OSU Football: Three Keys to Victory over TCU

Oklahoma State is back home for a tilt with TCU. The Cowboys haven’t won back-to-back Big 12 games in two years and haven’t beaten the Horned Frogs in three. Here are three keys to breaking both streaks.

1. Spread the Ball Around

Who is OSU’s No. 2 receiver? It’s been a season-long question that, based on what comes out of a conjecture junction, may need answered immediately.

Whether or not Tylan Wallace plays on Saturday or the rest of the year, the Cowboys need to get some of his fellow wideouts more involved in the passing game, and there’s no time like the present for Spencer Sanders to spread it out and continue to build chemistry.

Through eight games, Tylan’s usage has continued to soak up a huge portion of the Cowboys’ targets. Two weeks ago he was at 34.1 percent, but after a combined 28 targets against Baylor and Iowa State, he sits at 40.7 percent. That’s insane!

For reference, James Washington’s highest ever for a whole season was 28.7 percent. That was in 2016 when Marcell Ateman missed the season with injury.

Jordan McCray is a nice option on the outside. Braydon Johnson has shown to be both efficient (catching 75 percent of his targets) and dynamic (averaging over 22 yards per catch). Dillon Stoner is equally as efficient and could be a safety valve for Sanders, and Jelani Woods continues to be under-utilized for his mismatch ability as a receiver.

Throw in any combination of Landon Wolf, C.J. Moore and several mostly unknowns like LC Greenwood, Langston Anderson and Jonathan Shepherd. Whoever it is, Spencer needs to make use of more of his weapons whether out of dire necessity or just to stretch out the defense.

2. Take a Cue from Tech, Baylor

TCU is in a similar spot as Oklahoma State, led by a freshman quarterback who is still working the bugs out. Jim Knowles should approach Max Duggan much like Texas Tech and Baylor coaches schemed for Spencer Sanders.

Duggan has shown that he might be a gamer after leading TCU to a comeback win to knock Texas from No. 15 all the way out of the Top 25, but he’s had his struggles with accuracy and is even younger and less experienced as a starter than Sanders.

He’s elusive so you have to contain him, but a healthy amount of pressure from different directions and in different situations (like Knowles is known for) could limit his effectiveness.

OSU’s secondary played well in Ames. The ability to turnover Brock Purdy three times is encouraging. He had only thrown four picks all year before last week. But Duggan is even stingier with the ball. He threw just his first interception of the season last week.

3. Don’t Buy Into the Hype

Okay, maybe hype is a strong word. How about “Don’t buy into the cautious optimism?”

It sounds like coach speak (because it is), but that does not make it wrong. If this team truly is upgraded in the maturity and leadership department from last year’s, they’ll show it over these next two games.

The Cowboys are riding high after an upset win on the road which provides the perfect setup, based on recent history, for them to come home and lay an egg against the Horned Frogs.

As far as Ws and Ls go, OSU is on the exact same path it was through eight games last season. Like, in the exact same order: W-W-W-L-W-L-L-W.

The Cowboys can buck that trend with a win on Saturday while becoming bowl eligible three weeks earlier than last year. The difference between 6-7 wins and 8-9 starts this weekend.