‘What the heck’: Oklahoma State football's Brennan Presley lives to tell tale of tackle

STILLWATER — Oklahoma State receiver and punt returner Brennan Presley won’t repeat the exact words he thought or even possibly yelled in the moment.

“What the heck,” Presley recalled as his Rated-PG thoughts in the moment.

With 6-foot-5, 273-pound BYU defensive end Tyler Batty coming at him like a runaway train with the football, Presley was the option to make the stop on the fake-punt reception.

All 5 feet, 8 inches and 175 pounds of him.

“I thought he was going to run me over,” Presley said.

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Instead, as Presley braced himself, Batty tried to leap over the slot receiver and return man. Presley basically caught the guy basically twice his size and made the tackle.

It was a huge moment in OSU’s 40-34 double-overtime win, stopping a successful fake punt in the first half, and helping the Pokes seal a spot in the Big 12 Championship game against Texas, set for 11 a.m. Saturday in Arlington, Texas.

“He’s just going to make those plays,” OSU coach Mike Gundy said. “He’s just done it all of his life.”

After the game, Presley approached Batty about the play. Presley was confused about a key aspect.

“I was like, ‘Hey, man. I thought you were going to run me over,” he told Batty. “He was like, ‘I thought you were going to go for my ankles. I was like, ‘What do I look like?’

“I played defense in high school. So I’m expecting him to fully put down his shoulder and we’re going to go toe-to-toe. So, when he jumped and we’re in the air and we’re falling back, I can’t say what I said.”

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Ollie Gordon II, others greet students camping for Big 12 tickets

Presley was given the keys to a John Deere Gator late Sunday night.

So, he loaded up some teammates — Ollie Gordon II, Leon Johnson III, Nick Sessions and Ty Williams — and drove to greet some students camping out around Boone Pickens Stadium and Gallagher-Iba Arena.

Hundreds of tents were lining up in the below-freezing weather late Sunday as students waited for tickets to the Big 12 Championship Game to go on sale Monday morning.

Gordon broke out a boombox. Later, he and Presley danced while surrounded by students.

“It’s honestly a great sight,” Presley said. “It was cold out there. That kind of put in perspective all the dedication and hardwork and stuff like that. They put time into coming to the games and getting tickets.

“I’m so appreciative of the fans that we have here because they’re so great. That’s something you don’t see every day and you don’t see everywhere.”

Eventually, students were given a number and the camping dispersed around 3 a.m. By then, Presley and Co. had left.

And the Gator sat in the spot he left it Monday.

“So, if (marketing) got it back, I don’t know,” Presley said. “I gave them the keys back.”

The Big 12 also announced Monday that the game was sold out.

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Collin Oliver now 5th on OSU’s career sacks list

Nearing the end of his junior season, Oklahoma State linebacker Collin Oliver recently moved into fifth place on Oklahoma State’s career sacks list with 22.5.

While that’s notable in itself, it’s also worth mentioning that he passed his former position coach to get there.

Before recording his most recent sack at Houston, Oliver was tied with OSU defensive line coach Greg Richmond with 21.5. Oliver, of course, was a defensive end until the Cowboys moved to the 3-3-5 defense this season.

“Coach Richmond, I haven’t told him yet,” Oliver said. “I don’t even know if he knows. Honestly, that was the last thing on my mind until somebody else said it, but it’s really cool.”

With just two games remaining — the Big 12 Championship Game this week, then a bowl — Oliver isn’t likely to move any higher up the list. Emmanuel Ogbah is fourth on the list at 28.0, with Rodney Harding (31.0), Jason Gildon (33.0) and Leslie O’Neal (34.0) also ahead of him.

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Does OSU embrace underdog role?

When betting lines first emerged last Saturday for the Big 12 Championship Game, seventh-ranked Texas was roughly an 11-point favorite over Oklahoma State at most sportsbooks.

That number has jumped past 15 points in recent days ahead of Saturday’s game, set for an 11 a.m. kickoff at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

The Cowboys have won four of five games this season in which they entered as the underdog. That includes the upset of Kansas State, which was a 12-point favorite in Stillwater on Oct. 6.

Texas is a different beast, but the Cowboys don’t shy away from the underdog status.

“We really don’t look at it a whole lot,” offensive lineman Preston Wilson said. “We’re just gonna keep doing our thing, they’re gonna do their thing. From an underdog perspective, we’ve been underdogs before. We’ve been underdogs in a lot of games this season.

“Either way, we’re excited to play in a football game that not a lot of people get to play.”

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State football's Brennan Presley lives to tell tale of tackle