#3 Missouri v #17 Oklahoma State football preview

Mizzou v Oklahoma State Preview:

I haven’t checked what the over/under of this game is supposed to be, but I imagine it lies somewhere in the stratosphere. I’m calling it now: expect a lot of points. The Tigers, owners of the nation’s second best offense square off in Columbia against the Oklahoma State Cowboys, touting the nation’s third best offense. You can find the difference between the two teams in their offensive philosophies. Armed to the teeth with receivers, the Tigers like to have their Heisman-candidate quarterback Chase Daniel spread the ball all over the field. The Cowboys have their own talented quarterback in Zac Robinson, a gifted scrambler who has also tossed 10 touchdowns, but rely more on the running game, where they average better than 315 yards per game. The offensive showdown kicks off at 8:00 ET.

When Missouri has the ball:

Last week was running back Derrick Washington’s coming out party against Nebraska. The 215-pound back rushed for almost 140 yards and two touchdowns on only 15 carries. He now leads the nation in scoring. Washington’s rise at running back, performing even more spectacularly this year than the school’s only back-to-back 1,000 yard rusher, last year’s Tony Temple, only adds to the dangerous lineup the Tigers can field on offense. What makes Washington so dangerous, as the Cornhuskers found out, is his athletic ability, enabling him to line-up wide and catch a few balls—evident from his pair of touchdowns through the air so far this season. Add his talents with those of all-world athlete Jeremy Maclin with Chase Daniel behind center and you get a deadly combination that opposing defenses won’t want to face. Maclin is poised for a big day against Oklahoma State after only 89 receiving yards last week against Nebraska. He’ll use his speed against OK-State’s mediocre defense to find holes and try to spring loose for a big gain or two.

The Cowboys are a middle-of-the-road defense, although they place closer to the bottom half of the NCAA in rush defense. They do nothing particularly well, but also have no obvious weaknesses and have improved throughout the season. They are a deep defense that goes two-deep in many positions and are led by safety-turned-linebacker Andre Sexton. Sexton played well in last week’s game against Texas A&M, a decisive Oklahoma State victory, recording 12 tackles and a forced fumble in the 56-28 route. In last week’s game, the Cowboys defense played opportunistically, tallying five turnovers and cashing two of them in for touchdowns. If they plan on holding down the Tigers offense, the defense must build on their performance from last week and force turnovers to keep their own talented offense on the field.

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When Oklahoma State has the ball:

Chase Daniel won’t be the only quarterback at Faurot Field on Saturday. Zac Robinson has proved himself the dark horse in the Big 12 quarterback barrage. Despite having thrown the ball 86 times so far this season, Robinson has already racked up 10 touchdowns and more than 1,000 yards in the air. He’s also a capable runner who can scramble for yards or buy time for a big play. However, Robinson would be nothing without his running game, a factor that the Cowboys like to open up with early and often. Oklahoma State fields two talented runners, Kendall Hunter and Keith Tolston, who combined average more than 7.5 yards per carry. When supplemented with Robinson and third-string running back Beau Johnson, who has chipped in 252 yards and a pair of touchdowns on his own, opposing defensive coordinators have conniptions trying to answer the legs of four gifted runners. If Robinson should decide to pass, chances are he’ll find Dez Bryant, a receiver with deceptive speed and the recipient of nine of Robinson’s 10 touchdown passes.

If any team the Cowboys play can stop the Oklahoma State ground game though, it’ll be Missouri. The Tigers currently are currently second in the Big 12 and 15 th in the nation against the run, allowing only 95 yards per game. Missouri will throw 300-pound defensive tackles Ziggy Hood and Jaron Baston against the Boys to seal up the inside. Defensive ends Tommy Chavis and Stryker Sulak are excellent in space and get upfield quickly, evident from their 12 combined tackles for loss. Linebacker Sean Witherspoon is another playmaker that possesses the instincts to find the ball and the speed to close quickly. Oklahoma State runs almost twice as often as it throws, meaning Missouri might bring safeties William Moore or Justin Garret into the box to help plug up the Hunter-Tolston-Robinson-Johnson quartet. If Missouri’s front seven manages to plug the run by themselves, look for one of the safeties to shift over to Bryant’s side of the field to help cornerbacks Carl Gettis or Castine Bridges, who have both been burned several times so far this season, in pass defense.

Final Mizzou v Oklahoma State Notes:

Although two talents offenses are taking the field on Saturday, Oklahoma State seems like the team in trouble. The Tigers have answers for all of the questions the Cowboys propose on offense, but OK-State has no answers in its own defense for shutting down Chase Daniel, Jeremy Maclin and Derrick Washington. Although the Oklahoma State defense piled up five turnovers against Texas A&M last week, they’ll face a much more efficient offense at Faurot Field. Mizzou seems primed to shutdown Oklahoma State, but what can the Cowboys do against Chase Daniel and co.? You guess is as good as mine.

Tigers win: 52-21

By Cory Spicer
Big 12 Fans Missouri Tigers Correspondent

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