Oklahoma State Climbs Into Top-10 in Latest Coaches Poll
STILLWATER – Oklahoma State climbed its way into the USA TODAY AFCA Coaches Poll following the 58-44 win over Central Michigan in the season opener last week.
One of the voters in this season’s USA TODAY AFCA Coaches Poll is the opposing coach this Saturday in the 6:30 p.m. game at Boone Pickens Stadium. Former NFL defensive back and head coach with both the New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs Herm Edwards is the coach of Arizona State (1-0) coming off a 40-3 win over Northern Arizona in their opener last Thursday.
Edwards likely voted the Cowboys high as he certainly sounded like he was impressed in his new conference on Labor Day Monday.
“We have a game this week obviously against a very, very, very good football team,” Edwards started. “They’re very confident, very aggressive in all three phases of football. They have an identity of what they want to do offensively, how they play defensively, very explosive. (The) quarterback is really good, I mean, it’s just you watch him on tape and he’s kind of fun to watch. He can make the unannounced play, can extend plays. They have a gifted receiver corps, some good runners offensively.
“Defensively, [Oklahoma State] is very aggressive,” Edwards continued and then talked about the Cowboys defense playing schemes he has had his Sun Devils majoring in during his tenure. “They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, challenge you, they’ve got some good rushers, and [defensive coordinator Derek] Mason’s done a nice job over there. And special-team wise, they’ve got a punter, left-footed punter. Here we go, left-footed punters. And so, their special teams is good. They’re very well coached. [Head coach Mike] Gundy’s done a nice job there. (Kasey) Dunn is the [offensive coordinator], Mason’s the [defensive coordinator]. So they’re a really good football team.”
Edwards even had kind of a back handed compliment with regards to how many points Central Michigan scored in the Oklahoma State 58-44 win last Thursday.
“Very explosive, I mean, they score points,” Edwards pointed out. “I was talking to our team, I said, ‘It’s kind of interesting. You score 40 points and you don’t win (referring to Central Michigan’s 58-44 loss to Oklahoma State). That’s generally a pretty good deal. You know, (if) you can score 40 points, you got a chance to win and Central Michigan did a nice job of scoring some points. It just wasn’t enough.
The Cowboys entered the first week of the season preseason-ranked No. 11.
USA Today AFCA Coaches Poll
- Alabama 1-0 (1)
- Georgia 1-0 (3)
- Ohio State 1-0 (2)
- Clemson 1-0 (4)
- Michigan 1-0 (6)
- Texas A&M 1-0 (7)
- Oklahoma 1-0 (9)
- Baylor 1-0 (10)
- Notre Dame 0-1 (5)
- Oklahoma State 1-0 (11)
- Michigan State 1-0 (14)
- USC 1-0 (15)
- North Carolina State 1-0 (13)
- Pittsburgh 1-0 (16)
- Utah 0-1 (8)
- Miami 1-0 (17)
- Arkansas 1-0 (23)
- Wisconsin 1-0 (20)
- Florida 1-0 (UR)
- Kentucky 1-0 (21)
- Wake Forest 1-0 (19)
- Texas 1-0 (18)
- Ole Miss 1-0 (24)
- Oregon 0-1 (12)
- BYU 1-0 (NR)
Schools Dropped Out
No. 22 Cincinnati; No. 25 Houston.
Others Receiving Votes
Tennessee 143; Penn State 138; Houston 137; Cincinnati 61; Iowa 44; Mississippi State 34; Florida State 33; Central Florida 23; Fresno State 21; Air Force 18; Auburn 15; Texas Christian 7; UCLA 6; South Carolina 6; Utah State 5; Minnesota 5; Syracuse 4; Oregon State 3; UL Lafayette 1; Texas Tech 1; Northwestern 1; North Carolina 1.
Related: Oklahoma State releases updated depth chart for Arizona State game
The Cowboys were led by redshirt senior quarterback, Spencer Sanders, who finished the game going 28-of-41 for 406 yards and four touchdowns through the air, while rushing for 57 yards and touchdowns on 11 carries.
Following his performance, Sanders was named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week on Monday and the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award Player of the Week of Tuesday.
Braydon Johnson led the way in receiving for the Pokes with six catches for 133 yards and one touchdown, while Dominic Richardson led the way in rushing with nine carries for 61 yards and one touchdown.
As an offense, the Cowboys combined for 531 total yards, 125 of which came on the ground at an average of 3.9 yards per carry.
On the defensive side of the ball, linebacker Mason Cobb and safety Kendal Daniels each combined for 11 total tackles, with Cobb recorded 2.5 tackles for loss and one quarterback hurry, while Daniels recorded one tackle for loss and one interception.
The Cowboys are back this coming week as they play host to Arizona State. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, Sept. 10, with the game being televised on ESPN2.