(Robert Allen, Pokes Report publisher contributed to this story.)
STILLWATER – The first preseason poll of the season has been released and Oklahoma State checks in at No. 11 in the USA Today AFCA Preseason Coaches Poll.
The Cowboys finished the 2021 season ranked No. 7 following the 37-35 win over Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl.
USA Today AFCA Preseason Coaches Poll
First place votes in parentheses.
Cowboys head coach Mike Gundy is not a USA TODAY Poll voter this season. Out of the Big 12 West Virginia coach Neal Brown, TCU head coach Sonny Dykes, Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman, Kansas head coach Lance Leipolid,and Texas Tech new coach Joey McGuire are voters. Also, filling out ballots this season are future Big 12 coaches Dana Hologorsen at Houston and Luke Fickell at Cincinnati. James Franklin at Penn State, Pat Fitzgerald at Northwester, and Mike Locksley at Maryland are coaches voting that have been on staffs with Gundy. I’m not saying that matters, but those are coaches that are likely to pay more attention to Oklahoma State and know what the Cowboys deserve in the polls.
The Cowboys are fresh off a 12-2 campaign in 2021, which was capped by multiple top-25 wins, including a 37-33 win over No. 10 Oklahoma in Bedlam and a 37-35 win over No. 5 Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl.
Mike Gundy returns redshirt senior quarterback Spencer Sanders, who’s coming off a stellar 2021 season as he was tabbed the first team All-Big 12 quarterback. He finished the season having completed 243 of 392 passes for 2,839 passing yards and 20 touchdowns. He also rushed for 668 yards and six touchdowns.
He needs just nine more wins to pass Mason Rudolph for most wins as a starting quarterback in Oklahoma State history.
The Cowboys receiving corps also looks to be strong this season as they return nearly every player, most of which logged a significant amount of playing time last season, including Jaden Bray and Brennan Presley. The Cowboys will also have redshirt senior Braydon Johnson as he missed the 2021 season with a medical issue.
The running backs will be without Jaylen Warren, who is currently turning heads in training camp with the Pittsburgh Steelers, so the Pokes are turning to junior Dominic Richardson to carry the load this season.
The offensive line will be with graduates Danny Godlevske and Josh Sills, but they return Hunter Woodard and Preston Wilson and will be looking towards guys like Caleb Etienne, Jason Brooks and others to step up this season.
The defense lost a lot of talent from last year to either the draft or the transfer portal, such as Jarrick Bernard-Converse to LSU and Tanner McCalister to Ohio State and Malcolm Rodriguez, Devin Harper, Christian Holmes, Kolby Harvell-Peel and Israel Antwine to the NFL.
But new defensive coordinator Derek Mason has returning starter Jason Taylor II returning on the back end, a player who has a chance to play for Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, as well as a lot of young talent to plug into positions, such as Korie Black and Jabbar Muhammad at corner, Kendall Daniels at safety and transfer Xavier Benson at linebacker.
The 2022 season kicks off for the Pokes on Thursday, September 1 as Central Michigan comes to town for a 6 p.m. CT kick on FS1.
That reporter, probably from the Austin American Statesman, has to make sure BEVO doesn't take away his press credentials pass!!!CaliforniaCowboy said:
LOL... Texas got a first place vote... what a joke. That guy should have his voting rights removed.
Four B12 in the top 20, plus Cincy and Houston in the top 25.
it's the "Coaches" poll, so apparently the guy is on staff... heck it might have been BEVO voting... Bevo is likely the smartest one on the sidelines.Joe Khatib said:That reporter, probably from the Austin American Statesman, has to make sure BEVO doesn't take away his press credentials pass!!!CaliforniaCowboy said:
LOL... Texas got a first place vote... what a joke. That guy should have his voting rights removed.
Four B12 in the top 20, plus Cincy and Houston in the top 25.
CaliforniaCowboy said:
LOL... Texas got a first place vote... what a joke. That guy should have his voting rights removed.
I saw a YouTube show (365 sports I think) that said if Texas hadn't gotten that vote, they would have been in the top 25 teams. They speculated it wasn't a UT coach but an early opponent's move to enhance their game and possible win value.
Four B12 in the top 20, plus Cincy and Houston in the top 25.
LOL - that's funny right thereOrangeheart72 said:CaliforniaCowboy said:
I saw a YouTube show (365 sports I think) that said if Texas hadn't gotten that vote, they would not have been in the top 25 teams. They speculated it wasn't a UT coach but an early opponent's move to enhance their game and possible win value.
