Quarterback to Back: Cowboys Need to be Ready for Sawyer Robertson

Oh yeah, there’s a football game on Saturday.

Oklahoma State will have a new head coach when the Cowboys host Baylor for their Big 12 opener. While the program is going through its biggest transition since most of the roster has been alive, the players have a game to play and that starts with their starting QB.

Zane Flores is heading into his second start and has struggled to find a rhythm in the passing game. Across the field, Baylor’s Sawyer Robertson is in his fourth year and comes into the conference opener leading the FBS in passing yards.

We’ve got two quarterbacks on opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to experience and production. We’ll dig even deeper into the two QBs, but first here’s a look at their stats.

Robertson is on-pace to have a career season and, at least early on, is among the more productive and effective passers in college football. On top of leading the FBS in total yards (he’s third in yards per game), Robertson is second nationally with 43.5 pass attempts per game.

On the other hand, Flores ranks 117th in ESPN’s proprietary QBR rating, out of 135 quarterbacks listed. His passing yard total ranks 123 out of 130 passers ranked by NCAA.com.

Strangely enough, the Bears are seventh in the country in passing offense (338.5 yards per game), but somehow only third in the Big 12 behind Texas Tech (368.5) and TCU (341.3). The Cowboys will miss the Horned Frogs this year but will have to head to Lubbock to try to slow down the Red Raiders the week before Halloween.

Meanwhile, the Cowboys are dead last in the league in passing offense (172.3), passing scores (1), passer rating (102.99), yards per attempt (5.7) and completion percentage (56%). Fortunately, they’re only third to last in passing defense and middle of the pack in opponent long passing plays.

The Cowboys have faced Robertson only once before when he threw three TDs in Waco, Texas, to lead the Bears to a 38-28 win over OSU last year.

In the midst of all this change, it’s hard to project just what this team will look like next season or even a month from now. It’s an especially tough spot for Flores.

He’s dealt with a season-ending injury and then the whirlwind so far this year on and off the field. And he might not even be the starting quarterback at some point this season with the news the interim head coach Doug Meacham expects Hauss Hejny to return this season.

But for now, Flores is the guy and he’s going to have every opportunity to continue to develop and live up to the potential that Gundy and Co. saw in him when he was brought in.