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Oklahoma St.-Texas A&M Preview

Oct 7, 2009 - 8:32 PM By BRETT HUSTON STATS Writer

No. 13 Oklahoma State (3-1) at Texas A&M (3-1), 12:30 p.m. EDT

Oklahoma State has cruised to a pair of easy victories since a shocking home loss sent it tumbling down the Top 25 last month, but it's yet to test itself away from Stillwater.

A visit to Texas A&M might not be the best place to start.

The 15th-ranked Cowboys open their conference slate Saturday at Kyle Field in College Station, a venue that's proved to be a nightmare for Oklahoma State since the inception of the Big 12.

The Cowboys (3-1) began the season ranked ninth in the Top 25 and jumped to fifth - their highest ranking in nearly 24 years - after a 24-10 opening-week win against then-No. 13 Georgia.

With expectations soaring in Stillwater, Oklahoma State collapsed a week later, as Houston racked up 512 yards in a 45-35 upset that dropped coach Mike Gundy's team to 16th.

The Cowboys have bounced back to a degree in their past two games, beating Rice 41-24 and demolishing Football Championship Subdivision foe Grambling State 56-6 on Sept. 26 despite missing standout running back Kendall Hunter and All-American receiver Dez Bryant.

Hunter and Bryant weren't needed against the Tigers, as a pair of youngsters stepped up in their place. Freshman tailback Jeremy Smith ran for 160 yards and a touchdown, while sophomore receiver Dameron Fooks caught a pair of touchdown passes.

Neither had gained a yard in his collegiate career heading into the game.

"Any time we can find more playmakers and guys we can trust to have the ball in their hands to make plays is awesome for our offense," quarterback Zac Robinson said.

The Cowboys will need Smith and Fooks to continue stepping up after Oklahoma State announced Wednesday that Bryant had been ruled ineligible for an improper interaction with a former NFL player.

A top NFL prospect, Bryant caught 87 passes for 1,480 yards and 19 touchdowns last season while also scoring twice on punt returns. He has 17 catches for 323 yards and four touchdowns this season.

Bryant caught three touchdown passes from Robinson in a 56-28 victory over Texas A&M last Oct. 4 in Stillwater.

Bryant said Wednesday in a statement released by the university that he "made a mistake by not being entirely truthful when meeting with the NCAA."

Gundy has yet to determine the status of Hunter (ankle) for the matchup with the Aggies.

Senior cornerback Perrish Cox also missed the game against Grambling State with a sprained shoulder, though he's expected to be starting in the defensive backfield and returning kicks Saturday.

Last year's blowout of Texas A&M (3-1) was one of Oklahoma State's rare positive outcomes in the series. The Cowboys are 3-10 against the Aggies since the Big 12 began play in 1996, including 1-5 at College Station.

The Cowboys have experienced very different, but equally depressing losses, in their last two visits. The Aggies racked up 694 yards of offense in a 62-23 victory over Oklahoma State on Oct. 15, 2005, then came back from a 17-0 halftime deficit to win 24-23 on Oct. 6, 2007.

Texas A&M has lost 12 of 15 at home against ranked opponents, and its most recent performance wasn't exactly a confidence builder. After outscoring its first three opponents 135-55, coach Mike Sherman's team was pounded 47-19 by Arkansas on Saturday in Arlington, Texas.

"We are young but our young guys are very mature," said quarterback Jerrod Johnson, who threw for 345 yards and two touchdowns but completed just 30 of 58 passes. "We just need to stay course and handle adversity."

Despite Johnson's accuracy issues Saturday, the junior has been a revelation in Sherman's quick-strike offense. He's averaging 326.5 yards through the air and has thrown 11 touchdowns with an interception while running for four more. Texas A&M is second in the nation in total offense, piling up 545.3 yards per game.

It trails only Houston, which has already victimized the Cowboys, in that category.

"They want to play very fast," Gundy said of the Aggies' offense. "I think they want to keep the defense on the run and limit substitutions. They certainly want to play with a lot of pressure and just continue at full speed."

Oklahoma State is 2-8 in its last 10 Big 12 road openers.