4 Downs: Which young Oklahoma State football players will claim spotlight vs. Wisconsin?
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — After a difficult November on the field and a painful December in the transfer portal, the 2022 version of the Oklahoma State football team is set to conclude its season in search of its eighth win of the year.
With a victory, the Cowboys will finish with eight wins for the third time in the last four years. A seven-win season would be the third in the last 13 years.
With both teams facing significant roster changes, and in the case of Wisconsin, a coaching transition, the game is more a peek at what’s ahead than a capper for the season behind them.
Here’s a quick look at some key factors for the game in the bowl edition of Four Downs.
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First Down: Cowboys in the crosshairs
Young players: With six heavily used players in the transfer portal — five of them officially starters — Oklahoma State will dip into the depth chart at places like quarterback, running back and defensive back. And with the benefit of the 15 bowl practices, OSU head coach Mike Gundy might have found some other youngsters he wants to give some extra snaps.
Last year, then-sophomore Jabbar Muhammad made his first career start at cornerback and it catapulted him into a strong junior season. But now, he’s in the portal, and redshirt freshman Cam Smith is likely to start in his spot.
At quarterback, Garret Rangel will get his third start of his true freshman season, which could give him a boost going into an offseason which is sure to involve a competition for next year’s starting job.
And with Dominic Richardson on his way to Baylor, OSU’s running backs are a youthful group. The depth chart lists all three of Jaden Nixon, Ollie Gordon and Deondre Jackson, in that order, as potential starters.
When you include their receptions, Nixon and Gordon had similar seasons. On 64 touches, Nixon had 365 yards and three touchdowns, not counting his 98-yard kickoff return touchdown at Baylor. Gordon had 61 total touches for 338 yards and three touchdowns. Of course, Gordon has the top individual rushing performance of the season for OSU, going for 136 yards on 17 carries in the regular-season finale against West Virginia.
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Second Down: Matchup that matters
OSU linebacker Xavier Benson vs. Wisconsin running back Braelon Allen: With the Badgers turning to a new quarterback, expect the offense to lean heavily on its 1,100-yard rusher, Braelon Allen, who averaged 5.4 yards per carry and scored 10 touchdowns in the regular season.
OSU is without leading tackler Mason Cobb, who is transferring to USC, moving Lamont Bishop into the inside linebacker role. But Benson is the key piece of the linebacker group because of his experience.
He started all 12 games this season and was third on the team with 70 tackles. His strength has been in defending the run, which is where he and Bishop can really impact the game on Tuesday night.
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Third Down: Against the spread
Under 43: Yes, 43 is already a low total for a college football game. It’s one of the lowest totals of the entire bowl season (though nowhere close to the Iowa-Kentucky total of 31). But it might not be low enough.
Both of these teams lost multi-year starting quarterbacks to the transfer portal earlier this month, and neither is left with a wealth of experience at the position. Rangel is the most experienced quarterback on either roster, having made two starts and attempted 84 passes. Though OSU lost both games he started, he showed promise at times and seems to have a good grasp of the offense.
Wisconsin’s pre-bowl depth chart listed redshirt senior Chase Wolf or true freshman Myles Burkett as the starter and it has been suggested that both might play. Combined, Wolf and Burkett attempted 11 passes this season.
Wisconsin has a more potent defense than most of those the Cowboys faced this season. OSU is facing some changes on defense with three starters and a key reserve in the transfer portal, but the defense had been playing well at the end of the regular season.
So if you’re looking for points, this might not be the game for you.
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Fourth Down: Uni-guess
White-Orange-White: The Cowboys are the home team, so that opens up plenty of options for a uniform combination. And several bowls have let both teams wear dark jerseys this season, which adds to the intrigue of what this uniform matchup could be.
That means Wiscsonsin could go in their traditional white-red-white and OSU could do something with a black jersey.
Or if Wisconsin goes all white, OSU could counter with all black. Lots of possibilities.
But the more interesting fact is this: OSU has not worn what would be considered its most traditional combination of white-orange-white all season. Seems like time to break it out.
Guaranteed Rate Bowl
OSU VS. WISCONSIN: 9:15 p.m. Tuesday at Chase Field in Phoenix, Ariz. (ESPN)
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State vs. Wisconsin: Will young OSU players shine in bowl?
