Roundtable: Oklahoma State vs. Yosemite Sam

Welcome to the Friday roundtable!

Oklahoma State is coming off a hard-fought road win against the Kansas State Wildcats, a game in which it literally needed every second to win.

We move on this week to the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Our roundtable discussion was lively, as always. Leave your answers in the comments below!

1) Have you recovered from Saturday? What are your thoughts on the win over Kansas State? I know you've got plenty.

Joel Penfield: My blood pressure has finally reached a normal level again. But man, that was a great game. Manhattan is a tough place to play, and I was glad to see the Cowboys snatch and victory from the jaws of defeat.

Christopher Snodgress: I definitely have not recovered. I do think Oklahoma State was clearly the better team, but the Cowboys did everything they could to keep K-State in it. Two completely unforced errors leading to 14 Wildcat points is not a recipe for success. There are a lot of positives to take from the game though and, at the end of the day, I'll take any win in Manhattan.

Tyler Wiederhoeft: The first appearance of the Cardiac Cowboys is always the hardest to recover from, but after last year, I think I’m good now. Last year’s West Virginia game was worse than this one.

Phillip Slavin: I think I lost a few years of my life during the end of that game, so no, I will never fully recover.

Will Hendrickson: I have fully recovered from Saturday and I'm ready for another week of Cardiac Cowboy football. The Kansas State game was weird. I felt good going into half and thought if we could score after half and go up 12, then we would be in great position. Obviously that didn't happen, and we tried to lose in a number of different ways but somehow found a way to pull it out. I thought Kansas State was way too conservative and could have shut the door on our comeback midway through the 4th. Rudolph was money down the stretch and this team has shown that it can't be counted out until the clock hits zero. (except against CMU...ugh)

Cade Webb: I was actually at the game, and was sitting in the end zone that Kansas State was driving towards at the end of the game. When Sterns picked off Ertz, I think I physically felt my soul leave my body for a split second. That can’t be healthy. I’ll never fully recover.

2) What were you most impressed with on Saturday? Conversely, what were you disappointed with?

Joel: Rudolph had a great game, but the run game impressed me the most. OSU averaged 6.7 YPC, their best mark since 2013. Conversely, our run defense was very lackluster to say the least. Everyone in the stadium knew K State would run the ball, yet it couldn't be stopped.

Christopher: I was most impressed with the resolve to come back from that disastrous third quarter. That took a lot of maturity to refocus and come back strong down the stretch. I was most disappointed with the run defense. It's not like Spencer didn't know what was coming, but the scheme seemed to disregard who K-State is and what they do. I will say, I've seen enough of our defensive backs to cringe anytime someone suggests we load the box and leave them one-on-one. Maybe Spencer just has no faith in the coverage skills of the corners. I can relate. It's probably still the better play against an offense like K-State though.

Tyler: I was impressed with this team’s resolve. While the defense didn’t make a ton of plays (345 rushing yards?! Are you kidding me?!), they stepped up and made plays when the game was on the line, showing yet again that good teams find a way to win. I was (and still am) disappointed in the rush defense as a whole. You knew what they were going to do 90% of the time. They only had 87 total passing yards for crying out loud. We knew going in they were going to run, and we couldn’t stop them.

Phillip: Yurcich's play calling. As much as we dog the OC he called a heck of a game. The defense. I don't mean to harp, but you knew what Kansas State was going to do coming in, and they did it anyway.

Will: I was really impressed with they way we continued to fight back. We played about the worst quarter of the year to start the second half and we still found a way to win. Rudolph's poise was impressive following a terrible pick 6 and he stepped up big time when we needed it most. Chris Carson is looking like the running back we all thought he could be. He is running hard and has played really well since his injury. I was really disappointed with our defense against K State. Everyone watching that game knew what was coming except apparently Glenn Spencer. Time and time again we failed to make adjustments defensively and Snyder Ball was at peak performance.

Cade: I was blown away by Mason Rudolph. 457 yards and 5 touchdowns on the road? That’s salty. He has really improved lately. I was very not chill about the rushing defense, though. More thoughts on the podcast, though.

3) OSU is now essentially three wins away from a Big 12 title. How do you feel about the Cowboys' chances heading down the home stretch?

Joel: OSU controls its own destiny, and there is a good chance we could see a Big 12 title in Stillwater this year. But, OSU cannot look past Tech and TCU, which are both winnable games.

Christopher: I'm very impressed with how this team has come back from the CMU debacle and the self-inflicted loss to Baylor. It's incredible that they've put themselves in this position. That being said, I've seen too many offenses do whatever they wanted to do against this defense to feel good going into matchups with Tech, TCU, and OU. The Cowboys are now giving up over 200 yards per game on the ground and we all know about the deficiencies in the pass defense. Every team left on the schedule has issues of their own, though, so each game is definitely winnable.

Tyler: I feel that for the third and final time, Bedlam will be a de facto championship game. OU has a tough last three games, facing Baylor, West Virginia, and OSU. We have a *slightly* easier final three games, facing Texas Tech, TCU, and OU. I like our odds to get to the championship, but it’s hard to be confident about winning down in Norman, especially after the beatdown they gave us in Stillwater last year.

Phillip: Not to look ahead, but it really is going to come down to OU and right now that game is a toss-up. I'll go with a 65% chance we can win the Big 12 because I really think we will win the next two.

Will: TCU's performance last week against Baylor made me a lot more anxious about our trip to Fort Worth, but I still think we win the next two games and have Bedlam on the line for the Big 12 championship. We look like a fresher team at this point in the season compared to last year’s team that started 10-0. I think we have a lot more left in the tank and are capable of winning all 3 games.

Cade: OSU’s chances are as good as anyone else. OU has to play Baylor, play WVU in Morgantown, and then end with OSU in Norman. I don’t think OU goes undefeated in that stretch. I’ll put OSU’s Big 12 title chances at 40 percent right now.

4) OSU opened as 12-point favorites over Texas Tech. Too high, too low, or just right?

Joel: It's probably about right, but I still think it's a little too high. I can't tell whether the line is where it is because we are that much better than Tech, or whether their defense is that abysmal.

Christopher: Too high. Whether or not the Pokes cover will depend entirely on turnovers. I get what the line means and what it doesn't mean, I guess I'm just surprised the national perception of Tech's insanely productive offense didn't push the opening line lower than that.

Tyler: I checked before writing this one, and the OSU grew to 12.5 point favorites. I originally thought it was a bit optimistic, but now that I think about it, it sounds about right to me. It should be a really fun, old fashioned shootout in Stillwater on Saturday.

Phillip: Too high. I imagine this is a high scoring affair that ends with a 10 point differential.

Will: I think thats about right. I probably would have guessed that we would be 10 point favorites heading into Saturday, but I fully expect to win by at least a couple touchdowns in a shootout.

Cade: Too low. OSU will score a lot of points. Texas Tech will also score a lot of points. OSU will get a few stops. Texas Tech will not. OSU wins by a few scores.

5) Prediction time... Score?

Joel: 59-49 OSU. Would not surprise me if Mahomes and Rudolph both threw for 450+. If you don't like defense, tune in on Saturday.

Christopher: I think Gundy & Co. come into this one with a game plan similar to the Baylor game. I expect them to run the ball and try to control the clock and keep Patty comfortable on the sidelines, so I'm going to guess the final score ends up lower than it would be if Mason came out firing. 42-35 Pokes.

Tyler: I think the team will come out fired up in their final home game, and everything will be running on all cylinders. Rudolph comes out on connecting with his receivers, and sets a new passing record. Defense has 3 turnovers forced. Pokes cover the spread, 55-38.

Phillip: OSU 48-38

Will: Whole Foods Texas Tech - 55 Red Raiders - 42

Cade: If there’s a team that OSU matches up well with in the Big 12, it’s Texas Tech. OSU throws the ball at will, and runs it just to be funny. OSU wins 55-31 on senior day.