A No Win Situation for Pokes

September 8th, 2005

By Justin Waganer
Senior Sports Writer

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.

Entry Filed under: Cowboys