By ROBERT CESSNAOklahoma State's offense has been so lethal that big plays by the Cowboys' special teams have been overshadowed, yet they've been vital to the team's 4-0 start.
Perrish Cox's 90-yard kickoff return in the season opener answered Washington State's 75-yard scoring drive that had cut OSU's lead to 18-6. Dez Bryant's 71-yard punt return put the finishing touches on a 56-37 victory over Houston.
Cox and Bryant are the Big 12's best returners. Cox has averaged 43.2 yards on six kickoff returns and Bryant averages 19.1 yards on nine punt returns.
They pose a problem for Texas A&M in Saturday's Big 12 opener. The Aggies are 68th in the country in kick return defense (21.1) and 111th covering punt returns (20.6).
"Obviously they do have really good speed, but they have an excellent scheme as well," A&M head coach Mike Sherman said. "When you have guys like that back there, my experience has been that the blockers don't have to hold their blocks quite as much and there's more energy from that group, because they know if they go and do their jobs it can make a difference. They know they can be part of something special. Whenever you have a good returner you always have better blockers, and the good returner makes them better blockers for two reasons -- they can make people miss that don't get blocked, but they also give a lot of encouragement to their blockers because they know this one can change the outcome of the game."
Oklahoma State also is solid in punting, netting 41.7 yards per effort, which is fourth in the country. Matt Fodge has needed to punt only 10 times because of thåe Cowboys' dynamic offense, but he has managed to stay sharp. He has put seven inside the 20-yard line, and the other three were fair caught.
Texas A&M's special teams are led by punter Justin Brantly, who averages 45.6 yards on 18 kicks. But A&M has only a 35.3-yard net average.
The Aggies have shown flashes in the return game. Freshman Cyrus Gray had a 31-yard kickoff return against Miami and junior Jordan Pugh had a 22-yard punt return against New Mexico.
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NOTES -- The last A&M opponent to return a kickoff for a touchdown was Texas' Quan Cosby last season. The last Aggie foe to return a punt return without the aid of a block was Clemson's Chansi Stuckey in the 2005 season opener.
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