Burning Questions for Oklahoma State's Senior Day Matchup
Oklahoma State is set for its final game in Boone Pickens Stadium this season.
On Saturday, OSU will face Texas Tech in the team’s first “meaningless” game in nearly two decades. The last time OSU played a game without postseason implications was in Mike Gundy’s first season in 2005.
The Cowboys’ lone conference win that season was against Texas Tech. However, the Cowboys will have an uphill battle to replicate that result.
Burning questions for OSU’s Senior Day matchup:
Can the OSU defense slow Tahj Brooks?
OSU has the second-worst rushing defense in college football, allowing 240.8 rushing yards per game. Meanwhile, Tahj Brooks ranks sixth in the country in rushing yards per game at 131.8.
OSU’s defense has been depleted throughout the season. With injuries piling up along the line of scrimmage, the Cowboys’ rush defense hasn’t looked average or better at any point in conference play.
With Brooks being among the best in the country and OSU being virtually unable to stop the run, Bryan Nardo’s defense might need a miracle to have a decent day in Stillwater.
Can the seniors go out with a bang?
While some seniors have seen limited playing time throughout their careers, others have been key members of the team for half a decade. With so many memories in Boone Pickens Stadium going into Saturday, those veteran leaders should be fired up to have one more big game in Stillwater.
Does Alan Bowman get the majority of snaps at quarterback?
Bowman enters Saturday’s game as QB1 on the depth chart, but that doesn’t guarantee every snap. The Cowboys have lost badly in their past two games and inserted Maealiuaki Smith when the game was already out of reach.
If Bowman and the Cowboys continue to play subpar football on Saturday, it might be worth giving Smith a chance to play meaningful minutes.
Do the Cowboys look like a different team after the bye week?
At his weekly press conference, OSU coach Mike Gundy said his team used the week off to refresh and reset. After OSU’s first bye week, it nearly knocked off undefeated BYU on the road.
While the stakes for this game are much lower, with OSU already eliminated from bowl contention, the Cowboys should be able to look like a better team than what they’ve shown in November thus far.
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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.