By Michael Doutey
There are a few games a season where teams are presented a huge opportunity. This weekend in Stillwater, an opportunity is knocking on Oklahoma State’s door.
17th ranked Boise State rolls into Stillwater looking for their signature win of the season. Outside of Saturday’s game in Stillwater, they will not have a game as big as this one where they can display what they are all about against a Power Five team. This is the Broncos Super Bowl. They won’t be tested like this the rest of the season.
While this is a monster game for Boise State, this is a big one for Oklahoma State too. This weekend is a statement game for the Cowboys. It could be a statement that they are a team to be feared in the Big 12 and could be a team to make a run to the Big 12 Championship game. Or OSU could end up looking like just another middle of the pack Big 12 team.
Looking past this weekend, OSU takes on Texas Tech, visits Kansas, hosts Iowa State, goes to Kansas State, Texas then comes to town for Homecoming before then going to Baylor. If OSU gets past Boise State, it’s not crazy to think they could be 9-0 by the time Bedlam comes on November 10th.
So, this is a big time opportunity for the Pokes. A win wouldn’t just be a message to the conference, but it would also be a huge confidence booster for themselves. This group of players have been apart of some big games. Some have played and contributed while other have stood on the sidelines experiencing the atmosphere.
Taylor Cornelius has never faced a team like this. He’s never been counted on like he will Saturday. If he can win, this would silence his doubters and would springboard his confidence.
The defense has a new 4-2-5 defensive scheme. This is a big test for them and new defensive coordinator, Jim Knowles. Boise State is an accomplished offense who have completely shredded both Troy and UConn. The Broncos are fourth in the country in total offense per game, averaging 617 yards per game. Brett Rypien is an experienced quarterback and OSU’s young and unproven secondary has to be concerning. But with a win, that would be a huge accomplishment for this defense.
OSU is familiar with big games. They’ve been apart of 14 games over the past three seasons where OSU has played ranked teams. In those games, the Pokes are 7-7. Against teams ranked outside the top 10 OSU has gone 4-3, while they are 3-4 in games against the top 10.
Many media members are picking Boise State. It is easy to see why. The Broncos defense returns 10 starters from last year’s team. Their quarterback, Brett Rypien, has played in 39 games over his career while Taylor Cornelius has played in just two games.
OSU has the best player on the field with Justice Hill. But there is a fear after last week that OSU is bad on the offensive line after they struggled running the football against South Alabama.
The Cowboys have a lot of questions heading into this game. OSU might have more questions than Boise State even though both haven’t faced anyone worth a darn thus far this season. Boise is really good. They are a solid team. They can come into Boone Pickens Stadium and win. This isn’t a team to underestimate. This isn’t a team where you can survive if you turn the ball over.
But Boise State didn’t beat Virginia at home last season. In fact, they lost by 19 to Virginia. They lost to Washington State in overtime a week before. They did beat Oregon in their bowl game, but their head coach Willie Taggart had just left for Florida State. In fact, the last time Boise State went on the road and beat a ranked non-conference opponent was in 2011 when they beat Georgia.
Last season, OSU didn’t answer the call. They lost three home games to TCU, OU and Kansas State. So after OSU has lost Mason Rudolph, James Washington, Tre Flowers and many more, it is easy to question and doubt if this version of OSU can win.
But when people begin to question the Cowboys under Mike Gundy, the Pokes usually come out fighting. Look to Baylor in 2013 and TCU in 2015. Those teams were doubted and they came away with dominant wins against two top 10 teams.
OSU has an opportunity tomorrow to answer a ton of questions about themselves. An opportunity knocks for this team. What they do with it will be fascinating to watch tomorrow inside BPS.
