The #24 Oklahoma State Cowboys (7-3, 7-3 ATS, 6-4 O/U) collide with the Oklahoma Sooners (5-5, 3-7 ATS, 4-6 O/U) in the Bedlam rivalry series on Saturday night. The Cowboys defeated Iowa State in their previous action. The Sooners lost another narrow decision to West Virginia last week. Oklahoma State won last year’s rivalry battle by a 37-33 score on their home field.
The #24 Oklahoma State Cowboys don’t need any motivation for this rivalry game. The squad has already secured bowl eligibility but is battling for positioning in the Big 12, standing in 3rd place, and obviously wants to beat their biggest rival. The Cowboys rebounded from a two-game slide with a 20-14 home win against Iowa State last week in a bout that had OK State marked as 3-point dogs. The win improved the Cowboys' conference record to 4-3 and they have covered in one out of their last three bouts.
Spencer Sanders has missed the last two games due to injury and is listed as questionable for this big game. He did take the field for one fourth-down attempt play last week and was quoted stating he will play. The senior QB is having a productive year, accumulating 2261 passing yards and a 16:5 TD to INT ratio. If he is unable to play it will likely be Gunnar Gundy under center. He is the son of the coach and has 247 passing yards and a 3:4 TD to INT ratio.
Oklahoma State doesn’t have a potent running game. The QBs, especially Sanders, like to run but #1 RB Dominic Richardson has only reached 100 yards in a game once all season. The junior RB has logged 543 rushing yards on an average of only 3.6 yards per carry. The receiving core is outstanding. They have three players with at least 400 yards propelled by Bryson Green. The sophomore WR has brought in over 100 yards in one out of his last three performances and has filed a season total of 573 receiving yards. The OK State offense hasn’t been nearly as potent without their #1 QB and is a big reason why they have scored 20 or fewer points in three straight games.
The afterburners + the dime ??#DAT | #GoPoke s pic.twitter.com/8fPwUIdagE
— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) November 13, 2022
The Cowboys' defense was a bright spot last week, limiting Iowa State to 333 total yards but have not been able to contain BIG 12 foes with any consistency. They have squandered at least 30 points in all but two conference games. The pass defense stands 128th while the rush defense is 89th. Oklahoma State is scoring an average of 34.9 points, good for 25th. They are conceding an average of 30 points, pegging them 100th in the FBS.