We’ve seen Boone Pickens Stadium get the stripe treatment, but how about going all black?

On Sunday, Oklahoma State released this promotional video, tipping its hand to a special blackout theme for its penultimate home game of 2021 against TCU on Nov. 13.

The blackout will also coincide with OSU honoring its all-time greatest Cowboy. Barry Sanders will be inducted into the school’s ring of honor that Saturday and, whether it happens in two weeks or at a later date, OSU has commissioned a statue of the . It looks like we might get that reveal then too.

Another exciting reveal was teased at the end of that clip. With a blackout of the stadium could we see a special edition all-black uniform combo? Perhaps another striking throwback.

Perhaps something similar to this.

Or some new version of this for Barry?

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After a road loss in Ames dropped them to the middle of the rankings, the Cowboys are just outside the Top 10 after their dominant 55-3 win over Kansas.

OSU is ranked No. 11 in this week’s AP poll, a four-spot improvement over last week. The Cowboys are also No. 11 in the AFCA Coaches poll.

Here’s a look at the full AP ranking.

That makes for three Big 12 teams ranked and all three in the Top 15. Oklahoma remained stationary after its dominant win over Texas Tech, and Baylor climbed two spots after handing Texas its third-straight L.

Future conference foes Houston and BYU both moved up in the rankings after victories on Saturday, and Cincinnati remained at No. 2 after beating up on Tulane.

The first 2021 ranking by the College Football Playoff committee will be announced on Tuesday, with implications for OSU and the future of the Big 12. What does the committee do with an 8-0 Cincinnati that has been in the Top 4 of both major polls for a month?

The post OSU Moves Up Four Spots in AP Poll after Huge Homecoming Win appeared first on Pistols Firing.

Due to some technical difficulties, I was unable to get this notebook out last night. But in case anyone wanted to relive OSU’s pre-Halloween slaughter of Kansas for Homecoming, I’ve tried to include all the spooky details.

(Again, I ran into an issue with the post last night, possibly from the Cowboys creating more highlight plays than the server could hold. So excuse any missed thoughts or choppiness. Somewhere in the either are typed thoughts on Brennan Presley’s greatness and Spencer Sanders’ redemption tour.)

• Cowboys flex on defense and stonewall the Jayhawks on third-and-1. The Big 12’s best third-down defense forces a three-and-out on the opening possession.

• Spencer Sanders goes deep to Brennan Presley on OSU’s first play and draws a PI.

• Cowboys cruise down the field just to get stopped themselves just to get stopped on a fourth-and-1. Remember when everyone roasted Gundy for not going for it deep on fourth-and-1 in Ames?

Woof.

• Faced with a long field, the Jayhawks couldn’t muster a first down. Malcolm Rodriguez flushed Jason Bean out of the pocket and his pass fell incomplete. But if this would have gotten reeled in, KU might be up 7-0.

• After stepping out of bounds shy of the first down to avoid a defender on the previous drive, Sanders decided to go through a Jayhawk to move the chains on this one. And he left a little bit of that sexy 1961 helmet on his opponent.

• Spencer put a defender on rollerskates on this option play. Cowboys get on the board.

SCORE: Oklahoma State 7, Kansas 0 | 1st QUARTER 5:49

• No. 25 has a Justin Gilbert-like nose for the ball.

• OSU unable to get the first down after the turnover, but Tanner Brown gets a little redemption from last week, nailing a 49-yard field goal to put the Pokes up 10.

SCORE: Oklahoma State 10, Kansas 0 | 1st QUARTER 3:33

• They’re. Takin. It. Back.

• The Cowboys sneak another score in before the end of the first to take a 17-0 lead, thanks to that favorable field position, Sanders and Brennan Presley.

SCORE: Oklahoma State 17, Kansas 0 | 1st QUARTER 0:27

• At the end of the first quarter, Kansas has yet to get a first down. The Jayhawks’ first five drives went like this.

Three-and-out
Three-and-out
Interception on first play
Interception on third play
Three-and-out

• Spencer can throw on the run.

• Let me say that again. SPENCER CAN THROW ON THE RUN.

SCORE: Oklahoma State 24, Kansas 0 | 2nd QUARTER 11:42

• Brennan Presley finds the end zone on a reverse play. It’s his second score of the day, and the Pokes keep rolling.

SCORE: Oklahoma State 31, Kansas 0 | 2nd QUARTER 5:58

• And how bout that block from a QB? Sanders is punishing KU defenders.

• Kansas has 32 rushing yards. OSU has 31 points.

• This has dissolved into a Spencer Sanders highlight reel.

• Dominic Richardson hits a hole and scores for the first time this season.

SCORE: Oklahoma State 38, Kansas 0 | 2nd QUARTER 2:23

• Bean almost got KU’s first first down of the night on an 8-yard camper, but he’s short. On the next play, Bean gets tackled for a 2-yard loss. KU is now 0-for-8 on third down.

• OMG Malcolm, lol.

• Looks like Spencer is done for the night. No. 3 had a heck of a first half.

12-of-19 for 157 yards passing and 53 yards rushing. He scored thrice (twice by air, once by land).

• Tim Brando : “Shane Englewood is in the game.”

• On his second try, Brando went with “Ingleworth.”

• And that’s the end of the half. Cowboys up 38 to nothin’.

• The Cowboys outgained the Jayhawks 331-49 in the first two quarters, out-passing them 161-10 and out-rushing them 170-39. KU has yet to move the chains in 26 tries.

• That’s one heck of a drive chart. In nine first-half possessions, KU has six three-and-outs, two turnovers by INT and one on downs. I know it’s Kansas but that’s a dominant defensive performance.

• New quarter, new QB, same result. The Cowboys stretch their first possession of the second half to nine plays and 3:45 off the clock, but it ends with Shane Illingworth finding Bryson Green in the end zone for this nice high-point score.

SCORE: Oklahoma State 45, Kansas 0 | 3rd QUARTER 11:15

• It’s the 9:16 mark of the third quarter and Kansas just earned its first first down of the game. Backup the Brinks truck, a truck of cigars, whatever you need to keep Jim Knowles in Stillwater.

• That first down would leave to Kansas’ longest possession of the game, a 12-play drive that resulted in a field goal and took 7:25 off of the clock. Jayhawks won’t get blanked.

SCORE: Oklahoma State 45, Kansas 3 | 3rd QUARTER 3:50

• Rookie receiver John Paul Richardson reeled in all four of his targets and logged his first career score, and OSU is past the half-century mark. KU needs another seven-minute drive so these kids can get to their Halloween parties.

SCORE: Oklahoma State 52, Kansas 3 | 4th QUARTER 14:28

• There is still 14 minutes left of game time. A Gunnar Gundy sighting would complete the night for me. And, with the No. 12 jersey, he would be kind of going as his dad for Halloween.

• This game has it all.

• Alex Hale gets a shot. He hasn’t kicked a field goal since the Kansas State game. He nails a chip shot from 26 yards to put the Pokes back up by 50.

SCORE: Oklahoma State 55, Kansas 3 | 4th QUARTER 10:54

• This pretty much sums it up.

Final Thoughts

• OSU did what it was supposed to do and beat up on an inferior KU squad. Does running it up on KU really mean this team can win a Big 12 title? I dunno. But the confidence boost, specifically for OSU’s offense, is priceless and could set the Pokes up for an exciting final leg of their schedule. Fake it till you make it.

• On that note, Iowa State fell in Morgantown thanks to a controversial football spot meaning if the season stopped now, OSU would play Oklahoma in the conference title game thanks to a tie-breaker over Baylor.

• The Cowboys head to Morgantown to face those Mountaineers who are on a bit of a hot streak, winners of two-straight.

The post Kansas Notebook: Cowboys Get Well against the Jayhawks appeared first on Pistols Firing.

You never know how much a win against Kansas, even by 50, will affect the moods of those voting on these rankings. In this instance, the way in which the Cowboys won seems to have been important.

Oklahoma State climbed up four spots in this week’s AFCA Coaches poll to No. 11.

Here’s a look at the entire Top 25 ranking.

Elsewhere in the current (and future) Big 12, Oklahoma stood pat after the Sooners’ dominant win over Texas Tech, and Baylor jumped up five spots to 13 after helping turn Texas into a meme.

Iowa State fell on the road to West Virginia (and out of the ranking), making it a two-way tie between Baylor and OSU for that second spot in Arlington at the end of the year. And the Cowboys own the head-to-head tie-breaker over the Bears.

Both Houston and BYU are back in this week’s ranking coming off wins after not being ranked last week.

Cincinnati is going to make the College Football Playoff committee set a precedent on Tuesday night when the first 2021 rankings are released. I don’t know how the Bearcats can be left out of the Top 4 at 8-0. And if they do make make that group, you can’t exactly box them out if they finish the season undefeated.

The post Cowboys Move Up Four Spots in the Coaches Poll after Blowout Win appeared first on Pistols Firing.

The Cowboys will play just their second afternoon game of the season when they head to Morgantown next Saturday.

OSU’s road game against West Virginia is set for a 2:30 p.m. kickoff and will be broadcast on ESPN. It’s just the second time the Pokes have played in that timeslot — along with the Iowa State game — and it will be OSU’s first televised on the mothership network. This game was previously put in a six-day window while networks waited for Saturday’s results to shake out.

A year after OSU fans couldn’t get a night game, the Pokes have only played two morning games. Five of OSU’s eight games have started at 6 p.m. or later. The Pokes are 0-1 at 2:30 p.m.

This road trip to the country roads starts the final leg of the Cowboys’ regular season. OSU will be back in Stillwater for a matchup against TCU the following week, then head to Lubbock for its final road game against Texas Tech before hosting Bedlam in the season finale.

The Mountaineers upset No. 22 Iowa State on Saturday, doing the Cowboys a favor in the Big 12 title race. Oklahoma sits atop the conference at 6-0 followed by Oklahoma State and Baylor both tied at 4-1. The Cowboys hold the head-to-head tie-breaker against the Bears. Iowa State is now at 3-2 in conference play.

The post Oklahoma State-West Virginia Kick Time Set appeared first on Pistols Firing.

Some players have a touch for the ball, and others just need to touch the ball.

Brennan Presley had the football in his hands on offense three times during Oklahoma State’s 55-3 victory against Kansas, and he scored two touchdowns.

The Cowboys out-gained the Jayhawks with a season-high 535 yards to the visitors’ 143, KU’s lowest in four seasons. But OSU’s most dynamic weapon totaled just 20 yards. The Cowboys’ second-leading receiver coming in managed to haul in just two of his four targets against KU for a total of six yards. But he made them count.

Then on a reverse in the second quarter, Presley logged the Pokes’ fourth touchdown of the night and effectively made this game a blowout, before students could even head to the exits.

That counted as Presley’s third rush attempt for the season and the second rushing TD of his career. His six receiving yards tied a career-low in any single game in which he caught a pass. But he scored 12 points and it was a blowout.

Doing a lot with a little is something Cowboys coaches have gotten used to with Presley during his short career.

“Well, Brennan is starting to show up,” said Mike Gundy after the win. “I mentioned this, I think in the media Monday, that’s what he did in high school, right? I mean, he played running back, played receiver, moved him all over the place.

“When he touches the ball eventually he’s gonna make a play. He’s not the biggest guy in the world, so his adjustment to this level was different. The speed and quickness he has, his competitive nature and his physical toughness allows him to play better than he should at a young age. Now he’s getting experience and maturity. Those are the two most important things. He’s learning to do that now.”

In a breakout performance against Miami in the Cheez-It Bowl last year, Presley amassed 118 yards and three receiving touchdowns on just six catches. And Saturday’s stat line paled in comparison to season-highs Presley logged in catches (six), receiving yards (84) and scores (two) last week against Iowa State.

The scoring spree Presley’s been on over the last two weeks has come as no surprise to Gundy.

“He really should touch the ball, and I think he would have tonight if we would have been in a normal game, at least 10 times, doing different things,” Gundy said. “But when we had some issues with depth at that position, he was bouncing around doing other things, so we couldn’t really lock him into doing certain things that he should have been doing because we didn’t know who we were going to have that was healthy.”

It’s pretty clear that, regardless of depth, Presley is a player you cannot keep off the field, or afford to not have touch the ball.

The post Mike Gundy on Brennan Presley: ‘He Really Should Touch the Ball at Least 10 Times’ appeared first on Pistols Firing.

The Daily Bullets are brought to you by Hoboken Coffee: Get 20% off your first order. 

OSU Bullets

• Oklahoma State housed Kansas for Homecoming. [PFB]

• Do yourself a favor and dig into Marshall’s 10 Thoughts if you haven’t. [PFB]

• Check out the best of Twitter from during and after the game. [PFB]

• Jenni Carlson doled out report cards after the win. Shocker: The Cowboys passed with flying colors. [The Oklahoman]

• OSU changed up Homecoming & Hoops this year, but the best to come out of it might have been the dunk contest. [PFB]

• Cade Cunningham made his NBA debut on Saturday night, but is still knocking off the rust. The No. 1 overall pick had been sidelined with an ankle injury since before preseason. He saw his first action in the Pistons’ 110-103 win over the Magic, but went just 1-for-8 for two points, but he still made his presence known.

• That’s it. That’s the tweet.

Non-OSU Bullets

• We are still learning new things about our planet. [Live Science]

• Remote-first work is taking over the rich world. [The Economist]

• When America’s greatest Homecoming and holiday unite.

The post Daily Bullets (Oct. 31): It Was a Scary Night for the Jayhawks in BPS appeared first on Pistols Firing.

STILLWATER — Oklahoma State torched Kansas 55-3 on Saturday in Boone Pickens Stadium. Here are videos from the postgame media sessions with Mike Gundy, Kasey Dunn, Jim Knowles, Spencer Sanders, Kolby Harvell-Peel and Jason Taylor.

The post Videos: Coaches, Players Talk Kansas Win appeared first on Pistols Firing.

STILLWATER — The Cardiac Cowboys finally got a night off, making way for a more vintage group of Pokes to throttle the Big 12’s bottom feeder.

Oklahoma State thumped Kansas 55-3 on Saturday in Boone Pickens Stadium, the Cowboys’ largest margin of victory in quite some time. Here are 10 thoughts on the game.

1. It’s Kansas, but What a Defensive Performance

Oklahoma State’s defense was supposed to suffocate the Jayhawks, but that might’ve been overkill.

The starters played the first half in which KU had zero first downs, 10 passing yards and two interceptions. Quarterback Jason Bean was 3-for-10 with a -1.6 QBR — negative one point six for an entire half.

KU’s first half drive chart:

The Jayhawks finished the game 0-for-13 on third down, a stat OSU’s defense has prided itself on since Jim Knowles got to town.

“I think it’s just in [Knowle’s] head,” Kolby Harvell-Peel said on what makes OSU so good on third down. “He knows. I don’t know the answer. He just dials up calls for us. He’s super aggressive. Probably his aggressiveness plays a role, but only he knows the real answer to that question.”

OSU’s defense has been great all season, but it isn’t too often a defense puts up gaudy numbers to the extent that the Cowboys did Saturday.

2. Points Are Possible

Mike Gundy said Monday that he expected another fourth-quarter game. Well, this was hardly a first-quarter game.

The Cowboy offense proved it can put points on the board. The 55 points OSU scored are the most the Pokes have put up since the 56 they did against McNeese in 2019. That means its the most OSU has scored in a Big 12 game with Kasey Dunn as offensive coordinator.

Gundy and Dunn credited the steps forward to the group of receivers being healthy for an extended period of time now. Ten players caught passes for the Cowboys on Saturday with Spencer Sanders, Shane Illingworth and Ethan Bullock combining for 243 yards and four touchdowns.

The competition stunk, yes, but if this can boost some sort of confidence and the Cowboys can get to even averaging 35 points a game over this final stretch, this team can be spooky with how good its defense is.

3. Spencer Sanders Does It All

Spencer Sanders dominated KU like the starting quarterback of a one-loss team should, and he laid some wood for good measure.

Sanders was 12-for-19 for 157 passing yards and two passing touchdowns while also running for 53 yards and another score. All of that came in less than two quarters of work. But he went above just being a good, mobile quarterback. Sanders was the lead blocker in Brennan Presley’s second quarter TD run, where Sanders lowered his throwing shoulder, sending a KU defensive back to the BPS turf.

“He’s gonna do what he wants to do,” Gundy said. “Like I said, he’s kind of like the Tasmanian Devil, the cartoon. He just rolls and goes and just keeps going. He likes to play football.”

It was like he was playing a video game, whether it was the fake pitch to gleeful skip into the end zone or extending a play before slinging a 36-yard touchdown to Tay Martin. It looked like high school Spencer Sanders when he was just better than everyone and knew it. It was a lot of fun to watch until you started feeling sad for the Jayhawks’ inability to do anything.

4. Skilled True Freshmen

True freshmen provided the Pokes with 154 yards of total offense and two touchdowns. Both of those numbers are more than KU’s entire team.

Bryson Green, Blaine Green, Jaden Bray, Jaden Nixon and John Paul Richardson each showed out at different times Saturday. It wasn’t totally unwarranted from the Green twins or Bray, who all had a decent amount of looks this season. It was, however, the first extended showing for Richardson and Nixon.

Richardson caught all four of his targets for 18 yards and an impressive first career touchdown that saw him layout and bring in an Illingworth bullet.

Nixon had his first 11 career carries, where he had 53 yards. He also caught a pass for three yards. His speed was a big selling point in the recruiting process. It’s one thing to be fast as a high schooler, but Nixon’s speed and burst was also impressive in a Big 12 games.

5. Illingworth Looks Good in First Run since Week 1

With the Pokes throttling the Jayhawks like it was 2011, Shane Illingworth got a chance to stretch the arm, coming in at the end of the second quarter.

In his first action since Week 1, OSU’s pro-style sophomore completed 6-of-10 passes for 70 yards and two touchdowns. His two best passes went to the Green twins.

He hit Bryson Green in the corner of the end zone in the third quarter. A good throw, and a good catch.

Not too long after, Illingworth hit Blaine Green down the Kansas sideline for a 40-yard gain, the longest completion from any quarterback all night.

The backup quarterback is often the most popular guy on the team, but this is no call for Illingworth to usurp Sanders. Sanders has proved he is OSU’s guy, Saturday’s game was a shining example of that. But, it’s gotta be nice for Gundy and Dunn to know that Illingworth is as solid as he is.

6. Turd Quarter, No More

If OSU didn’t score a third-quarter touchdown in this game, it might’ve truly not been meant to be — but the Cowboys did.

Illingworth’s TD pass to Bryson Green was the first third-quarter touchdown the Pokes have scored this season. It’s just the second time OSU has scored in the frame, joining the field goal Tanner Brown hit in Austin.

Dunn said he hadn’t put too much thought into it. Now that the curse has been broken, no one has to think about it any more.

7. Kolby Harvell-Peel and Jason Taylor Are Good on the Field but Maybe Better on the Mic

Kolby Harvell-Peel and Jason Taylor picked off Kansas quarterback Jason Bean on consecutive possessions Saturday.

The pair stood on either side of defensive coordinator Jim Knowles during his postgame press conference before doing their press conference together — it was comedy.

Harvell-Peel said they have a little competition going as to who will finish the year with more INTs. When Taylor got his, it tied the two up at two picks apiece, but then Harvell-Peel pulled back ahead on the Pokes’ next defensive play.

“He was like, ‘Man, we was only tied for a minute, bruh,'” Harvell-Peel said. “He’s gonna have his fair share of chances, that boy’s a ballhawk. I gotta stay on my Ps and Qs or he’ll catch me.”

Toward the end of their media session, the pair talked about redshirt freshman Nick Session’s fourth-quarter INT. Session had a chance to score on the play but got caught.

“I thought he could run,” Harvell-Peel said. “You didn’t think Nick was faster than that?”

“Nuh uh,” Taylor replied.

“He said on the sideline that he was surprised he had it,” Harvell-Peel said.

“It hit him in the stomach,” Taylor said. “If it was a spear, it would’ve killed him.”

IF IT WAS A SPEAR, IT WOULD HAVE KILLED HIM. The first time I had ever heard that line, much less from the football player about an interception.

The duo also hit on Sanders’ aforementioned block.

“I don’t cosign that, to do that with his throwing shoulder,” Harvell-Peel said. “Nah, It was awesome and it sprung a touchdown. I was excited, obviously, then the excitement comes down and I was like, ‘Bro, why is he out there throwing blocks like that?'”

8. Brown Hits Confidence-Boosting Field Goal

After a rough day in Ames, Tanner Brown set a new career long Saturday with a 49-yard field goal.

If OSU is going to compete for a Big 12 title and high-level bowl appearance, special teams is sure to play a factor. Him being able to mentally reset from missing two on Ames’ natural grass could be a big deal.

9. Kansas, Man

Kansas hasn’t won a road Big 12 game since 2008 — like sheesh.

It got to the point Saturday it was just kind of sad. OSU had nearly four times as many yards as KU did. The Jayhawks struggled to seven first downs, all coming against the Cowboys’ reserves (OSU, meanwhile, had 31 first downs).

This is the third time this season KU has managed only single-digit points. It has to be demoralizing. They’re people out there. Now the Jayhawks have to go home and wake up Sunday and start the process all over again. It’s just sad.

10. Back in the Driver’s Seat to Arlington

Iowa State pulled an Iowa State on Saturday, falling to West Virginia, meaning with a tiebreaker advantage over Baylor, OSU is back in the driver’s seat to play in the Big 12 title game in Arlington.

Here is a look at the Big 12’s contenders and their remaining schedules:

Oklahoma (6-0): at Baylor, Iowa State, at Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State (4-1): at West Virginia, TCU, at Texas Tech, Oklahoma
Baylor (4-1): at TCU, Oklahoma, at Kansas State, Texas Tech
Iowa State (3-2): Texas, at Texas Tech, at Oklahoma, TCU

Mini thoughts within this thought: 1. OU gets its three toughest conference tests on consecutive weekends, which could send this thing into pandemonium. 2. OSU might have the easiest remaining schedule among those four. 3. If you’re an OSU fan (which is probably why you’re reading this) you probably would feel better about Iowa State dropping one more game, be it to Texas or OU, so that the tiebreaker stays as far away as possible.

The Cowboys are fine with a two-way tiebreaker with Baylor. OSU’s head-to-head win in that makes it simple. Three-team tiebreakers make things much more challenging.

The post 10 Thoughts on Oklahoma State’s 55-3 Victory against Kansas appeared first on Pistols Firing.