Waco, TX (Sports Network) - The 24th-ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys will try to
fend off the resurgent Baylor Bears as the two close out their 2012 regular
season with a duel at Floyd Casey Stadium.
Oklahoma State is 7-4 overall and 5-3 in Big 12 Conference action after
suffering a heartbreaking 51-48 loss in an overtime thriller at Oklahoma last
week. The setback snapped the team's two-game winning streak in which it
outscored West Virginia and Texas Tech by a combined total of 114-55. The
Cowboys will look to find some success on the road after winning just one of
their previous four away games this season.
After a fast 3-0 start to the season, Baylor fell from the national ranks by
losing five of its next six games. The Bears engineered a late season
turnaround, starting with a convincing 52-24 win over then No. 1 Kansas State.
Coach Art Briles then led his squad to a 52-45 win over Texas Tech in an
overtime thriller which made the team bowl eligible once again.
This will be the 31st time these schools play one another on the football
field. OSU holds an 18-12 edge in the all-time series. Baylor has not defeated
the Cowboys since the 2005 season.
As expected with coach Mike Gundy running the show, Oklahoma State has a very
explosive offense with a scoring offense of 45.6 ppg, which ranks first in the
conference and third in the FBS. The Cowboys are balanced with the 20th best
rushing offense in the FBS (215.3) and the seventh best passing attack
(332.6). The offensive system has been stellar enough to earn the praise of
Baylor's head coach.
"Their system has stayed pretty much the same the last 5 or 6 years," said
Briles. "They probably aren't throwing the ball as much this year as they did
with Brandon Weeden, [Justin] Blackmon and Dez [Bryant], but their offense is
still very good."
There is a very good reason OSU has not thrown the ball as much in recent
years. Junior tailback Joseph Randle has racked up a Big 12 best 1,212 yards
and 14 TDs on 234 caries. He amassed 113 yards and four TDs on 21 attempts
last week in the shootout with Oklahoma.
There has been more change at QB for Oklahoma State this season, Clint Chelf
took over the starting responsibility late in the season. The junior signal
caller has completed 72-of-124 attempts for 1,058 yards, 10 TDs, and just four
interceptions over the past four weeks, while guiding the offense to an
average of 48 ppg during that span.
Josh Stewart has made Chelf's life much easier. The sophomore stud surpassed
the 1,000 yard mark for the season last week after he tallied 150 yards and a
score on 11 receptions. Blake Jackson (528 yards, two TDs) and Charlie Moore
(528 yards, five TDs) are often targeted as well.
The OSU defense is in the middle of the pack in the conference with allowed
averages of 409.1 yards of total offense and 28.4 points per contest. Its
rushing defense is ranked third in the league with only 124.4 allowed yards
per game.
Linebacker Shaun Lewis is one of six OSU players with 50 tackles or more on
the season. The senior leader was optimistic about his squad's chances this
week.
"Challenges with Baylor are going to be the same as it's been the last few
weeks," said Lewis. "We've been playing some of the top offenses in the
country the past month, and the expectation is the same. We want to limit the
run game and make them one-dimensional. We know coach is going to come up
with a great game plan this week."
Lewis maybe underestimated the capabilities of Baylor's offensive unit. The
Bears amassed 674 yards of total offense last week versus Texas Tech, marking
the fifth time they passed the 600-yard mark this season. The team ranks fifth
in the nation in scoring (44.4 ppg) and second in yardage (575.4 ypg). The
unit is doing it with balance as it ranked 18th in the FBS in rushing yards
per game (217) and third in passing (358.5)
Nick Florence has done an admiral job in replacing Robert Griffin III. The
senior QB has completed 61.4 percent of his passes for 3,825 yards with 30
touchdowns and 13 interceptions.
Florence was impressive last week once again with 396 yards and three TDs on
22-of-37 passing. He also added 51 yards and score on the ground. For the
season, he has 460 yards rushing with eight dashes in the end zone.
Lache Seastrunk (136 yards, 7.2 ypc) and Glasco Martin (98 yards, two TDs)
each played a huge role in shredding TTU's defense last week, and the two have
combined for 1,435 yards and 16 scores on the season.
Florence's top target is Terrance Williams, who leads the nation with 1,693
yards with 12 of his 89 receptions ending in the end zone. The Biletnikoff
Award finalist is on pace to become just the second player in NCAA history
with 2,000 receiving yards in a single season. He made seven grabs for 175
yards last week to break Kendall Wright's school record for single season
receiving yards. Williams enters this week with a chance to crack into the
NCAA single-season Top 10 receiving yards list.
While Baylor's offense is very effective, its defense is one of worst in the
FBS, with allowed averages of 509.7 yards and 38.6 ppg.
Bryce Hager has a Big 12 leading 107 total tackles to his credit to go along
with three sacks and two forced fumbles. Joe Williams, Eddie Lackey, and Sam
Holl have recorded three interceptions each.
The Sports Network