Boise State not fighting the cause of mid-majors
STILLWATER — Oklahoma State vs. Boise State is a matchup of Power 5 Conference team vs. Group of 5 Conference team. That’s how much of America sees it.
That’s not how Boise State coach Bryan Harsin sees it. The Broncos don’t have a chip on their shoulder as the little guy. They’ve done too much in college football to be classified as anything but an elite program.
“It’s Boise State vs. Oklahoma State,” said Harsin, whose team plays in Stillwater on Saturday. “The Group of 5, Power 5, I don’t pay attention to that. I think it’s a crock. There’s power programs. That’s how I look at it. That hasn’t even been kind of a thought.”
Boise State is accustomed to playing major-conference opponents, both in the regular season and in bowls. In the previous 10 years, Boise State is 3-0 vs. Oregon; 2-1 vs. both Washington and Oregon State; 1-1 vs. both Washington State and Virginia; 1-0 vs. each of Arizona, Georgia, Arizona State, Virginia Tech; and 0-1 vs. each of Baylor, Ole Miss and Michigan State.
“Our mentality, that’s not the way we think about it,” Harsin said. “Our mentality is regardless of the logo they have on the side of their helmet, we’ve got to go figure out a way to play to the best of our ability.”
QBs Brown, Sanders progressing, but readiness unclear
If OSU quarterback Taylor Cornelius suffers an injury at some point during Saturday’s top-25 matchup with Boise State, it’s unclear who would replace him.
Redshirt sophomore Keondre Wudtee has twice relieved Cornelius in the fourth quarter of victories, but until this week, he wasn’t listed on the Cowboys’ depth chart. Graduate transfer Dru Brown and freshman Spencer Sanders, however, both have redshirts available and are still learning OSU’s fastpaced offense.
“Excited for both of those players,” offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich said Saturday. “They're great young men, and they're great in the room, and they're great teammates, and they've been very impressive, to see how much information they can pick up."
But are they ready if needed against the No. 17 Broncos?
“I don’t know yet,”coach Mike Gundy said. “We’ll have to wait till we practice this week and see where they’re at. They’re getting a little better each week.”
Gundy, Stoner expecting punt-return improvement
Against South Alabama, OSU’s Dillon Stoner allowed two Corliss Waitman punts to fly past him in hopes of a touchback.
But the Jaguars instead managed to track the balls down before the end zone, stopping one punt at the Cowboys’ 1-yard line. Gundy said Waitman mixed up his kicks with distances of anywhere from 30 to 60 yards.
“You're playing the outfield, and am I gonna play double and the line drive or am I gonna play the deep ball?” Gundy said. “I'm kind of in the tweener spot, so that was a little bit of an issue for Stoner.
“I like what he's doing. I just want him to be a little more aggressive.”
Stoner said he expects to eliminate his misjudgements when the Cowboys face Boise State.
“We’ll just have to be ready to go, so that includes me on punt returns, as well,” Stoner said. “I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again.”