PFB Picks: How Confident Can We Be for OSU’s Trip to Ames?

Oklahoma State has dropped two straight and now takes a spooky pre-Halloween road trip to Iowas State as double-digit underdogs. What could go wrong?

Before things get going in Ames, the PFB staff laid out its predictions for what could prove to be a tough test for the Cowboys.

Final Score

Kyle Porter — Iowa State 38 | Oklahoma State 28: I have lost faith in the trajectory of this team and the program as a whole. Iowa State is better. Iowa State has a better QB. Iowa State is at home. Iowa State should win.

Kyle Cox — Oklahoma State 31 | Iowa State 28: I have no evidence to support this theory and could very likely be the only one to go out this limb, but this just seems like the perfect time for OSU to figure some things out. I still believe that if a couple of balls bounce the other way (or are held onto), the Cowboys could very well be 5-2 or 6-1. I guess this is me doubling down on that theory… and some hope.

Kyle Boone — Oklahoma State 35 | Iowa State 31: Last season, OSU was as unpredictable as any team in college football. It played great against great teams but stunk against the Kansas States and TCUs of the world. It’d be par for the course if OSU, after losses to Tech and Baylor, went on the road and stole a W.

Marshall Scott — Iowa State 38 | Oklahoma State 28: Iowa State hasn’t had the toughest schedule to this point, but the Cyclones are getting better. The addition to Breece Hall into ISU’s run game has seemed to solve some of the offensive struggles the Cyclones had early in the season. Ames is also a difficult place to play

Player of the Game

Porter: For OSU, A.J. Green always seems to be mega-involved in Ames. I could see him going pick-six on Purdy but it not really mattering.

Cox: I will go with Spencer Sanders mainly because, for my prediction to come true, he’ll need to show vast improvement over the majority of the game and — again — cut down on the fumbles and picks. A one-turnover game with ≅ 300 total yards in a win guarantees Spencer a helmet sticker in next week’s Debriefing.

Alternate pick: Dru Brown.

Boone: Anyone other than Chuba Hubbard is just blogging malpractice at this point. He’s putting up 150 yards per game with as much ease as my index fingers banging my keyboard.

Scott: Give me Breece Hall. Iowa State’s freshman running back has 315 of his 399 season rushing yards in ISU’s past two games. So there’s that. There’s the fact that OSU’s defensive front is still a bit of a work in progress and the fact that OSU is probably focused on the main threat, Brock Purdy.

Which Team Wins the TO Battle?

Porter: Tough. Do you go with the trend or do you say things are going to correct themselves here? Of the 114 team seasons in the Big 12 since 2009, nobody has ever put up a worse conference-only turnover margin per game number than OSU’s current mark of -1.75. That can’t continue, right? I’ll say ISU wins it by one, which would actually [swallows hard] improve OSU’s rate.

Cox: Well, for my final score prediction to carry any weight, at all, I’m going to have to go with a reverse of the trend. Over the last three games (looks up the stat) Iowa State has won the turnover battle 5-2. Oklahoma State is 2-10. What have I done?

Boone: Iowa State. OSU’s defense has struggled to turn teams over, and OSU’s offense’s biggest strength this season appears to be turning the ball over.

Scott: Iowa State for all the reasons that have led us to this being a question on these predictions posts.