Oklahoma State was one of the best offensive squads in the country in 2012, and although they lose a star running back, they return most of the pieces and should once again compete in the Big 12 this season.
2013 Oklahoma State football schedule: Dates, toughest opponents and more
It’s not Brandon Weeden and Justin Blackmon, but Oklahoma State had one of the most high-octane offenses in the country in 2012 -- and don’t lose many critical parts.
Ed Zurga
Only four teams cracked a .500 record in conference play last season, the league's first with their new 10-team setup. One of those was Oklahoma State, guided by a three-headed quarterback combination of Clint Chelf, J.W. Walsh, and Wes Lunt. Lunt, the worst performer of the three in his freshman year, is gone — he transferred to Illinois. Mike Gundy will still have Chelf and Walsh -- as well as their top receiver, Josh Stewart -- from the team that averaged 45.7 points per game last season at his disposal.
Here’s a look at the slate the high-powered Cowboys attack will take on.
2013 Oklahoma State schedule
Projections from Football Outsiders’ 2013 college football almanac.
The Cowboys start off their season with a pair of trips to Texas. The first is an intriguing opener against Mississippi State -- a neutral site game against an SEC team coming off an eight-win season. They’re not the cream of the conference’s crop, but its a decently tough non-conference game for a squad that already has nine conference against legitimate competition. Next is a bit easier, a road game in the Alamodome against a fledgling UTSA squad.
After playing two of three non-conference games away from home, the Cowboys are lucky to get five of their nine conference games in Stillwater. And three of those four games are highly winnable, against West Virginia, Texas Tech, and Iowa State. The fourth is against Texas, and although Oklahoma State won games in 2010 and 2011, those were their first wins against the Longhorns since 1997.
And of course, the Cowboys close their season with Bedlam against Oklahoma, possibly their toughest game of the year. The Sooners have won nine of ten games in the series, nipping OK State in a 51-48 overtime thriller this past season. That lone win came two years ago in Stillwater, where this year’s intra-state rivalry matchup will be.
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