Cowboys head into defining stretch
STILLWATER — Welcome to the gauntlet.
This run of games — at Texas, at West Virginia and home for Bedlam — has always loomed conspicuously as the defining stretch of Oklahoma State’s season.
And here it comes, bold as ever, promising to deliver the determining take on OSU’s season, for better or worse. Oh, and positive-trending Iowa State follows, in Ames, where Cowboys dreams have gone to die before.
So buckle up, OSU fans, for a rugged ride that could prop the No. 10 Cowboys up for a College Football Playoff berth, or worstcase, funnel them to forgettable appearances in the Cactus or Texas bowls.
“It’s times like this that you really gotta focus in and lock in on what you’re doing,” said wide receiver James Washington. “These games can get out of hand quick if you don’t.”
The Cowboys, considering their three road games among the next four, may face the most challenging schedule among Big 12 contenders.
This week and next, they hit the road to tangle with quality teams in imposing environments. That’s some kind of setup to Bedlam and the No. 9 Sooners, who maintain a stranglehold on the series. By the time OSU returns from Morgantown, the Cowboys will have played five of their eight games on the road. Then after Bedlam, it’s off to Ames.
As for the other Big 12 contenders:
Oklahoma won’t play back-to-back road games all season.
West Virginia played at Kansas and at TCU to open conference play, and Lawrence is no snake pit.
Texas goes back-to-back at Baylor and TCU soon, yet may have more fans in Waco than the Bears.
TCU goes to OU and Texas Tech in consecutive weeks in mid-November, which is testy, although the Horned Frogs hold an edge as the league’s only unbeaten.
Bedlam in early November, a change made with an eye on avoiding a possible Big 12 title game rematch, complicates this schedule for OSU.
“You’d prefer to not have two or three physical games back-to-back,” said Cowboys coach Mike Gundy. “That’s not going to happen for us. (Texas) is very physical. West Virginia is very physical. I haven’t really seen OU much, but athletically they’re going to be able to run around and hit you enough.”
Injuries have already become an issue for the Cowboys, with one offensive lineman lost for the season in guard Larry Williams, and center Brad Lundblade on the shelf indefinitely with a foot injury. Zach Crabtree continues to play through a painful foot at tackle.
On defense, linebacker Kenneth EdisonMcGruder went out of Saturday’s game against Baylor with what looked like a serious ankle injury, making him questionable at best for Saturday.
So the Cowboys have little wiggle room for absorbing more injuries. And against this run of foes, beginning Saturday in Austin, they need all hands on deck.
“Certainly, we can’t hold anything back,” Gundy said.
All consternation aside, the reasons for the hype that accompanied OSU into this season remain, chief among them the array of skill players that has the Cowboys attack No. 1 nationally in total offense and passing offense and second in scoring offense.
If a disjointed loss to TCU chipped away at OSU’s confidence, Saturday’s 59-16 romp of Baylor, with all wheels in motion, worked toward restoring it.
“It’s great because it gives us confidence,” receiver Jalen McCleskey said Saturday. “When you have a game like this, you can use the momentum to go on to this hard stretch of games.”