Oklahoma State football: Everything is on the line vs. Texas in Week 9

Oklahoma State football has the best shot right now of making the CFP out of the Big 12. Can the Pokes keep those hopes alive?

Even with the lack of serious contenders faced previously, Oklahoma State has far and away been the most consistent team in the Big 12. What seemed like a good win against West Virginia has not looked like it after the Mountaineers fell to Texas Tech over the weekend.

With that still being the case, Oklahoma State looked elite on defense as they survived a slugfest with Iowa State. Coming into the season, the reason for optimism with the Pokes was the returning production on that side of the football. It was shown on Saturday as Oklahoma State limited Iowa State’s Brock Purdy to just 162 yards passing with one touchdown and one interception.

Although the run defense had a tough time containing Breece Hall, Oklahoma State’s third-down defense was superb. The Cyclones only converted on 4-of-14 third-down attempts, good for just 28 percent.

This was the return game for Spencer Sanders, after getting injured in the season opener against Tulsa. Although not clean, he did complete over 66 percent of his passes and threw for 235 yards, adding two touchdowns. Sanders will look to be getting back to his normal self on Saturday against Texas.

For the Longhorns, they are coming off a 27-16 win over rival Baylor in Austin. One of the main questions with the Longhorns has been how bad they’ve played on defense. They showed signs of improvement, with limiting Baylor to just 63 yards rushing. Sam Ehlinger connected on a couple deep passes and did enough for the Longhorns.

Although, they didn’t force any turnovers, holding the Bears to 5-for-14 on third downs is a much more encouraging sign. However, Oklahoma State’s offense is an entirely different animal, especially with the three-headed monster at full health.

Last year, Texas got the better half of Oklahoma State led by Ehlinger’s 281 yards and four touchdowns. They never let Chuba Hubbard break through for a big gain and forced two Sanders interceptions.

Creating turnovers and dealing with being away from home will be the key factors for the Longhorns to pull off this monumental upset.

Here’s how to watch the matchup between the Cowboys and Longhorns.

Date: Saturday, Oct. 31
Time: 4 p.m ET
Location: Stillwater, Okla.
Venue: Boone Pickens Stadium
TV: FOX
Live Stream: Fox Sports Go

Keys to Victory

For Oklahoma State, it’s keeping Ehlinger inside the pocket and not letting him create plays with his legs. As seen against Oklahoma, Ehlinger has the capability to carry the entire team on his back and give them a chance to win. He wins with his escapability and also throw accurately under duress.

Texas’ run game has been a liability at times, and while Joshua Moore appeared to be their No. 1 guy at receiver, he still hasn’t quite established that over the past few weeks. Oklahoma State has done an excellent job this year in keeping quarterbacks contained and playing disciplined football. They’re going to need to do that in order to improve to 5-0.

For Texas, it cannot let Tylan Wallace get free. Sanders showed that he can throw it to other players, as he connected with six different wideouts on Saturday. Obviously Hubbard is an issue, but Texas’ secondary is very suspect and quite thin.

Tom Herman knows all too well about Wallace as he torched Texas last time they visited Stillwater in 2018. Wallace had 10 catches for 222 yards and two touchdowns. Texas did a great job last year of keeping him contained. However, I doubt Wallace forgot the loss last season and his performance. Even with the double teams opponents would bring, Wallace still finds ways to catch the ball, even in the most heaviest of traffic.

Prediction

For Longhorn fans, I’m feeling a bit more comfortable about this game after the win over Baylor. The Bears did outscore the Longhorns 13-0 in the fourth quarter. However, with some big plays on offense and some key turnovers, the Horns could make this much more interesting.

However, the guys in orange and black will be just too much for the boys from Austin. Two touchdowns from Wallace and a touchdown run from Hubbard ices the game late. Texas heads back home with a 3-3 record and boosters are started to get more frustrated with the situation at hand.

Final Score: Oklahoma State 38, Texas 27