Top-ranked Big 12 running back set up for huge game vs. worst run defense
Cam Skattebo has been waiting for this game for a while.
After losing to Oklahoma State 27-15 last season - a game Arizona State led 15-10 at halftime - Skattebo has been eager for another shot at the Cowboys.
"People have kind of asked what I've circled on the schedule the whole year, and this is the one," Skattebo said after ASU's practice on Tuesday. "Against a good team in a good environment. To come out with this one 6-2 would be awesome. We should have had it last year. We were obviously in the Pac-12 last year and now we're in the Big 12. Now it's a conference game instead of just a preseason game."
According to PFF, Skattebo comes into the game as the highest-ranked running back in the Big 12 with a grade of 86.4.
And that grade could jump significantly after Saturday's game in Stillwater.
Skattebo is a tackle-breaking machine who has rushed for 848 yards and 10 touchdowns in seven games. He leads the Big 12 in all-purpose yards per game with 161.6.
Oklahoma State is dead last in the Big 12 in run defense - and second-to-last in all of Division I-A college football. The Cowboys are giving up 251 rushing yards per game and are coming off a 38-28 loss to Baylor where they allowed a staggering 343 yards on the ground.
It was so bad that head coach Mike Gundy questioned his team's effort.
“We didn’t play hard on defense,” Gundy said during his Monday press conference. “That’s one area that I’ll address as the head coach, and we’ll work extremely hard on that this week to get ready for this game [vs. Arizona State]."
The Cowboys missed 21 tackles vs. Baylor, which will be a problem against Skattebo. Through the first six games of the season, Skattebo led Power 4 running backs with 49 forced missed tackles.
"He very well could be the best back we’ve played," said Gundy. "He’s a good back. They feed off him. So if you want to slow them down, in my opinion, you better tackle him.”
If Skattebo runs wild on Saturday he could easily vault himself into the conversation for the Heisman Trophy and the Doak Walker award. He's 6th in the nation in all-purpose yards and 12th in the nation in rushing yards, but he has played one fewer game than most of the backs in front of him.
A big game on Saturday - and a strong finish to the season - could bring Skattebo some well-deserved national attention.
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Ben Sherman has been covering the sports world for most of his journalism career, including 17 years with The Oregonian/OregonLive. One of his favorite memories was covering the 1999 Fiesta Bowl - the first BCS National Championship Game - at Sun Devil Stadium.