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Fleming’s Five Predictions for 2018: Sanders Scores 20 TDs, Goodwin Gets POY

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The Oklahoma State Cowboys enter 2018 with heavy uncertainty. With a rebuilding football team and an improving men’s basketball team, there are a lot of question marks not only in those two sports but across the others as well. However, there are still some certainties that I believe will come true this year. Here are my five predictions for what will likely happen in 2018.

1. OSU Schedules Another Above Average Opponent

OSU has filled its future non conference schedules with good opponents. The Cowboys will play Boise State, Oregon State and Arizona State in the coming years, and you should expect them to schedule another home-and-home series with a team of similar caliber. It’s a good strategy, in my opinion. They’re not marquee games, but they’re solid nonconference matchups that aren’t overwhelmingly difficult but still bolster the resume.

2. Loryn Goodwin wins Big 12 Player of the Year

The Cowgirls’ excellent transfer guard might be OSU’s best basketball player, and that’s no knock on the men. Rather, it’s just because of how good Goodwin has become for the Cowgirls. Goodwin is currently No. 13 in the nation and second in the conference with 21.4 PPG. Defensively, Goodwin is No. 6 in the country in steals, averaging 3.9 per game. Goodwin will beat out Baylor’s Kelani Brown and finish first in the conference in points, and the star senior will win the Big 12 Player of the Year.

3. A.J. Green finishes first in INTs

A.J. Green was one of the lone bright spots of the Cowboy secondary in 2017. Green led the team in interceptions with four and was in the top 15 in the conference in passes defended, all as a true sophomore with zero incoming starts. Green gave some consistency to a struggling cornerback unit, especially in the latter half of the season. Green will build on his first year and become an established corner as a Year 2 starter in 2018.

4. Basketball Finishes as a Bubble Team, Drops to NIT

OSU will get a couple upset wins from now to the end of the regular season, but with teams like TCU, Texas Tech and Oklahoma now some of the best teams in the country, the Cowboys will struggle to consistently win in the deepest conference in basketball. This is not because of incompetence but rather out of how strong the Big 12 is. They’ll be among the First Four Out and will drop to the NIT, but the season will conclude with high optimism for the future of the Cowboy program.

5. Spencer Sanders Scores 20+ Total Touchdowns

I don’t think it’s a mystery that most of us at this site think Sanders will start for OSU next season. But I think he will have a more than respectable freshman campaign at the helm. I can see Sanders finishing the year with 17 touchdown passes and four touchdown runs, and I don’t think that’s too much to ask for. Sanders will make mistakes as any freshman would, but he should be able to show enough talent to excite Cowboy fans about the future of OSU football.

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