Game Preview: Oklahoma State Hosts Arizona State for Homecoming
Oklahoma State is still searching for its first conference win and will have an opportunity to earn it on homecoming.
On Saturday, OSU will host Arizona State on homecoming in its first night game at Boone Pickens Stadium this season. After losing five straight games to open conference play, OSU is hoping a game under the lights with a throwback look can help it get back in the win column.
Of course, the most pressing questions come on defense. After giving up a long go-ahead touchdown in the closing seconds against BYU, OSU allowed Baylor to rush for 343 yards last week.
Overall, OSU’s defense has struggled to find any success since the bye week. While injuries have affected Bryan Nardo’s unit in that span, that is still no excuse for the team’s awful performance.
However, those injuries certainly won’t help contain the Arizona State offense led by Cam Skattebo. The Sun Devils’ star running back has rushed for 848 yards and 10 touchdowns this season.
However, he has played much better at home than on the road. In three home games against power conference teams, Skattebo has rushed for an average of 200 yards. Meanwhile, in two Big 12 road games, he has only 135 total yards.
Those conference road games are also the only losses the Sun Devils have suffered this season. Still, they were without their starting quarterback in a loss at Cincinnati, but Sam Leavitt is set to start in Stillwater.
On the other side, OSU will need Ollie Gordon to channel his 2023 self. After an outburst at BYU, Gordon was not as effective against Baylor. With nagging injuries throughout the season, Gordon has had to leave the field briefly during the past few games. Ideally, Gordon will be able to stay on the field for as many snaps as possible and give the team a chance.
If Gordon can have another good game and Alan Bowman can simply avoid being a negative, the Cowboys’ offense should be good enough to win. Still, the offense has been good enough to win in both games since the bye, which means this game will almost certainly be decided when the OSU defense is on the field.
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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.