[BAYLOR FOOTBALL] FW: Game Notes: Oklahoma State Set for Regular Season Finale

Tue Dec 8 13:32:10 CST 2020

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Taylor Bryan | Assistant AD for Football External
Department of Athletics | Baylor University
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From: "Maguire, Sean" <sean.maguire at okstate.edu>
Date: Tuesday, December 8, 2020 at 1:09 PM
To: "ath-media-l at listserv.okstate.edu" <ath-media-l at listserv.okstate.edu>
Cc: "athletics-l at listserv.okstate.edu" <athletics-l at listserv.okstate.edu>
Subject: Game Notes: Oklahoma State Set for Regular Season Finale

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For Immediate Release  |  Dec. 8, 2020  |  Contact: Sean Maguire (sean.maguire at okstate.edu<mailto:sean.maguire at okstate.edu>)

Game Notes: Oklahoma State Set for Regular Season Finale

OSU faces Baylor in Waco on Saturday night.

Complete Notes<https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fokstate.com%2Fdocuments%2F2020%2F12%2F8%2F10_Baylor.pdf&data=04%7C01%7CTaylor_Bryan%40baylor.edu%7C99d1fe5612cd411ea4ae08d89bac8c05%7C22d2fb35256a459bbcf4dc23d42dc0a4%7C0%7C1%7C637430513409441773%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=UlWSJW8HZiSnMiNwOnk8jTMYkTxGv7x98JCFf%2FzKLvk%3D&reserved=0>

The Basics

The Oklahoma State football team (6-3 overall; 5-3 Big 12) closes out the regular season at 6 p.m. CT Saturday, when it faces Baylor (2-6 overall; 2-6 Big 12) at McLane Stadium in Waco, Texas.

On the Air

The game will be televised by ESPNU with Clay Matvick and Rocky Boiman on the call. The contest will also be carried live on the Cowboy Radio Network, with Dave Hunziker handling play-by-play, John Holcomb providing analysis and Robert Allen reporting from the sideline. Fans outside of the Cowboy Radio Network can listen to the OSU broadcast for free through TuneIn Radio or the TuneIn Radio app.

In the Rankings

OSU is receiving votes in both the Associated Press Top 25 and the Amway Coaches Poll, but is just outside the top 25. Including 2020, OSU has reached the top 15 of the AP poll at some point in 11 of the past 13 seasons. OSU has also seen a top 10 ranking in the AP poll at some point in nine of those 13 years. This marks the first week of the 2020 season that the Cowboys have been left out of the rankings, ending a streak of 13 consecutive weeks where they were ranked by the AP. It was the eighth-longest streak in school history. OSU was slotted at No. 15 in the Dec. 1 edition of the 2020 College Football Playoff rankings, marking its highest CFP Ranking since week 11 of the 2017 season. This week's CFP rankings will be released on Tuesday night. Including 2020, the Cowboys have been included in the CFP rankings in five of the past six seasons. Baylor is not ranked.

The Series

Saturday's game marks the 39th meeting between Oklahoma State and Baylor, with the series dating back to 1914. The 2020 season also marks the 25th consecutive year the teams have met. OSU owns a 20-18 all-time series advantage, with Baylor holding a 10-6 edge in Waco. OSU has won 17 of the past 24 matchups with Baylor, including six of the 11 matchups played in Waco since the formation of the Big 12. Coach Mike Gundy is 8-7 in his career against Baylor, while Baylor coach Dave Aranda is facing Oklahoma State for the first time in his career.

Oklahoma State from a Distance

Oklahoma State is 6-3 overall on the year and is tied with Texas for third place in the Big 12 standings. A win Saturday would give the Cowboys back-to-back third place finishes in the league standings and mark their eighth top-three Big 12 finish in the 10 seasons played since the conference moved to a full round robin schedule in 2011. The biggest storylines for the Cowboys this season have been the emergence of the Cowboy defense and the injuries suffered by the OSU offense, in particular the offensive line. OSU's defense has held its first eight opponents to an average of 389 yards of total offense per game, which if the season ended today would mark the lowest average allowed by the Cowboys since the 2013 season (385). The most impressive statistics from the Cowboy defense has been its ability to score and to stop opponents on third down. The OSU defense has four touchdowns this year to rank No. 1 in the FBS, including three fumble return touchdowns (also No. 1) and a pick six. OSU ranks No. 3 in the country in third down defense with a 26.7 opponent conversion rate (36 of 135). It is also among the best nationally at applying pressure, ranking No. 14 in tackles for loss and No. 20 in sacks. On offense, the Cowboys rank among the top three in the Big 12 in rushing yards per game, while wide receiver Tylan Wallace is the league's leading receiver in terms of yards and receptions, both on a per game and total basis. The offense is balanced, as the Cowboys have totaled 1,686 rushing yards and 1,983 passing yards. OSU is one of just 10 Power Five teams with more than 1,600 rushing yards and 1,900 passing yards this season. The OSU offense has been hit hard by the loss of personnel this year. Starting quarterback Spencer Sanders was hurt in the first quarter of the season and missed the next two games, All-America receiver Tylan Wallace missed the game against Kansas State and the fourth quarter against TCU, All-America running back Chuba Hubbard has missed the last two games and eight offensive linemen have been unavailable at some point this year as well. Hubbard's backup, LD Brown - who has been performing at the best level of his career - missed the last two games as well. Dezmon Jackson, the third running back on the OSU depth chart, has provided one of the best stories of the Cowboy season while subbing in, as he rushed for 235 yards and three touchdowns in the first start of FBS career vs. Texas Tech and followed it up with a 118-yard rushing day at TCU. He is now the only player in the FBS who has gained more 400 rushing yards without losing a single yard. On top of the already long list of injuries, kicker Alex Hale was injured in pregame warmups before the Bedlam game, and has missed the last three games as a result. All that said, OSU's 6-3 record and third-place spot in the conference standings is made more impressive when considering the high injury rate the Cowboys have faced in an already challenging 2020 season.

An Oklahoma State Win Would...

• Make it 21-18-2 all-time vs. Baylor and 7-10 all-time vs. Baylor in Waco.

• Make it 18-7 in its past 25 games vs. Baylor and give it wins in seven of the past 12 in Waco.

• Give it wins in 10 of its past 14 Big 12 games.

• Make it 74-16 in its past 90 games vs. unranked opponents, dating back to 2010.

• Give Mike Gundy a win as a head coach in every current Big 12 stadium.

• Improve Mike Gundy's career record vs. Baylor to 9-7.

• Make it 8-2 in its past 10 games played when not ranked by the AP.

• Give it four straight wins in games following a loss.

• Make it 7-3 or better for the second straight year and for the 11th time in the Mike Gundy era.

• Make it 7-4 in its past 11 road games.

• Improve it to 40-18 in its past 58 games and 54-24 in its past 78 games.

• Improve Mike Gundy's record in Big 12 games to 83-55.

• Improve it to 64-34 in Big 12 games since 2010.

Notable Streaks and Trends Entering the Game

• OSU has scored on defense in two straight and three of its past four games.

• OSU has held 11 of its past 13 Big 12 opponents under their season scoring average.

• OSU has won 72 consecutive games when holding its opponent to fewer than 20 points, dating back to Sept. 13, 2003  – the longest active stretch of time in the FBS and longest since at least 1980.

• OSU is 25-10 in its past 35 games decided by fewer than 10 points.

• OSU is 29-5 in its past 34 games when leading at halftime, dating back to Sept. 17, 2016.

• Dating back to 2005, OSU is 40-3 when not committing a turnover.

• Dating back to 2008, OSU is 63-8 when winning the turnover battle.

• OSU has won three of its past four overtime games.

• Dillon Stoner has at least one catch in 46 of his past 47 games.

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