Four Downs: Why Oklahoma State football needs Korie Black at full health against TCU

FORT WORTH, Texas — Oklahoma State has lost its last two trips to TCU’s Amon G. Carter Stadium, but in those instances, the Cowboys were favorites.

The eighth-ranked Pokes are underdogs at No. 13 TCU in a 2:30 p.m. Saturday kickoff, with each team looking to keep an undefeated record intact.

Here’s a look at a few key aspects of the game in this week’s edition of Four Downs:

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First Down: Cowboy in the Crosshairs

Cornerback Korie Black: TCU receiver Quentin Johnston was an All-Big 12 first-team selection a year ago, but he got off to a slow start this season, with less than 50 yards in each of his first four games. Then the explosion hit. Johnston had 14 catches for 206 yards and a touchdown last week against Kansas, so he comes into this game with his confidence restored.

Taking away the 6-foot-4, 215-pound Johnston is a chore that will be most often split between Black and Jabbar Muhammad. Black missed most of last week's game against Texas Tech with a hamstring injury, though he is expected to play Saturday. Muhammad has been among the top cover cornerbacks in the Big 12 this season, so the Cowboys need Black healthy and on top of his game.

Tramel:Sonny Dykes would be a perfect fit coaching anywhere in Texas. Good news for TCU.

Second Down: Against the Spread

Over 67.5: Surprisingly, this number has actually gone down after opening at 68.5 earlier in the week. It feels odd to see it go down considering each team averages more than 45 points per game on offense and ranks 93rd or worse nationally in total defense, allowing more than 400 yards per game.

But in scoring defense, both are in the middle of the pack (23.8 points per game for TCU, 24.8 for OSU). So maybe Vegas thinks the scoring defense numbers win out in this one. Yet it feels more likely the offenses rule the day.

Oklahoma State football: What will it take for the Cowboy defense to slow down TCU?

Third Down: This Day in Cowboy History

Oct. 15 hasn’t been a kind day to the Cowboys in recent history. They’re 6-8-1 all-time on the date, but five of those wins came before 1950. Since then, they’re 2-7 with a win over Kansas State in 1977 and a big 38-26 victory at Texas in 2011.

Mike Gundy is 1-1 as a head coach and 0-1 as a player on Oct. 15 games. With Gundy at quarterback, the Cowboys dropped a 63-42 decision at Nebraska in a top-10 showdown on Oct. 15, 1988 — a game that included 15 touchdowns and 1,117 yards from scrimmage.

Nebraska jumped to a 42-0 lead in the second quarter before OSU legend Barry Sanders got going. Sanders finished with 189 yards and four touchdowns on 35 carries, but couldn’t bring the Cowboys all the way back.

More:Oklahoma State secondary prepping to face 'really explosive' TCU passing game

Fourth Down: Uni-guess

White-White-Orange: The Cowboys have worn white-white-black in the last two trips to TCU, both losses. Seems like time to change the trend with a different look. It has also been rare for them to mix in orange against TCU, for whatever reason — probably pure coincidence.

Aside from an all-orange uni in 2013 and orange jerseys in 2017, the Pokes have been a mix of black and white against TCU since it joined the league in 2012. White-white-orange is a solid throwback look to the late 1980s, and there’s never anything wrong with that.

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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State football will need Korie Black fully healthy vs. TCU