Oklahoma State football will get double-digit wins, but how big will that number be?
The countdown is on, college football fans. We are getting ever so close to the start of the season. You can now count the days on two hands!
The season openers in our state are a little further away than that, but still, the Sooners and Cowboys will get after it very soon. Before they do, we will continue our preseason look at both teams.
Today, we focus on Oklahoma State.
How many games will the Cowboys win this season? Columnists Berry Tramel and Jenni Carlson weigh in.
Berry: You gave me a little wiggle room, which I appreciate. I'll say 10. Whether that's 10-3 and 10-4, not sure. I'll say 10. I think the Cowboys will be good again, but they might not squeak by as often as they did a year ago in close games. The offense should be better, the defense worse. I guess I'm betting the defense drops a little more than the defense rises.
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Jenni: Double digits seems a good call to me. Looking at the schedule, I see OSU winning all three of its non-conference games (Central Michigan, Arizona State, Arkansas-Pine Bluff). Then there are five conference games that I would consider for-sure wins: Texas Tech, Iowa State and West Virginia at home and at TCU and Kansas. (The Cowboys and Cyclones always play tight games, but in Stillwater, I like OSU's chances.) The other conference games (at Baylor, Texas, at Kansas State, at OU) are very much tossups. OSU will have to win at least one of those games on the road to get to 10 wins in the regular season.
Berry: Ten wins in the regular season is a tough reach, because while you gave OSU those five for-sure conference wins, it's not just Iowa State that plays OSU tough, but West Virginia could be a handful, too. Get to 10, and that's almost surely a spot in the Big 12 Championship Game. So there's another at-bat. Plus the bowl game. Of course, you never know from where an upset might come. OSU lost to Central Michigan (albeit a bogus defeat) the last time the Chippewas came to Stillwater. And winning at TCU never is easy. So who knows?
Jenni: I agree Iowa State and West Virginia aren't easy wins, but I say OSU is better than those teams and at home will triumph. Barring a stumble, OSU would need to split Baylor, Texas, K-State and OU. Doable? Sure. Frankly, I think OSU is better than Texas and K-State and comparable to Baylor and OU. But having three of those four games on the road is brutal. Just the way the schedule fell. That's why I'll probably say OSU wins nine regular-season games, then wins a bowl to get to 10.
Berry: You're right. The schedule doesn't break OSU's way. In Waco and in Norman. The Cowboys had OU and Baylor at Boone Pickens Stadium last year. But one positive side for the total win column is the bowl performance. OSU is 11-5 in bowls under Mike Gundy, an excellent record for games that often are tossups. And the Cowboys have won five of the last six. So be it a Fiesta Bowl return or back to the Liberty, OSU is looking strong in the postseason.
Jenni: Can I throw out one other thing? I don't think it's crazy to think OSU could make the Big 12 title game again. The league feels really up in the air again. No clear favorite. If the Cowboys can split those four toss-up games, I think they could get back to JerryWorld. And then, the possibility for a win total that is 11 or 12 is really high. Now, I don't think the odds are in the Cowboys' favor to get there, but I would not be surprised either.
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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State Cowboys football will win at least 10 games, maybe more
