Oklahoma State Football Spring Game 2017: 5 things to watch for
By John Buhler
The Oklahoma State Cowboys will play their annual spring game on Saturday. Here are the five storylines to keep an eye on for Saturday’s glorified practice.
2017 could be a strong year for the Big 12. It won’t just be the Oklahoma Sooners pushing for a College Football Playoff berth. One would be foolish to not get excited about all the good things going in Stillwater with the Oklahoma State Cowboys program.
Mike Gundy’s team went 10-3 (7-2) last season, winning the Alamo Bowl over the Colorado Buffaloes. If it weren’t for a terrible call early in the season against the Central Michigan Chippewas, maybe the Cowboys would have been in a position to contend for a realistic College Football Playoff berth?
It all begins for the 2017 Cowboys with their annual spring game on Saturday, April 15 at 2:00 p.m. ET at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater. Here are the five most intriguing storylines with regards to the Cowboys heading into this intra-squad scrimmage.
5. Can the Cowboys stop the run?
Oklahoma State should again be a 10-win team for Gundy in 2017. The passing game for the Cowboys should be tremendous, but will the Pokes be able to stop the run. If Oklahoma State can’t keep opposing Big 12 offenses off the field, it could be problematic in their quest for big things later this fall.
Run defense wasn’t great for the Cowboys last year and it could be getting worse in 2017. Oklahoma State lost promising defensive tackle Vincent Taylor a year early to the 2017 NFL Draft. The Cowboys’ other defensive tackle Motekiai Maile has graduated as well.
While the Big 12 predominantly runs its offenses through the air via the Air Raid, defensive interior efficiencies could be a fatal flaw in this Cowboys’ defenses construction. Oklahoma State may have the firepower atop its roster to contend and win the Big 12 this fall.
However, not being able to stuff the run against Big Ten and SEC schools should the Cowboys make the College Football Playoff will wreck the Pokes’ chances of winning a national title before they even begin.