OSU, Arkansas agree on home-and-home series

STILLWATER — Oklahoma State and Arkansas will revive a football series that had been dormant since 1980 with Thursday’s announcement that the schools have agreed to pair of games beginning in 2024.

The home-and-home series will begin with the Cowboys hosting a game at Boone Pickens Stadium Sept. 7, 2024, then making the return trip to Fayetteville, Arkansas, on Sept. 11, 2027.

The programs announced the series going back and forth on Twitter Thursday afternoon with a conversational series of tweets to each other’s team-operated accounts.

OSU and Arkansas met 46 times between 1912 and 1980, with Arkansas leading the series 30-15-1. Of the 46 meetings, 32 were played at Arkansas, nine in Stillwater and six at neutral sites.

Both were members of the Southwest Conference from 1915-24, before OSU moved on to the Missouri Valley Conference.

Afterward, the Cowboys and Razorbacks continued to play regularly, including every season from 1962-80.

OSU is 4-4-1 in home games and 3-2 at neutral sites, including a 19-0 victory at Oklahoma City’s legendary Taft Stadium in 1944.

In addition to the Arkansas games, Oregon State (2019 and 2020), Boise State (2021) and Arizona State (2022 and 2023) highlighting future Cowboy schedules.

OSU defense can expect more of the same at K-State

Kansas State coaches have the game tape. And they have players with similar capabilities.

The blueprint drawn by Iowa State and mobile freshman quarterback Brock Purdy in last Saturday’s 48-42 win over Oklahoma State will likely guide a lot of what Kansas State does when the Cowboys visit at 11 a.m. Saturday.

“I think you’re gonna see what we just saw last Saturday,” OSU coach

Mike Gundy said of Kansas State’s offensive approach. “They’re built for that. They’ve got the guy that can do it, in my opinion.

“Our defense is gonna get a big dose of what they saw Saturday.”

Games between the Cowboys and Wildcats have been high scoring lately, with both teams scoring at least 34 points in each of the last three meetings, and at least 27 in nine of the last 11.

“Over the years, we’ve got into some track meets with them,” Gundy said. “But we’ve been in track meets with everybody over the last three or four years, for the most part.

Zach Sinor discusses his unique season

Starting with an early August post on social media that let the world know he’d had hernia surgery, this football season has been a strange one for Oklahoma State punter Zach Sinor.

The surgery kept him out for three games and he has been strong since his return, averaging 46.9 yards on 15 punts, with only one touchback and four punts downed inside the 20.

But getting back to game speed took some time.

“I didn't have all of fall camp to punt behind a shield and do live reps, so it's kinda been different,” Sinor said. “Trying to get back in the transition of things. Felt pretty good these first couple games. Had a couple bad punts here and there.”

And, of course, last week’s mishandled snap that went through his hands and bounced off his helmet before rolling out of the back of the end zone for a safety. Sinor had a snap go through his hands at Pittsburgh last season.

“That's the first snap I've dropped since Pittsburgh. I haven't dropped one in practice since then,” he said. “I really don’t know what happened.”