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Daily Bullets

Daily Bullets (August 29)

Published

7 years ago

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Playoff Pokes

Yahoo’s Pat Forde outlines why the Pokes are a playoff team.

It all starts with turnover margin. Five times in the last seven years, the Cowboys have won at least 10 games – and in those five seasons they were a combined plus-72 turnovers. The two less successful seasons (one 8-5, one 7-6), they were a combined minus-eight. So it helps that quarterback Mason Rudolph is fabulously fastidious with the ball – just four interceptions last year in 448 attempts. That’s one every 112 passes, a ratio topped only by Miami Ohio’s Gus Ragland (who played just seven games).

Rudolph also has a 2,000-yard receiving tandem and a 1,100-yard running back to work with. If underrated defensive coordinator Glenn Spencer patches a few holes, the Pokes can win the Big 12. Key non-conference game: at Pittsburgh on Sept. 16.

Key conference game: Oklahoma on Nov. 4. Strength of schedule: Ehhhh. Oklahoma State would benefit from Pitt and Tulsa having strong seasons, but it may need to beat Oklahoma twice to break into the bracket. [Yahoo]

Love his point on turnover numbers. And unless the freshman ball carriers come down with butterfingers, the odds are very likely one end of the equation will be just fine.

Road Action

Eight games will tell us an awful lot about the Cowboys this year.

Of their first eight games, the Oklahoma State Cowboys play five of them on the road, including long trips to Pittsburgh and Morgantown. That also includes three Big 12 road games in a four-week stretch of going to Lubbock, Austin and Morgantown. None of these venues are easy places for opposing teams to play. [Heartland College Sports]

While I’m not sold on Austin as a tough road venue – as long as the team stays off Sixth Street the night before the game – playing so much away from home early will clearly be shaping in this dream season.

OSU and NCAA Notes

Love stories like this about a budding Arkansas football star from troubled roots….Art Briles was hired – then released within 11 hours….When Jim Harbaugh appeared on “Saved by the Bell”….New personality on the MidFirst mic at games this fall

Thankful my boy flagged this: Gundy admits something new about CMU.

A duo we’ll be talking about for years.

Rick’s the man.

Gameday traffic should be (relatively) smooth but avoid 6th and Perkins if you can.

Catch our boy Phillip previewing the TU game on this pod.

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