STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) -There’s no such thing as a do-over in college football. But this week, No. 16 Oklahoma State might be experiencing a bit of deja vu.
As the Cowboys (1-1) try to bounce back from last week’s upset loss that took away their Top 5 ranking, they’ll be lining up Saturday against a Conference USA team located in Houston that runs a variation of the spread offense – again.
After that, though, the scouting reports look a lot different from last week to this week.
While Houston brought in an established quarterback and a heap of confidence leading up to a 45-35 upset in Stillwater, crosstown counterpart Rice (0-2) is still finding its way.
The Owls continue to rotate two quarterbacks and bring in a defense that has been exploited each of the last two weeks to the extent that no team has given up more yards passing.
Still, coach Mike Gundy wants OSU to be more ready to play than a week ago.
that play extremely hard. They’ve got guys that are more athletic and play better than what people give them credit for,” Gundy said. “There’s a reason they won 10 games last year.”
Oklahoma State has problems of its own. Starting tailback Kendall Hunter has been listed as doubtful with a sprained right ankle, leaving capable backups Keith Toston and Beau Johnson to fill in.
Quarterback Zac Robinson’s production has been down significantly, leading his coach to hypothesize that a preseason injury has sapped some of his confidence.
Even star receiver Dez Bryant found his way into the coach’s crosshairs, getting called out for not playing hard every down.
And then there’s the defense. After a strong start in Week 1 against Georgia, OSU’s defenders found themselves struggling against a spread offense. Houston racked up more than 500 yards as quarterback Case Keenum picked away with short passes while his teammates found ample room to run.
“Rice is a team you have to be very careful with. Offensively, their attack is similar to what we faced last week,” Gundy said.
Owls coach David Bailiff said he plans to open the game with Week 1 starter John Thomas Shepherd taking the snaps, ahead of Week 2 starter Nick Fanuzzi. Rice’s problem so far is that the quarterback who started on the bench has put up the best numbers in both games so far, both of them losses.
nt at that position. Once we get that consistency, we’re going to be OK,” Bailiff said.
With the uncertainty at quarterback, Rice has lacked the punch on offense it had last season when Chase Clement was throwing to Jarett Dillard in the nation’s No. 5 passing attack.
“We need to discover what our personality is and what we can hang our hats on. That’s one of the things this week that we need to establish – our identity, our personality,” Bailiff said.
The schizophrenic Cowboys hope to revert to the stingy defense exhibited in Week 1, instead of the one that missed tackles and couldn’t produce any pressure against Houston. Beyond just a repeat of last week, Rice’s spread provides a dry run for Big 12 offenses ahead.
“Without question, it’s going to help us get better,” OSU defensive coordinator Bill Young said. “We’ve seen what it looks like. Now we’ve got to adjust and we’ve got to play it better.”
Another loss would be devastating for Oklahoma State after the season started with such grand expectations, followed by a humbling dose of reality.
“We’re still in it,” cornerback Terrance Anderson said. “It’s a long season. It’s not over with. That was only Game 2. We’ve just got to keep trying our best to win the rest of the games.”
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