2014 Oklahoma Sooners Opponent First Look | The Oklahoma State Cowboys

Conference: Big XII

Season Record: 5-6

Last Week's Opponent: Bye

Points Scored Per Game: 26.5 (Ranks 83rd Nationally)

Points Allowed Per Game: 31.7 (Ranks 99th Nationally)

Last Meeting With Sooners: December 7, 2013 (L 33-24)

Opponent Blog: CRFF

There may not be a conference title on the line for Saturday's Bedlam game but that doesn't mean there isn't something to play for. The Sooners will be trying to put themselves in position for another ten win season and the Cowboys are fighting to become bowl eligible and have a shot to finish above .500 on the year. Here's the early scouting report on Oklahoma State.

Offense

Despite having one of the most explosive players the Big 12 has to offer in junior Tyreek Hill the Cowboys are in the bottom half of the conference in scoring offense (7th). The running game has particularly troubling as Oklahoma State is ranked 8th in the Big 12 with an average of 137.5 yards on the ground per game. Hill leads O-State with an average of 5 yards per carry and has the second most carries on the team (99). Senior Desmond Roland is the workhorse with team-highs in number of carries (153) and rushing touchdowns (8) but he shares a 3.8 yards per carry average with sophomore Rennie Childs.

OSU has played three quarterbacks this season with true freshman Mason Rudolph being the most recent one. Rudolph was fairly impressive in his debut against Baylor, completing 53% of his passes for 281 yards and two scores. He also threw two picks in the game as well. The Cowboys rank 7th in the conference in passing yards per game (232.3) and have an equal number of passing touchdowns to interceptions (15-15).

Junior David Glidden leads the team with 39 receptions for 549 yards and has scored twice. Brandon Shepard, also a junior, has also scored twice and has an average of 17.9 per reception. Freshman James Washington is averaging 16.6 yards per reception and has a team-high 5 receiving touchdowns.

The offensive line may be the main culprit in the entire scheme of things. The are managing to pave the way for a low team average of 3.5 yards per carry and have given up an astonishing 35 sacks on the season. It's no wonder the Cowboys are on their third quarterback.

Defense

On the defensive side of the ball O-State ranks 8th in the Big 12 in points allowed per game (31.7) with Iowa State (37.4) and Texas Tech (40.6) being the two teams ranked behind them. They are dead last in the conference in pass defense with an average of 282.8 yards allowed per game. Opposing quarterbacks are completing 60.6% of their passes against the Cowboys and have thrown 21 touchdowns to 11 interceptions. Things improve with the O-State run defense where the opponent average of 4 yards per carry ranks sixth in the conference. Oklahoma State has given up 19 rushing touchdowns this season.

Sophomore safety Jordan Sterns and junior linebacker Ryan Simmons share a team-high 85 tackles. Sophomore defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah is a quarterbacks worst nightmare. He's recorded 11 sacks on the season and also has 5 pass breakups. Seven O-State defenders share 11 combined interceptions with freshman corner Ramon Richards owning a team-high three picks.

The Skinny

Don't let Oklahoma State's recent problems fool you. There's a reason why they call this game Bedlam and bigger upsets have happened before in this series. Losers of five games in a row, you can bank on the Cowboys treating this as the game that'll make or break their season. A fair showing at Baylor just over a week ago showed that OSU still has some fight left in them and they'll put everything they have into trying to extend their season by gaining a bowl birth.

For the Sooners it will boil down to two things. 1) Stop the run and force them into second and third and long situations. 2) Jump on the Samaje Perine Train and use the rushing attack to control the clock and ultimately the game four yards at a time.