ISU mentioned, NU’s recent history with OSU is not good.
2 - it is the week after the UT game. Can you say let down?
8/24/2010
not only is it after the texas game, its the week befor the mu game. This will test how well Pelini keeps em focused…. We can either be caught slacking off or looking ahead, in OCTOBER!!!!!
Kansas City, MO
8/24/2010
I tend to look at match ups in a vacuum, not really considering their schedule and our schedule when I look at games. Looking back, this game is a concern because it’s in October, a notoriously mediocre month for Pelini the last two seasons. It’s nearness to Texas worries me about the physical and emotion toll on the players, but good teams overcome that kind of stuff.
On the other hand, the OSU defense is probably going to be bad. I mean real bad. They’ve got just two returning full time starters (plus one returning from injury) and depth is a concern at every position on D. The Huskers just need to try and control this game from start to finish and it won’t matter if there’s a tough offensive scheme or good running back or that it’s in October or that they’ve defeated us lately.