Despite Kansas' Record, Pokes Have a Difficult Task With Les Miles
STILLWATER -- The Cowboys are coming off a bye week and after moving up in both the CFP and regular season polls, will be looking to stay in them after Kansas leaves this weekend.
The Pokes moved up on spot in the College Football Rankings poll last night from No. 23 to 22, and they're also at No. 25 in the AP Poll.
As the title of the article suggests, despite the Jayhawks 3-6 record on the season, they're going to be a difficult task for the Pokes. They're a team that's itching for an upset as they nearly beat Texas in Austin, nearly beat West Virginia earlier in the season and suffered a loss to in-state rivals Kansas State on Nov. 2.
Another factor that plays in is Oklahoma State's season and their youth. The Pokes started strong, but dropped off once Big 12 play started, but have since been playing very well as they've beat both Iowa State and TCU in the last two games.
Kansas isn't a team that anyone, especially a youthful Oklahoma State team can overlook, especially the KU offense.
"With Kansas, they've done very well offensively in the last few weeks," said coach Gundy. "They're making some adjustments and getting good quarterback play. They've been very effective with the vertical-passing game. You have to wrap that running back up and get him down. If you bounce off of him and hit him, he's kind of like a bouncy ball. He just bounces around and keeps going. You're going to have to wrap him up and get him on the ground."
"They've got a lot of explosive guys," said Kolby Harvell-Peel. "They've got a good tailback, they've got a good receiving corps, so they've kind of caught their stride recently. We're going to try and do the best we can to try and bottle those guys up.
Running back Pooka Williams enters this game as one of the better backs in the conference. In eight games, he's rushed for 765 yards. As for quarterback Carter Stanley, he's really come on strong as of late as he's completed nearly 67 percent of his passes this season for 2,015 yards and 19 touchdowns.
"They've been very effective with the vertical-passing game," said coach Gundy. "You have to wrap that running back up and get him down. If you bounce off of him and hit him, he's kind of like a bouncy ball. He just bounces around and keeps going. You're going to have to wrap him up and get him on the ground. The quarterback has been effective enough at rushing the ball that we've worked extremely hard this weekend, trying to defend him on his running game. In my opinion, they've been most effective in vertical passing or play action."
Should Oklahoma State leave BPS Saturday afternoon with a 7-3 record? Absolutely. Does that mean it's guaranteed? Absolutely not. The Cowboys are going to need to stay at home, play disciplined and sound football and not overlook anything.
