What to know as UC football tries for a Big 12 victory at Oklahoma State
University of Cincinnati football will be an underdog for the first time in three games as they make their first trip to Stillwater since 1959 to face Oklahoma State. Oddly, UC's lone win in the three-game series came on the road while the Cowboys defeated the Bearcats twice at Nippert Stadium. The last time was 40 years ago when Jimmy Johnson was their coach.
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Both teams began the season 2-2, but Oklahoma State has reeled off three straight high-scoring wins. Coach Scott Satterfield's crew has dropped five straight starting with the startling loss in the Victory Bell game to Miami University. It will be Homecoming Saturday in Stillwater where UC hopes to play spoiler.
Rush to judgment
Satterfield's offense has outrushed every opponent except for Iowa State which jumped ahead 123-115 on their final possession. This past week they outran Baylor 288-80 with Corey Kiner gaining 129 yards and Myles Montgomery 108. Oklahoma State has also been grinding the past four games as sophomore Ollie Gordon II has four straight 100-yard-plus games, including 282 against West Virginia on Saturday.
"He can take it the distance," Satterfield said. "You have to be able to hem him up and not let him lose in the secondary. The teams he's played the last few weeks, they haven't tackled him."
Thoughts from Oklahoma State
"This is the best defensive line we've played all year," Cowboys coach Mike Gundy said. "This week, I was shocked watching Cincinnati's tape just based on what we all knew. I looked at the record and then I looked at the tape and went, 'That doesn't match up.' So, the challenge for the offensive line now is that Cincinnati, I'm guessing, could care less about what we've done up to this point with Ollie and the offensive line."
3 keys for winning in Stillwater
1. Eliminate free points/capitalize on scoring possessions
This has been an issue beginning with the first loss to Miami.
Gage Larvadain torches the Bearcats on the opening play for a 79-yard score for the RedHawks.
After getting to the Oklahoma 24-yard-line down 10-3 in the second quarter, Emory Jones is intercepted by Lawrence Key in the endzone.
At BYU a pick-six stops early UC momentum, then later a muffed punt gives the Cougars field position at the UC 15-yard line.
On UC's opening drive vs. Iowa State, Dee Wiggins is open for a touchdown with no one in the same area code, but Jones misses him. On the next possession, an interception gets the Cyclones on the scoreboard.
Against Baylor, Braden Smith fumbles a kickoff that is returned for a touchdown, giving the Bears 14 points on the board in a matter of seconds in the second quarter.
2. Keep Gordon in double-digits
Oklahoma State's No. 0 ran for 109 yards in his first three games but has gone over the century mark in his last four. Of his 282 yards in Morgantown, 149 came in the final quarter.
"Last week in the fourth quarter you knew they were going to run the football and West Virginia couldn't stop him," Satterfield said.
Of course, if UC's able to have a pair of 100-plus-yard runners again that could take valuable possession time away from the Cowboys.
"We had a great plan last week with 288 (yards) rushing," offensive lineman Luke Kandra said. "Last week we had multiple long runs that really helped us out getting better field position."
Myles Montgomery added, "I feel like our whole room's capable of being explosive."
Montgomery briefly tweeted in disagreement when Satterfield mentioned UC's backs weren't explosive a couple weeks back. Tuesday, he changed his tune.
"That was very boneheaded and immature," Montgomery said. "He was right. At that point, we hadn't shown any explosiveness in the run game at all. I can't wait to get out there again and show that (last weekend) was not a fluke and everyone in that room is capable of doing that."
3. Pressure the quarterback to take pressure off UC's secondary
Iowa State quarterback Blake Shapen came to Nippert having not been sacked and UC got to him three times. Against West Virginia, Oklahoma State's Alan Bowman was 24-for-36 for 210 yards but was not sacked. If UC's much-ballyhooed defensive line can get to him it would relieve the pressure on the secondary that offenses have targeted.
"This will be our biggest test and it will be starting up front," Satterfield said. "Having said that, their offensive line is good. They've been leaning on those guys and letting the running back pick and choose. We have to do a great job with our defensive line and our linebackers have to fill those gaps."
Players to watch
Gordon II is a 6-1, 211-pound sophomore who has seen his carries double, then triple since the opening three games. He had 121 yards in a loss to Iowa State, then 136 against Kansas State, 168 vs. Kansas and 282 against West Virginia.
"He's got some speed," Satterfield said. "When he breaks out and gets to the second level, you see DBs just falling to the ground and him hitting the sideline going to the house."
Redshirt sophomore linebacker Nickolas Martin leads the team with 71 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, four sacks and an interception.
Projected score
UC's been in position to win at least five of their games but has not delivered. Until they develop consistency, it's tough to choose them.
Oklahoma State 34, Cincinnati 20
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Can UC Bearcat football get in Big 12 win column at Oklahoma State?
