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Oklahoma State: Saturday, October 6th -- 6:38 p.m (FSN) @ Kyle Field So, it's officially come to this in only the second week of Big 12 play? The Aggies are not only playing for sole possession of first place in the South Division of the Big 12, but the loser of the Texas/Oklahoma game (Saturday - 2:30 p.m. ABC) will have two conference losses before the game against Oklahoma State ever begins. Interesting twist of fate, especially when you consider that almost everyone had the Aggies all but dead and buried following their embarrassing loss to Miami in the Orange Bowl just 12 days ago. It's amazing to me at how fast the world turns in the game of college football. Come to think of it and speaking of how the world turns, a soap-opera is about what it seems the Aggies have been living these last several days, both on and off the field. First there were the lackluster performances to begin the year. And as you might expect those imperfections were hashed and then re-hashed, but along came the blow-out loss to Miami and simple analysis turned into universal outrage. I guess most folks, nowadays, players and coaches included, expect a certain level of schizophrenic behavior when it comes to college football discussions, but this was only the beginning. A few days into preparations for the Big 12 opener with Baylor, it was reported by the San Antonio Express News that head coach Dennis Franchione had provided a select few boosters with insider information on the state of the program. A pasting of the Bears would soon follow, but just when you felt safe in discussing X's and O's and in celebrating a solid win (along with reveling in the fact that two Big 12 South Division rivals - OU and Texas - had lost on the same day), it was rumored that Dennis Franchione would hold a press conference on Monday afternoon, essentially ending his stay in Aggieland. That rumor, however, was quickly refuted at the weekly football press conference on Tuesday morning, and with all the players present and showing complete support, Coach Fran said: "The last few days have produced many rumors and some misguided speculation about my status as head football coach at Texas A&M. I thought it would be helpful to address this issue today by making a statement to clear the air and leave no doubt about my intentions and status concerning this job. Bill Byrne, as my boss and the athletic director, has affirmed me in every way, and has left no doubt that he has confidence in me and has every intention to help me succeed in building this football program, and for that I am deeply grateful. I have no intention of resigning this position. I love this job, I love these players, I love this University, and my desire is to remain here and elevate this program to the highest level. We have a great nucleus already in place to accomplish these goals. I am confident we can get the job done. With Bill Byrne's affirmation of my role here, and my commitment to the program, there is no more need to discuss this matter. My job is simply to coach these young men and to do the very best that they are capable of doing every Saturday on the football field. Nothing more, nothing less. I do not intend to discuss this matter further. As far as I am concerned, it's time to press on and get back to the business at hand." Just like any good soap-opera, I suppose, it seems as if there's continuing conflict and nobody's ever happy…….I would love nothing more than to carry on with this latest Aggie version of Days of Our Lives, but, as Coach Fran said during the press conference, there's other business at hand and I'd really prefer to discuss game #5 and leave the scripting of scene V to those who actually watch - and enjoy - those types of shows. The Oklahoma State Cowboys (3-2; 1-0) are riding high and will be coming into Kyle Field off two-straight wins, looking to go 2-0 in league play for the first time since 2004. The Pokes, who outlasted Texas Tech in a 49-45 shootout in Stillwater to open Big 12 play, are full of self-confidence and ready to prove that those who picked them as a sleeper in the Big 12 South race at the start of the year were correct in their beliefs. After struggling in losses on the road to Georgia (35-14) and Troy State (41-23), the Cowboys have grown up and appear to have answered a few of their more pressing questions with the win over Tech. The on-field exploits were certainly impressive (both teams combined for over 1300 yards of total offense and 94 total points), but the fireworks that followed may end up being the actual turning point to their season. Head coach Mike Gundy, in a well publicized tirade during his post-game press conference, ripped a local sportswriter for her story questioning the toughness and effort level of QB Bobby Reid. That outburst, along with the win that preceded it, may help jump-start the Cowboys and vault them into first place of the South Division if they can sneak out of Kyle Field with a win on Saturday. It was felt by many at the start of the season that Oklahoma State and Texas A&M would - at the very least - possess two of the more explosive offenses in the conference. The Cowboys, especially over the last two weeks, have done nothing to disappoint. OSU piled up 610 yards of total offense (7th all-time in Cowboy history) in the win over the Red Raiders and followed that effort with a 584-yard outburst (12th all-time) against Sam Houston State the following weekend. The Aggies, after a dismal performance versus Miami, put the train back on the track and plowed their way through Baylor, gaining 552 yards of total offense and controlling the football for 43:18 of the game's 60 minutes. Here's an example of just how close these two teams really are; The Aggies currently rank 5th nationally (1st in the Big 12) with 267.8 yards per game on the ground and the Cowboys rank 8th (2nd in the Big 12), averaging 241.4 yards per contest. There may, in fact, be another game at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas on Saturday afternoon, but it won't carry near the significance as the one taking place at Kyle Field a few hours later. Another team from Oklahoma will be squaring off against different team from Texas in a battle for first place. Kick off is scheduled for 6:38 p.m. and the game will be televised nationally on Fox Sports Net. Oklahoma State offense versus Texas A&M defense: Through five games this season, Oklahoma State is averaging 476 yards per game, with 241.4 of those yards coming on the ground (220 plays) and 234.6 through the air (156 plays). As the numbers would suggest, Oklahoma State is as balanced an offense as you'll face and will pose a serious challenge to an A&M defense looking to improve upon its excellent performance of a week ago. What makes the Cowboys so difficult to defend is not any particular strength in any one specific area, but it's the talent distributed among all of the different offensive skill positions. Sophomore quarterback Zac Robinson is the catalyst and has completed 68 of 118 passes (57.6%) for 936 yards and 8 touchdowns. Senior wide receiver Adarius Bowman, who has 31 catches for 479 yards (95.8 yards/game) and 4 touchdowns, is Robinson's favorite target. But you can't double-down on Bowman or you'll suddenly find yourself in trouble on the other side with former Lufkin standout, WR Dez Bryant. Additionally, Brandon Pettigrew - 14 catches for 238 yards - is just as dangerous from his TE spot. Making matters worse, Robinson is athletic and can take off and run when forced from the pocket, and he's currently third on the team in rushing with 258 yards on 35 attempts. As if that wasn't enough fire-power, the real strength of the Cowboy attack may reside with the running backs; Kendall Hunter and Dantrell Savage, who had a 60 yard touchdown run against the Aggies last season, are one of the better 1-2 punches in the conference, and both are averaging better than 6.0 yards per carry on the year. This should be A&M's toughest defensive test to date. I would look for Oklahoma State to try and keep A&M off-balance early in the possession and many times on first down. They don't try and push you around as much as the Aggies attempt to do, but they'd rather get you out of rhythm and off-balance defensively and then hit you with the big strike, getting their skill people open and free in space for the big play. It's a tough match for the Ags because we've had some difficulty in defending teams with this type of attack, but I think the right approach for A&M is to focus on stopping the run, first and foremost, but to also try and do to OSU as the Cowboys are attempting to do to A&M ---- constantly change the look in order to keep OSU out of rhythm and off-balance offensively. I believe the team who has the most success in this one extremely critical area will eventually win the game. Last week the key for the Ags was the A&M offensive line against the Baylor defensive line, but this week the A&M defensive interior needs to step to the forefront and take charge (specifically in an effort to slow OSU's run game). It will take a total team effort in order to slow down the Cowboys, but the men up-front need to make their presence felt, early and often. Advantage: Oklahoma State Texas A&M offense versus Oklahoma State defense: The Cowboy's defense is led by a pair of senior defensive ends - Nathan Peterson and Marque Fountain. Two freshman All-American linebackers - MLB Chris Collins and OLB Patrick Lavine - are excellent playmakers with speed. This game, however, should be won or lost for the Cowboys up-front. If the defensive line of Oklahoma State can't handle A&M's run game then it could be - just as it was for Baylor - a long night for OSU. The A&M offensive line will need to duplicate its efforts of last weekend and come to the field with the same dominate mentality that we witnessed against the Bears. I can just about guarantee that OSU's primary focus coming into this game is in stopping A&M's run game. They'll figure that if they can have any measure of success in slowing down the Aggies - making A&M do things they wouldn't otherwise want to do - then their offense will eventually outscore A&M's offense. They'll try and accomplish that by presenting a number of different looks, but by basically cramming as many guys in the box as A&M will allow them to get away with. The OSU secondary hasn't performed as well as the Cowboys would have liked (allowing 342.6 yards per game through the air), but not many teams have had to face the air assault of Texas Tech just yet, either, so numbers at this point in the season can sometimes be misleading. Andre Sexton, who registered 15 tackles against the Aggies last season, is a warrior at the strong safety position and he packs a serious punch in run support. I don't think the approach for A&M will vary much from what we saw last weekend against Baylor. I would expect to see the same type of attack, and with similar results. The Cowboys allow 442.8 yards per game and I would think the Aggies could come close to achieving those numbers. OSU only allows 100.2 on the ground, but, as I mentioned above, playing Texas Tech will skew your defensive stats and I'd look for the Ags to have a minimum of 225 rushing yards for the game Advantage: Texas A&M Special Teams - Other Intangibles: I remember calling this category a draw last season and I would imagine I'll come to similar conclusions this time around. The game is at Kyle Field, however, and the outcome carries significance, so that should probably throw a little bit of the advantage in A&M's direction. Kick return average for A&M is 21.8; for the Cowboys it's 21.6. Net punt average for OSU is 33.4 to A&M's 37.2. Oklahoma State is -5 in the turnover department while the Aggies have a big advantage at +6. TOP for OSU is 27:59 minutes to the Aggies' 31:50. OSU is 2 of 5 in field goal attempts versus the Aggies 9 of 15. The return skills of A&M's Kerry Franks matched up against OSU's Perrish Cox is one to keep an eye on. Advantage: Texas A&M PREDICTION: This is a tough game to handicap. Does the Aggie defense slow down OSU's powerful offense just enough to allow the A&M running game a chance to take charge, or do the Pokes focus their complete attention on slowing down A&M's running attack and win the contest going away? The weakness of the OSU defense would have to be depth at defensive tackle which just so happens - with Jorvorskie Lane in the backfield - to be one of A&M's primary strengths. The Aggies accumulated more yardage than did Oklahoma State last season - 423 yards to 359 - and the cast of characters is basically the same. This game shifts to Kyle Field this time around where A&M leads the series 8-2. The Aggies have also won 9 of the 11 games played since the inception of the Big 12 conference. Texas A&M 38 - Oklahoma State 31 |