Houston vs. Oklahoma State Football 2009
Cougars, No. 5 Cowboys Meet in Clash of Potent Offenses
Oklahoma State (1-0) takes on Houston (1-0) on Saturday, Sept. 12, in a 3:30 p.m. (EST) football matchup at Stillwater, Okla. The game will be the second played in new Boone Pickens Stadium.
The first took place Sept. 5, when Oklahoma State stopped then-No. 13 Georgia 24-10. The season-opening victory was impressive enough to vault coach Mike Gundy’s Cowboys from ninth to fifth in The Associated Press Top 25.
Oklahoma State, known mostly for its offense, used a sound defensive effort to turn back the Bulldogs. The Cowboys, who ranked sixth in the nation in total offense at 487.7 yards per game in 2008, managed just 307. But they were facing a defense widely forecast to be among the nation’s best.
Houston faced a far smaller challenge in its opener, crushing Northwestern State 55-7. The Cougars’ offense showed its usual prowess, producing 538 yards. Coach Kevin Sumlin’s team rated second in the nation last year at 562.8 yards per game – including 401.6 through the air.
But Houston’s defense, considered its weakness, gave up only 263 to the Division I FCS Demons.
Oklahoma State, which holds its highest national ranking since 1985, went 9-4 in 2008. The Cougars, a Conference USA team, were 8-5.
Saturday’s game will be telecast regionally by Fox Spots Net.
OklahomaState Defense Does in Georgia
The Cowboys ranked just 93rd nationally in total defense at 405.5 yards per game – a number that’s not so dismal when it’s taken to account that Oklahoma State met the potent offenses of Oklahoma, Texas, Texas Tech and Missouri in Big 12 Conference play.
Still, Oklahoma State’s defense faced question marks entering the 2009 season under new defensive coordinator Bill Young, and it answered a lot of them vs. Georgia.
The Bulldogs, trying to recover from the departures of quarterback Matthew Stafford and running back Knowshon Moreno, could do little after scoring a touchdown on its opening drive. Georgia’s only other points came on a 53-yard field goal by Blair Walsh.
The Cowboys surrendered just 257 yards and recovered two fumbles to set up touchdowns.
One of the fumbles was forced by senior safety Lucien Antoine, who had a team-high seven tackles – six solo. The second was caused by defensive lineman Shane Jarka, whose sack of Joe Cox led to a back-breaking TD in the fourth quarter.
Oklahoma State also got four pass breakups and four tackles from cornerback Perrish Cox, who also set up a TD drive with a 74-yard kickoff return.
Linebacker Donald Booker and cornerback Terrance Anderson had five tackles apiece, and linebacker Patrick Lavine had an interception and two pass breakups along with three tackles.
On Saturday, the Cowboys will face a more wide-open offense. But it’s not like they haven’t seen that before. They see it every year in conference play – no to mention every day in practice.
Cowboys Offense Gets It Done
The offensive numbers against Georgia were a bit paltry by Oklahoma State standards. The Cowboys, after all, put up 40.8 points per game last year.
But the Cowboys were efficient after a slow start, putting together a turnover-free effort marked by clutch plays.
Zac Robinson was 11-for-22 passing for 135 yards and two touchdowns, and ran nine times for 39 yards and a TD. Kendall Hunter rushed 23 times for 78 yards, and caught four passes for 23 more. Keith Toston added 55 yards rushing on 11 attempts.
Dez Bryant, the Cowboys’ star receiver, caught three passes for 77 yards – including a 46-yard TD in the second quarter and a 12-yard score in the fourth.
Oklahoma State can expect to be back its high-scoring self against Houston, as the Cougars have a tradition for getting into shootouts. Last year, the teams combined for 93 points.
Houston Passing Game Still Hot
The Cougars averaged 40.6 points per game last season, and easily topped that in their opener despite resting quarterback Case Keenum for all but the opening possession of the second half.
Keenum still had time to complete 23 of 30 passes for 359 yards and four touchdowns. He left the mop-up work to Cotton Turner, who was 9-for-14 for 88 yards and a TD. Neither threw an interception.
Freshman Charles Sims was the top receiver, making six catches for 128 yards and a TD. But the ball was distributed among 14 receivers, with five of them catching TD passes.
Patrick Edwards made four grabs for 52 yards, and Demetrius Woods and Tyron Carrier had three receptions apiece. Carrier, a sophomore, had 80 receptions for 1,026 yards and nine TDs in 2008.
The Houston running game often takes the backseat to the aerial game, but the Cougars do have a versatile back in Bryce Beall, who ran for 1,247 yards and caught 34 passes for 496 yards last season.
The sophomore, who scored 17 touchdowns in 2008, carried the ball just nine times vs. Northwest State. He rushed for 58 yards and a TD, and had two receptions for 35 yards and a score.
Freshman Sparks Cougars Defense
Houston ranked 100th in the nation defensively in 2008, yielding 413.5 yards per game. Northwest State fell 150 yards short of that figure while managing just a third-quarter touchdown. The Demons managed just 106 yards passing despite 36 attempts.
A freshman linebacker led the way for Houston, as 6-foot-1, 203-pound Phillip Steward recorded a game-high 13 tackles – including 11 solo.
Houston’s second-leading tackler was also a freshman – Kris Johnson, who finished with seven tackles.
The Cougars didn’t need to apply heavy pressure during their one-sided win. They had one sack and one quarterback hurry in a game they led 28-0 after the first quarter.
Houston will undoubtedly have to kick things up a couple notches against the explosive Cowboys.
Houston-Oklahoma State Winner Will Break Series Deadlock
The Cougars and Cowboys have played 19 times, and the series is tied at 9-9-1. The teams will be meeting for the third time in four seasons after going 19 years without playing each other.
Oklahoma State won last year’s game 56-37, but Houston prevailed 34-25 in 2006.
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