AP File PhotoOklahoma State hasn’t won more than eight games in a football season since Heisman Trophy winner Barry Sanders led the Cowboys to a 10-2 finish in 1988.
OSU (7-3 overall, 3-3 Big 12 Conference) already has qualified for a bowl game for the second straight year and has a chance to solidify its postseason standing in its final regular-season games against Kansas (5-5, 2-4) and Baylor (3-7, 1-5).
Still, there’s disappointment in Stillwater, Okla., that today’s game against KU at Boone Pickens Stadium doesn’t have more at stake — like a Big 12 South title or a Bowl Championship Series bid.
After losing the season opener to Nebraska, OSU reeled off seven straight victories — including conference wins against Kansas State, Texas Tech and Texas A&M. The Pokes were 7-1 overall, 3-1 in the conference, ranked in the top 25 and very much a factor in the South race.
The Cowboys had a chance to make a major statement Nov. 1 at top-ranked Oklahoma, a team it had beaten two years in a row.
The Sooners clobbered the Cowboys, 52-9.
Last week, Texas dropped OSU out of contention and out of the polls with a 55-16 victory in Stillwater.
The blowouts rated as the most lopsided losses in Les Miles’ three seasons as the Cowboys’ head coach.
“You have a wide array of opportunities at Oklahoma State — the opportunity in first game of season, the opportunity against our in-state rival, the opportunity against Texas this last week,” Miles said. “Those were big opportunities that we let pass. … Now we’re in a tier of goals and opportunities that are somewhat less than what we would have liked but still a very strong reason to play and win.”
Kansas will have the unenviable task of facing a team trying to bounce back from a loss to UT in its final home game of the season.
“This was a game in which we didn’t really measure up to a good Texas team,” Miles said. “We have to point at Kansas as an opportunity to win and send our seniors off with a victory in our stadium in their last time to take the field at Boone Pickens Stadium.”
OSU was battered in more ways than one against UT. Three starters — running back Tatum Bell (sprained ankle), right tackle Corey Hilliard (sprained knee) and defensive end Antonio Smith (sprained knee) — were injured against the Longhorns. Bell’s backup — Seymore Shaw (quad strain) also was injured in the loss.
Miles declined to update their status at his weekly news conference, but the Jayhawks likely will have their hands full regardless of who OSU puts on the field.
Bell leads the Big 12 and ranks sixth in the nation in rushing with an average of 124 yards per game, but OSU has plenty of other weapons. Quarterback Josh Fields has passed for 1,817 yards and 17 touchdowns, and All-American Rashaun Woods has caught 56 passes for 981 yards and 12 TDs.
Woods (6-foot-2, 190 pounds) especially could pose a threat to the Jayhawks, who have struggled against the pass since shutting down Missouri in the fifth week of the season.
“He’s a great challenge,” KU coach Mark Mangino said. “There’s no question about that. He’s one of the top receivers in the league. He’s big, tall and fast. He’s going to play on Sundays. We have to have a good plan and can’t let him break the game open.”
OSU also has a dangerous weapon in senior Darrent Williams, who is second in the Big 12 and eighth in the nation with six interceptions. He leads the league and ranks second in the nation in punt returns with an average of 17.9 yards.
“I don’t think we’ve lost the swagger about our team,” safety Elbert Craig said. “We’re a good team. We’ve been beaten the last two weeks by good teams. They’re very good teams, but to say we’ve lost confidence, we’ll be all right. We’ve got to bounce back.”
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