3 Oklahoma State Cowboys Who Could Make an Impact Against Baylor
Oklahoma State remains winless in the Big 12 Conference following a narrow 38-35 loss to the undefeated BYU Cougars. The Cowboys fell to 3-4 on the season, but the narrow loss to a Cougars team predicted to make the College Football Playoff showed some serious upside in the Cowboys' performance.
Saturday's game against Baylor may be the biggest game of the season for Oklahoma State. Injuries have hit the Cowboys like a ton of bricks over the past weeks, and O-State has had to dig deep into the depth charts in search of the future of OSU football.
Let’s take a quick look at three unlikely heroes who could have a major impact on the game against the Bears of Baylor.
Freshman Quarterback Maealiuaki Smith
This is a stretch, but the 2024 Cowboys have proven early on that anything is possible. Senior Alan Bowman was benched a week ago in favor of Garret Rangel. Rangel looked to be just the spark plug needed at quarterback. An early game injury sent Rangel to the sidelines for the remainder of the season. With Zane Flores out for the year with season-ending surgery, it was once again Bowman’s job to lose.
Mike Gundy on Maealiuaki Smith: pic.twitter.com/PZWJbgCp87
— BuffalOKstate (@BuffalOKstate) October 21, 2024
If Bowman struggles on Saturday, Cowboy Nation may get their first look at Maealiuaki Smith who moved up to the back-up quarterback slot on the depth chart. Smith could easily be the quarterback of the future for Oklahoma State. Standing at 6-foot-4, Maealiuaki is everything the Cowboys need right now at quarterback. Smith can play in four games this season and still be eligible for a redshirt season. With five games remaining this season, the time may be now for Smith.
Junior Safety Parker Robertson
Trey Rucker is likely to make his return to the secondary this week, and that in turn will cut into the time shared by players like Parker Robertson. Robertson played tremendously a week ago against BYU. He was tied for the team lead with 11 tackles, with eight of those being solo. Hopefully, Parker showed the coaching staff enough against the Cougars to remain a key contributor in the Cowboy secondary.
Freshman Tight End Josh Ford
Josh Ford’s offensive numbers don’t jump off of the page. He only logged one catch for a gain of 5 yards against BYU but what he does on the football can’t be measured by any stat sheet. Ford has proven to be a key run blocker in his first season as a Cowboy. With Ollie Gordon II set to make the start following a tremendous game on the ground last week, expect to see a heavy dose of Josh Ford in the lineup on Saturday against Baylor.
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Taylor Skieens has been an avid sports journalist with the McCurtain Gazette in Idabel, Oklahoma for seven years. He holds the title of Sports Editor for one of the oldest remaining print publications in the state of Oklahoma. Taylor grew up in the small lumber town of Wright City Oklahoma where he played baseball and basketball for the Lumberjax.