Oklahoma State has a golden opportunity to establish itself as a dominant force in the new-look Big 12.
The Cowboys return most of the talent from a 10-4 team that beat Oklahoma, reached the Big 12 title game and beat Texas A&M in the Texas Bowl.
Now that Oklahoma and Texas have left for the Southeastern Conference, Oklahoma State is poised to take another step in an expanded league that appears much more wide open. The 17th-ranked Cowboys have 11 starters back on offense and 10 on defense, a key reason why they were selected to finish third in the 16-team Big 12.
“This year, we have fewer portal transfers at semester, more returning starters,” Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said. “So coaches have a better direction in how to get there. Now it’s just a matter of us kind of getting out of the way and allowing the maturity and leadership we have of our team to take over.”
The Cowboys return Ollie Gordon II, who won the Doak Walker Award as the nation’s top running back last season and finished seventh in the Heisman race. He ran for 1,732 yards and 21 touchdowns as a sophomore and is the preseason Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year.
It almost unraveled before it started. Gordon was arrested this summer for suspicion of DUI last month. Gundy decided that Gordon won’t miss any game time. Gordon took questions about the arrest at Big 12 Media Day.
”I felt like it would have been disrespectful to leave my teammates and my coach up here and have them answer the questions when I can be here to answer them,” he said.
Oklahoma State quarterback Alan Bowman is in his seventh year of eligibility.
Bowman got off to a slow start last season before blossoming as Gordon emerged. He finished last season with 3,460 yards and 15 touchdowns. Now 24, he wants to cap off his career with something big.
He’s got Brennan Presley back to throw to. Presley is a preseason All-Big 12 pick after catching 101 passes for 991 yards and six scores last season. Rashod Owens caught 63 passes for 895 yards and five scores.
Former Oklahoma receiver Gavin Freeman could be a key addition. The uber-quick receiver had 95 yards and a touchdown on 19 receptions, 20 yards on five rushes and 122 yards on 18 punt returns for the Sooners last season.
“He’s done really well,” Gundy said, “Players have rallied around him. He seems to be comfortable here. He’s a good addition for us.”
Linebackers Nick Martin and Collin Oliver are back to anchor Oklahoma State’s defense. Both are preseason All-Big 12 selections.
Martin led the Big 12 last season in tackles, solo tackles and tackles per game on his way to AP all-conference honors. Oliver tied Martin for the team lead with six sacks on his way to second-team AP all-conference honors in his first year as a linebacker.
Oklahoma State has two big-time offensive linemen in Dalton Cooper and Joe Michalski, both preseason All-Big 12 picks.
Cooper, 6-foot-7 and 290 pounds, has 49 career starts. Michalski, 6-5 and 300 pounds, has 23 career starts.
Jake Springfield has 40 career starts, Cole Birmingham has 26 and Jason Brooks Jr. has 12.
“They’re grown men,” Gundy said. “The best-case scenario would be that we could get to the first game with the faith to play eight or nine guys in that game.”
Oklahoma State has a front-loaded schedule. The Cowboys open at home against defending FCS champion South Dakota State on Aug. 31. They host Arkansas on Sept. 7 and Big 12 favorite No. 12 Utah on Sept, 21, then visit No. 18 Kansas State — picked to finish second in the league — on Sept. 28.
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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
