Burning Questions for Oklahoma State's Critical Matchup at TCU
Oklahoma State needs to find some answers quickly if it wants to make a bowl game.
The Cowboys are headed south to Fort Worth for a matchup against TCU on Saturday night. Sitting at 3-6, the Cowboys have to run the table to have any chance of extending their streak of winning seasons. With so little optimism surrounding the program, Saturday could be just another night of despair for Mike Gundy’s ball club.
Burning questions for Oklahoma State’s last chance at making a bowl:
Can the Cowboys win the rushing battle?
OSU has been awful rushing the ball this season despite returning a veteran offensive line and the Doak Walker Award winner. Still, the Cowboys will need to control the running attack on both sides to get a win.
Gordon has had some breakout performances throughout the season, but he needs to perform in a big way in Fort Worth. A 100-yard day from Gordon might be enough for OSU to win the run game against a TCU offense that ranks near the bottom of the conference in that category.
Can OSU’s offense counter the big plays the defense allows?
Over the past few weeks, questioning OSU’s ability to prevent big plays has become pointless. Bryan Nardo’s defense will miss tackles, break coverages and give up huge plays.
The real question is whether Kasey Dunn’s offense can put together enough big gains to break even. The Cowboys will need their star receivers to break through for a big day, and Alan Bowman will need to play one of his best games of the year to put his guys in the right spots.
Could Maealiuaki Smith get a real chance?
Last week, Smith entered the game for OSU’s final drive and looked solid. He completed an 11-yard pass and rushed for 5 yards as he helped OSU score a late touchdown.
Considering OSU’s hopes of making a bowl are near zero, it would be wise for the Cowboys to give him more reps in games. However, Mike Gundy has been uninterested in letting his young quarterback loose. Considering Alan Bowman has played poorly all season, it couldn’t hurt to give the young quarterback a chance.
What else does Mike Gundy have to say?
Considering the Cowboys’ season on the field is almost certainly over, it might be time to take a better look at what is happening off the field. After effectively calling OSU fans who criticize the program broke failures in his Monday press conference, Gundy has once again shown anything could come out of his mouth.
If OSU falls to 3-7 on Saturday, there could be some more unhinged thoughts coming from Gundy as his job security weakens by the day.
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Ivan is a sports media student at Oklahoma State University. He has covered OSU athletics since 2022 and also covers the OKC Thunder for Inside The Thunder and Thunderous Intentions.