By ROBERT CESSNA
Texas A&M has had Oklahoma State's number in recent years, but this year's calculations point toward a reversal -- possibly a rather decisive one.
The 21st-ranked Cowboys are averaging 562.5 yards and 51.8 points per game. OSU has rolled past Washington State, Houston, Missouri State and Troy by an average margin of 30.5 points. The least points OSU has scored in a game was 39, and that's 11 more points than the most the Aggies have scored in any of their four nonconference games.
While OSU has been racing up and down the field, A&M has struggled offensively to find its niche. The Aggies rank last in the Big 12 in scoring (24.5 ppg) and total offense (297.8 ypg). A&M's switch to a pro-style attack has been slowed by a slew of injuries, making a young team even younger. Counting both sides of the ball, A&M likely will start four freshmen and play at least eight more Saturday.
Defensively, A&M has been gouged on the ground. Opponents are rushing for 227.5 yards per game, leaving the Aggies 115th among 119 FBS teams nationally. The Aggies have allowed four players to rush for 100 yards in a game.
Saturday night in Stillwater, Okla., before what's expected to be a record crowd, A&M's defense will face its stiffest challenge.
OSU sophomore running back Kendall Hunter has rushed for at least 100 yards in every game this season, including 210 against Houston. He spearheads a running attack that leads the nation at 340.3 yards per game.
All of the lopsided statistics in the Cowboys' favor compute to OSU opening as a 23 1/2-point favorite. It's the most points an A&M opponent has been favored by since top-ranked Oklahoma was favored by 35 in 2003.
The oddsmakers must not have given much -- if any -- value to recent history in the A&M-OSU series. The Aggies have won four straight, which is the program's best current winning streak against a Big 12 opponent. The Aggies also have won four straight against Kansas State -- which comes to Kyle Field next week -- but A&M faces South Division foe OSU yearly, and it's become a heated rivalry.
A&M's winning streak against OSU started with a 36-20 thumping four years ago. In that game, the Aggies took a 36-6 lead against 15th-ranked OSU and cruised to their first road victory over a Top 25 foe since 1997.
That one didn't hold the drama of the last two meetings, when A&M used fourth-quarter rallies to grab one-point victories.
"It is one of the worst feelings ever," OSU junior offensive lineman Andrew Lewis said of the close losses to A&M.
Two years ago in Stillwater, A&M scored with 3 seconds left in regulation to force overtime, then blocked an extra point to seal a 34-33 victory. Last year at Kyle Field, the Aggies rallied from a 17-point deficit for a 24-23 victory.
"We didn't finish the game," OSU junior running back Keith Tolston said. "They kind of took it away from us at the end. It's a new year, and we have a new team. I feel confident."
A&M had confidence carrying winning records into the last four games against OSU with a combined 17-5 before facing the Cowboys.
That's not the case this year.
The Aggies had to squeeze out victories over New Mexico (28-22) and Army (21-17) to avoid having a losing record heading into this Big 12 opener.
"Is the team where I want it to be? No, I'd rather be 4-0," first-year A&M coach Mike Sherman said. "But I see us making progress and getting better. I like our guys. They are very compliant to what I've asked them to do. When you come in new, it's a whole new culture. No matter who the coach is, no matter who was there before, everyone does things differently. From that standpoint, there's been some change and transition, which I think at this point, they are doing a much better job with than they had done previously. I hope we continue to get better. We have to continue to improve week in and week out."
OSU has done exactly that under Gundy, who is in his fourth year with the Cowboys. He's 4-0 for the first time and ranked for the first time.
"There is a lot of excitement on campus and a lot of excitement in the community," Gundy said. "We are very excited about that. I don't really get excited about very many things this time of year because our coaching staff is firm believers on working and preparation and doing everything we can to give our players the best opportunity to win on Saturday. But I do think being ranked is very good, and I'm excited for the team."
Gundy said the Aggies and Cowboys have had good games in recent years, and "it's hard to predict what will happen in college football any more."
Oklahoma State was picked fourth in the South behind Oklahoma, Texas and Tech. A&M was picked fifth.
Gundy is 0-9 against A&M, Texas and Oklahoma, and Saturday starts a key stretch for the Cowboys, who will be at No. 4 Missouri next week, then at No. 5 Texas in three weeks.
"I think our football team is better now than we have been in the last few years at this time," he said. "I like where our football program is in general."
Sherman, meanwhile, is still laying the foundation for his program.
"I've felt in the last couple of weeks that the team is competing and doing everything they can to try and win the football game," he said. "Is it perfect? Is it good enough? Sometimes it is, sometimes it's not. But I feel like from a competitive standpoint we are competing."
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Posted by: On: 10/4/2008
Comment Title:
Sean, glad you pointed taht out. I was really concerned about those facts. Just what we need, another know-it-all full of negatives about individuals.
Posted by: Sean On: 10/4/2008
Comment Title: Winning Streak over K-State
You guys are in serious need of a new sports editor; you get simple facts wrong every week. A&M's current winning streak over Kansas State is five games (not four), starting with the Big 12 Championship game in 1998 and continuing in regular season games in 2000, 2001, 2004 and 2005.
