Looking Ahead at Non Conference and It Isn’t a Cupcake for Cowboys

STILLWATER – As I write this story Oklahoma State is getting ready for their thirteenth practice of the preseason for 2021 and this is the exact halfway point in terms of practices before the opener against Missouri State inside Boone Pickens Stadium on Sept. 4 at 6 p.m. The Cowboys non-conference schedule on paper looks fairly pedestrian, but when you look beyond the names of Missouri State, Tulsa, and always well-regarded Group of Five power Boise State then the schedule is more challenging than normal.

Missouri State was crushed in Norman last season in Oklahoma’s one and only non-conference game as Lincoln Riley’s eventual Big 12 champs beat the Bears and Bobby Petrino in his first game as head coach in Springfield 48-0. Missouri State only played three games in the fall going 0-3 losing to (FCS) No. 11 Central Arkansas 27-20 and 33-24 in a home and home situation.

Missouri State University Athletics

Bobby Petrino last season.

Then Petrino, who has been head coach at Arkansas, Louisville, and with the Atlanta Falcons of the NFL, took his team to a 5-2 record in the spring with wins over No. 10 Northern Iowa 13-6 and No. 10 Southern Illinois 30-27 before losing in the playoffs to No. 7 North Dakota 44-10.

“Our defense played pretty good,” Petrino said. “We had to change the way we played and be more conservative and protect the ball on offense to help our defense. I don’t like that. I want to be able to play more wide open and aggressive. I think we will be able to do that this fall.”

Petrino has most of his players returning from the improved spring season. Since then, he has added a lot of transfers including 10 from Division I FBS programs starting with quarterback Jason Shelley of Utah State. In the 2020 season, the 5-11 Shelley started four games completing 51-of-99 passes for 420-yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He rushed for 68-yards on 33 carries. Before Utah State, Shelley played at Utah playing in 19 games in the 2018 and 2019 seasons. He was 104-of-179 for 1,205-yards with six touchdowns and six interceptions. Shelley is trying to beat out last season’s starter Jaden Johnson.

Among the other transfers are speedy wide receiver Tyrone Scott from Central Michigan, former All-Freshman SEC linebacker Dimitri Moore from Vanderbilt, the son of Terrell Owens in Florida Atlantic wide receiver Terique Owens, All-Conference USA Honorable Mention receiver Xavier Lane from Western Kentucky, and offensive guard Sean Fitzgerald, who started seven games in 2018 and all 12 games in 2019 at Coastal Carolina.

Missouri State University Athletics

Damoriea Vick (16)

The Bears also have former Oklahoma City Westmoore receiver Damoriea Vick. Vick is a captain for the Bears, who had 45 receptions for 596-yards and a pair of touchdowns last season. He earned honorable mention All-Missouri Valley Football Conference honors.

Just down the road, Tulsa will be back inside Boone Pickens Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 11 for an 11 a.m. game. Phillip Montgomery returns 13 “super seniors” and 16 of his starters from a 6-3 season that included a 16-7 loss to Oklahoma State.

The Golden Hurricane are missing quarterback Zach Smith and tight end James Palmer on offense. On defense Tulsa lost linebacker and first-round NFL Draft pick Zaven Collins and corners Allie Green IV and Akayleb Evans went into the portal and off to Missouri.

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Rodriguez prepares to tackle Brooks in the 2019 game.

Tulsa has plenty of firepower coming back. Many Tulsa observers feel that Davis Brin, who was the hero of the Tulane overtime win, will be as good or better at quarterback than Zach Smith. The receivers and offensive line are back for Tulsa too. Maybe the biggest returnee is the one that missed last season. The week before the opener with Oklahoma State, top running back Shamari Brooks tore his ACL and was out for the season. Brooks is rehabbed and all the way back. The 5-8, 195-pound speedster from Tulsa Union is very determined to make his presence felt and make up for the lost time.

On defense for Tulsa Jackson Player (6-0, 295) is as good an inside defender up front as you will find. Ask Cincinnati as he owned the Bearcats up front. Tulsa will be good with the question of coming up with quality cornerbacks. While they went after some portal players in Texas A&M transfer Travon Fuller and Kenney Solomon from Tennessee.

The guy that looks like he might rise to be the guy that solidifies the edge or guards the island for Tulsa is former NEO A&M and Putnam City West product Tyon Davis.

“I’ll say this, and I said it even when the other guys were here: In that room, Davis was the most athletic guy,” head coach Phillip Montgomery said. “He just had some guys with experience ahead of him.”

Montgomery is certain things will work out and while Tulsa is unranked and picked sixth in the American Athletic Conference, Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy told me he believes that Tulsa is a top-25 team.

Tulsa opens with UC-Davis on a Thursday at home before playing Oklahoma State and then goes to Ohio State the Saturday after they are in Stillwater.

This summer college football magazine mogul Phil Steele told me that Boise State head coach Andy Avalos told him that all the countdown clocks in the Broncos facility count down to the Oklahoma State game on Sept. 18 at 8 p.m. (Oklahoma time) on the blue turf of Albertson’s Stadium.

Boise State Athletics

Albertson’s Stadium

It has been mostly quiet out of Boise with Avalos back as the head coach. He was the defensive coordinator for the Broncos when they came to Stillwater in 2018 and got rocked 44-21. Avalos didn’t take that loss well, so back after serving as defensive coordinator at Oregon, he’s looking for revenge when the Cowboys come calling.

The Broncos return 16 starters, with eight on each side of the ball. Returning quarterback Hank Bachmeier has competition in USC transfer Jack Sears. The new offensive coordinator is Tim Plough, who came from UC-Davis.

Oklahoma State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles and his staff have watched a lot of UC-Davis video this summer and a good thing. The top returning receiver for the Broncos in Khallil Shakir, who had 52 catches for 719-yards and six touchdowns last season, sound like he is expecting a lot more this season.

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Bachmeier looks for Shakir (2) last season at Wyoming.

“They’ll see a completely new offense,” Shakir said of what the Broncos will be running when the season starts at Central Florida on Sept. 4. “It’s an offense I’ve never run before. It’s amazing! It’s very fast!”

The offense was more plodding and run heavy last season. This season will feature up tempo and no huddle with lots of shifts and motions. It sounds a lot like what Oklahoma State has been doing. That means that fall camp has been a good prep for the defense for Boise State. Oklahoma State even has a team period they often include in practice called Team Tempo or Turbo.