Oklahoma State football rewind: Spencer Sanders' record chase, redshirt tracker & more

STILLWATER — With the 36-25 win at Baylor on Saturday, Oklahoma State’s national reputation strengthened, and the Cowboys climbed to No. 7 in the rankings.

But the schedule doesn’t get any easier against a Big 12 slate that appears very balanced.

This week, the Cowboys host Texas Tech at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Boone Pickens Stadium, but first, let’s take a look back at a few things we learned in the Baylor win:

More: What is OSU's Mike Gundy expecting from Texas Tech DC Tim Deruyter? 'Blitz and pressure'

Top 5 players of the week

Offensive lineman Preston Wilson: No player faced a bigger challenge on Saturday than Wilson, the Cowboys’ center, who had to line up across from 358-pound Baylor nose guard Siaki Ika nearly all day. But the 295-pound Wilson held his own against one of the conference’s most impactful defensive players, helping the Cowboys rush for 166 yards and succeed in multiple short-yardage situations — where they had failed against Baylor last December in the Big 12 title game.

Linebacker Mason Cobb: While it was fellow linebacker Xavier Benson who led the team with 10 tackles, Cobb’s ability to make big plays at or behind the line of scrimmage continues to show. He had six tackles, with one for loss on Saturday, and he made one of the biggest stops of the game when Baylor went for it on fourth down from the OSU 7. Running back Richard Reese appeared to have a clear path to the end zone, but Cobb slipped off his block and made the tackle for no gain and a turnover on downs.

Running back Dominic Richardson: The box score shows a pedestrian performance, 73 yards on 24 carries for an average of 3.0 per attempt. Most days, such numbers wouldn’t be worth getting excited about. But Richardson’s hard running in the teeth of the Big 12’s best rush defense was a special effort. He found yardage where it didn’t appear to exist and always seemed to be falling forward.

Punter Tom Hutton: The 32-year-old senior is never going to lead the nation in punting yardage, but his control and accuracy on target punting has become a huge weapon for the Cowboys. He punted five times and averaged just less than 42 yards. But four of those punts were downed inside the 20, and one of them was stopped at the 2, setting up a Cowboy safety one play later.

Safety Kendal Daniels: While it was his fellow safeties, Jason Taylor II and Thomas Harper, who came up with the clutch interceptions, Daniels’ impact was felt throughout the game. He was used in a variety of ways, coming on the occasional blitz while also playing in coverage and run stoppage. He finished with four tackles, including a half-tackle for loss and a quarterback hurry. His physicality has been a difference-maker when he’s in the game.

More:Why is receiver Bryson Green 'very steady' for Oklahoma State? 'He works all the time'

Top 5 players of the season

Quarterback Spencer Sanders: The redshirt senior’s consistency and reliability have been off the charts this season. He’s completing 66.1% of his passes with 11 touchdowns and two interceptions, and he leads the team with four rushing TDs.

Defensive lineman Tyler Lacy: Splitting time between end and tackle, Lacy’s impact is being felt across the board. His statistical production was down at Baylor, but his importance is felt when he’s not on the field.

Defensive end Brock Martin: Even though the defensive line has ridiculous depth, Martin still isn’t coming off the field much. He has played 206 snaps this season, easily the most among defensive linemen and fourth-most on the team. His push into the backfield on OSU’s safety against Baylor disrupted the initial flow of the run and set it up for Daniels to make the tackle.

Linebacker Mason Cobb: Cobb’s impact, particularly behind the line of scrimmage, has been strong in his first four games as the starting inside linebacker. He leads the team in tackles with 30, tackles for loss with seven and quarterback hurries with five. The Cowboys rank third nationally in tackles for loss at 9.2 per game.

Offensive guard Hunter Woodard: A redshirt senior, Woodard has been the Cowboys’ most reliable blocker in both pass and rush situations, holding the best grade among starters in both categories, according to Pro Football Focus.

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Spencer Sanders record watch

Sanders is on the verge of bumping his head coach down a notch in the Oklahoma State record book.

The win over Baylor was Sanders’ 28th career victory as the Cowboys’ starting quarterback, tying him with Mike Gundy for second all-time in school history.

A redshirt senior and fourth-year starter, Sanders needs four more to tie Mason Rudolph’s record of 32 wins.

The school’s quarterback rushing yardage record is also within reach. Brent Blackman holds the mark at 1,870 yards, with Zac Robinson next at 1,858. Sanders is third at 1,750.

Sanders ranks fourth in program history in career completion percentage at 62.9, within reach of J.W. Walsh (63.1) and Rudolph (63.2), though well shy of Brandon Weeden in the top spot at 69.5.

For his career, Sanders ranks third in passing yards per game (216.4), fourth in pass attempts (1,009), fourth in completions (635, one behind Gundy), fourth in passing touchdowns (61) and fifth in passing yards (8,008).

With his next-to-last pass against Baylor on Saturday, Sanders joined Robinson in an elite club as the only Cowboys with at least 8,000 passing yards and 1,500 rushing yards.

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Braydon Johnson, deep threat

Aside from being OSU’s top receiver in the primary statistical categories, super-senior Braydon Johnson is leading the Power Five conferences in deep receptions.

Through four games, Johnson has eight catches on throws of 20 yards or more, according to Pro Football Focus. In all, 14 of Johnson’s 30 targets this season have been on throws of at least 20 yards.

Johnson leads the Cowboys in receptions (17) and yards (360), and is tied for the team lead in touchdown catches with three. His highlight-reel 49-yard catch against Baylor, which set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Dominic Richardson on the next play, was the longest reception of the year by a Cowboy.

More:Oklahoma State football ends Baylor's home win streak & more key stats from Cowboys-Bears

Redshirt tracker

A few more true freshmen crept closer to the four-game barrier for maintaining their redshirt status this season, with three rookies appearing in the Baylor game.

Running back Ollie Gordon is the only one to play in all four games, meaning with one more appearance, he will no longer be redshirt-eligible.

Receivers Stephon Johnson Jr. and Braylin Presley each played in their third game, with Johnson getting targeted on a pass in the first half, and Presley downing a punt at the 2-yard line in the first quarter. OSU head coach Mike Gundy says he does not expect either player to redshirt.

Here’s a look at where the Cowboy freshmen stand in participation:

Appeared in four games: Running back Ollie Gordon.

Appeared in three games: Receiver Stephon Johnson Jr., receiver Braylin Presley.

Appeared in two games: Cornerback Cameron Epps, cornerback D.J. McKinney.

Appeared in one game: Defensive end DeSean Brown, linebacker Gabe Brown, linebacker Chance Clements, offensive lineman Austin Kawecki, quarterback Garret Rangel, tight end Tabry Shettron, receiver Talyn Shettron.

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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State football: Spencer Sanders' records, redshirt tracker