Courtesy: Okstate.com

STILLWATER, Okla. – Bobby Reid threw four touchdown passes — doubling his 2005 season total — and Mike Hamilton rushed for 155 yards to lead Oklahoma State past Missouri State 52-10 Saturday.

Freshman Perrish Cox returned the opening kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown to give the Cowboys (1-0) a quick lead over their NCAA Division I-AA foe — one year after they struggled to beat another I-AA team, Montana State, by five points in the opener. Barry Sanders is the only other player in school history to return the season opening kickoff for a touchdown. The Heisman Trophy winner did it twice — in 1987 against Tulsa and 1988 against Miami (Ohio).

Oklahoma State, which averaged 324.8 yards of offense per game last season, had 346 yards by halftime and finished with 443 yards, posting scoring drives of 63, 99 and 72 yards.

The 42-point winning margin was the largest by the Cowboys in a season opener since 1984, when they beat Arizona State 45-3. Oklahoma State scored more than 50 points for the first time in 21 games, dating to September 2004.

Reid’s numbers weren’t spectacular — 8-for-17 for 165 yards — but the sophomore proved efficient, throwing touchdown passes of 19 yards to newcomer Adarius Bowman, 33 yards to Keith Toston, 3 yards to John Johnson and 72 yards to D’Juan Woods, the last with 8 seconds left in the first half.

The Cowboys led 38-0 at halftime, their most points in a half since scoring 38 against SMU on Sept. 20, 2003.

A blocked punt by freshman Chris Collins deep in Missouri State territory early in the third quarter set up an 8-yard touchdown run by Toston to make it 45-0. Reid, who was limited by injuries last season to seven games and threw only two touchdown passes, exited the game after that series.

Hamilton averaged 9.7 yards on 16 first-half carries but didn’t touch the football after halftime as the Cowboys went mostly with reserves.

Missouri State (0-1) scored on a 29-yard field goal by Nathan Stokes with 40 seconds left in the third quarter and a 1-yard touchdown plunge by Jonathan Davis with 6:56 left.

Missouri State’s alternating quarterbacks, Matt Krapfl and Garrett Congdon, combined to complete 19 of 31 passes for 266 yards, but the Bears managed only 68 yards rushing.

Oklahoma State will travel to Miami, Fla., to face the Miami Hurricanes in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament, it was announced Sunday night. The Cowboys and Hurricanes will tip off at 8 p.m. Central Time on Wednesday, March 15, inside the BankUnited Center on the Coral Gables campus.

OSU is 17-15 overall this season and finished seventh in the Big 12 Conference. Miami is 16-15 overall this season and finished seventh in the Atlantic Coast Conference. This will mark OSU’s eighth appearance in the NIT and the first since 1997. It is also Oklahoma State’s 10th consecutive postseason appearance. The Cowboys went to the NIT in 1997, and made eight-straight trips to the NCAA Tournament. OSU has been to the postseason in 15 of Eddie Sutton’s 16 years at Oklahoma State.

On Television
The Cowboys’ first round NIT game will be televised live by ESPNU. Jon Sciambi will handle the play-by-play duties while Donny Marshall will provide expert analysis. It is the first time OSU will make an appearance on ESPNU. The network launched from Stillwater, Okla., on March 4, 2005, and has been very successful in providing coverage of collegiate athletics across the nation.

OSU in the NIT
Oklahoma State will be making its first appearance in the National Invitation Tournament since 1997, when the Cowboys lost in the second round to Michigan in Ann Arbor. OSU finished third at the NIT in 1938 and finished fourth in 1940 and again in 1944. Oklahoma State has won its first-round game in each of the three appearances in the modern era, with all three games being played in Stillwater. The Cowboys lost in the second round of each of those appearances, all on the road.

About the Hurricanes
Miami is 16-15 overall this season and finished 7-9 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, good for sixth place. The Hurricanes defeated Clemson in the first round of the ACC Tournament 66-63 before falling to eventual tournament champion Duke 80-76 in the quarterfinals. Miami is led by junior guard Guillermo Diaz who is averaging 17.4 points per game. Senior guard Robert Hite is chipping in 16.4 points per contest, while junior guard Anthony Harris is also averaging in double figures at 10.1 points per game. Junior forward Anthony King leads the team with seven rebounds per contest. As a team, the Hurricanes are only averaging 68.6 points per game, but they’re allowing just 65.5 points per contest.

Series History with Miami
This will be the first meeting between Oklahoma State and Miami on the hardwood. OSU also played Boston College, a member of the ACC, for the first time this season. The Cowboys are 8-6 all-time against the Atlantic Coast Conference. OSU is 2-1 vs. Georgia Tech, 1-0 all-time against Florida State, North Carolina, NC State and Virginia, 1-1 against Duke and Wake Forest, and 0-1 vs. Clemson. After Wednesday’s game, the only team in the ACC that Oklahoma State has yet to play is Virginia Tech.

Looking Ahead
If Oklahoma State advances to the second round of the National Invitation Tournament, the Cowboys would either travel to Omaha, Neb., to face the Creighton Bluejays or, should the ‘Jays lose their first-round game to the winner of the opening-round Temple/Akron contest, then OSU would host that winner. The game would be played on Monday, March 20. The Cowboys are 19-21 all-time against Creighton, with the majority of the games played while both teams were part of the Missouri Valley Conference. Oklahoma State is 5-3 all-time against the Temple Owls, and the last game in the series was in 1995. OSU has never played Akron on the hardwood. The highest seed remaining would host the quarterfinal game on Wednesday, March 22, with the winner heading to New York City to play in the semifinals on Tuesday, March 28, with the finals being played on Thursday, March 30. Those two rounds will be played at Madison Square Garden.

Similar to the Basketball Bash, An Evening With Eddie will include introductions of the 2005-06 Cowboy Wrestling, Cowboy Basketball and Cowgirl Basketball squads.

The wrestling team is coming off its third-consecutive NCAA Wrestling Championship and 33rd overall for the program. OSU’s men’s basketball team is fresh off back-to-back Sweet 16 appearances and back-to-back Big 12 Tournament titles. Oklahoma State’s Cowgirl Basketball squad is under the direction of first-year head coach Kurt Budke.

The event will also include both a slam-dunk contest and three-point contest for the men. The Cowgirl Basketball team will hold an intrasquad scrimmage, followed by the same for the Cowboy Basketball team.

The doors will open at 5:30 p.m., and admission is free.

It wasn’t pretty, at times it was almost intolerable, but if we’ve learned anything this young college football season, a win is a win. Oklahoma State won 23-3 in Miami, a comfortable margin in a game that didn’t seem to solve much for Poke fans, coaches, and alumni.

The Cowboys came in hoping to find the definitive leader of an offense that is young and hoping to find a groove. Instead, Bobby Reid went 3-9 for 45 yards and Donovan Woods went 6-10 for 44 yards. Little changed as both showed great athletic ability without the ability to make consistently accurate passes.

The Cowboys came in hoping to find a game breaking running back. Instead, Mike Hamilton rushed for over 100 yards (113 on 23 carries), but showed little in respect to being able to carry his team like Vernand Morency. The best runner for Oklahoma State is Bobby Reid, who has emphatically stated his wish to remain at quarterback.

OSU showed patience in sticking with a power running game that leaves much to be desired, but will that work when Big 12 teams are knocking? Likely not. Mounting an offensive drive looked like it was about as probable as climbing Mt. Everest as the only two touchdown drives came off of fumbles that put the Pokes at the Owls 5 and 22.

Howard Schnellenberger showed once again why he is a great coach in practice, but not so much on game day. The man who once claimed at Oklahoma that nobody makes halftime adjustments made several boneheaded decisions with his offense in the second half that took them out of the game. Just a few examples, his team is down 20-3 in the fourth quarter and had finally mounted a drive that stalled inside the 20. Instead of kicking a field goal that he would need anyway to tie the game, Howard went for it and lost about 15 yards. Later in the same quarter he called a run on 3rd and 10 to effectively kill another drive. His Owls averaged three yards per carry on the evening.

In the end, Oklahoma State is 2-0, which is much more than their arch rivals can say. However, after one more cupcake in Arkansas State next week, Colorado comes to town on October 1st. The Cowboys must improve greatly to have a chance to keep a streak going.

When you mention his name in Oklahoma you get a feeling that the situation is not to be taken seriously. Howard Schnellenberger’s short time at Oklahoma resembled a short comedy skit on Saturday Night Live. It barely lasted a minute and was full of comedic moments that weren’t meant to be comedic. When Oklahoma State takes the field against Howard’s Florida Atlantic Owls on ESPN2 Thursday Night, nobody will be laughing. This is not one for OSU to take lightly, especially after the survival of Montana State.

Oklahoma State is talking about finding itself on offense. Will Bobby Reid or Donovan Woods be the man at quarterback? Will one switch to another skill position to get them both on the field? Will they both switch and make Al Pena the man? The last one may not be possible, but the point is made. The Cowboys need to find a groove, and quick, to save the embarrassment of losing to a team playing its first year in Division 1.

Florida Atlantic thought they would be searching for a quarterback to replace a Howard prototype in Jared Allen. Danny Embick ended that search in a hurry by taking it to a solid defense at Kansas for 299 yards and three touchdowns, two of which went 66 yards. The Owls led Kansas 14-12 with less than a minute to go in the third quarter before the Jayhawks pulled away in the fourth.

The concern for Oklahoma State on defense is that they have a patchwork group in place to begin with. A group of newcomers that played well against Division 1AA Montana State, but is going on the road for the first time to play a solid offensive ball club. Can this inexperienced secondary hold off an offense that passed for a yard short of 300 against an above average group of experienced players?

Oklahoma State will find out who can lead this offense in front of a national audience in an NFL stadium against a solid opponent. I believe this will be another one that goes down to the final minute on a schedule that originally looked like it was made inside your local bakery. A win is what OSU is supposed to do, a loss starts to remove the Cowboys from the national consciousness. Not exactly a win-win.

Pokes 28- Owls 27.

Stillwater, Okla. – Bob Funk, CEO of Oklahoma City-based Express Personnel, Inc., today made a subsequent multi-million dollar pledge to the “Next Level” stadium improvement program at Oklahoma State University.
In recognition of Funk’s continued commitment, the north side Club Level in Boone Pickens Stadium will be named the Express Personnel Club North.

State-of-the-art amenities, mirroring Express Personnel Club South, represent a significant portion of improvements to the facility’s north side and will be complete for the 2006 season. OSU fans will have their first opportunity to enjoy Plaza and Mezzanine north side improvements Saturday when the Cowboys host Montana State in the home opener.

“We are delighted and extremely grateful for Express Personnel’s continued involvement in helping us build one of the nation’s finest football stadiums,” stated OSU System CEO and President David Schmidly. “The successful renovation of Boone Pickens Stadium is a special point of pride among many positive things happening in academics and scholarships across OSU’s five campuses.”

“This is an incredible commitment to our stadium improvement campaign,” states Craig Clemons, Assoc. VP of Development, Athletics. “We have thoroughly enjoyed working with Mr. Funk regarding his interest in supporting Oklahoma State, assisting in providing Oklahoma a best-in-class sports complex and leaving a legacy for his family.”

Funk’s gift is the second largest received by OSU during its “Next Level” campaign. The Development team has raised more than $90 million – eclipsing the original $86 million goal – in gifts, commitments and premium seating associated with stadium improvements.

Funk founded Express Personnel in 1983. Express Personnel is currently ranked as the 5th largest temporary employment firm in the United States, and has received the highest composite credit approval by Dunn & Bradstreet for possessing strong financial strength and integrity.

Oklahoma State Cowboys Head Coach Mike Gundy chose experience over potential Monday when he reveiled in a depth chart that Sophomore Donovan Woods would get the start in Saturday’s game against Montana State. Gundy chose Woods over Redshirt Freshman Bobby Reid.

“I think we are going to let Donovan start and let Bobby play,” said Gundy. “We do not know how many reps we are going to let each player get. Donovan has done a good job in the off season. He has worked extremely hard. He is a good leader for us. He is an experienced player. He will take the first snap and then Bobby will play.”

According to sources, Gundy felt Woods looked better in many of the scrimmages and practices. Coaches, however, want to see if Reid will shine in game action.

The Oklahoma State Cowboys resumed practice at home Wednesday, with a scrimmage that lasted just under two hours.
One day after practicing in Ponca City due to wet conditions on the practice field, coach Mike Gundy said he was pleased with what he saw.

“It went well,” Gundy said. “It was very productive for the offense. There were some things that we did that were different with personnel and schemes.

“I think the offensive staff is trying to find what exactly it is that we need to do to be successful.”

As practice has progressed toward the Sept. 3 season opener against Montana State, Gundy has continued to praise the conditioning efforts of coach Rob Glass.

“The guys played hard,” Gundy said. “No one laid around and acted like they were hurt, so I thought it was a productive day.”

While the sun beat down on the players at the beginning of practice, clouds begin to move in toward the end of practice, which brought an increase in cool air.

But Gundy said the heat was still apparent when the players ended the scrimmage.

“The heat index was 111 (degrees) and we finished at 101,” Gundy said. “The humidity is so high that the heat index stays up there.”

And the first-year coach said he isn’t concerned about the players not feeling the typical August heat when they resume practice Thursday afternoon.

“We’re going to get three days of it,” Gundy said. “They say it’s going to be up to 115 (degrees) with the heat index, so we’re going to get plenty of it.”