Once again, No. 23 Oklahoma State finds itself with some healing to do, but this time it's the physical kind.
Luckily for the Cowboys, there's an extra week to do that healing as they find themselves in their second open week of the season before playing Nov. 27 at Texas Tech.
"We look forward to an open week where we can rest some of our banged guys, our nicked guys, and really invest ourselves in coming up with a good, solid gameplan against a quality Texas Tech team," Cowboys coach Les Miles said Monday.
The first name on the banged and nicked list is running back Vernand Morency, who missed the Cowboys' game Saturday against Baylor after having fluid drained from his knee.
Seymore Shaw replaced Morency, the nation's fifth-leading rusher, and picked up 172 yards and a touchdown as the Cowboys rebounded from losing back-to-back heartbreakers against two Top 10 teams with a 49-21 win.
"Our guys needed to get back into the win column off of two difficult defeats in the two weeks prior," Miles said. "That's what we needed. We needed to win, and we did."
Besides giving Oklahoma State a chance to heal, the open week is also valuable for the extra it gives the Cowboys for planning their strategy against the Red Raiders.
"I think we're going to go in with the idea that we need to stop them as many times as we can and slow them down," Miles said.
The Cowboys coach said the responsibility of slowing the Red Raiders wouldn't fall entirely on the defense. Instead, he's hoping his special teams can give Texas Tech unfavorable field position and his offense can chew time off the clock.
| Friday, Nov. 26 Colorado at Nebraska, 11 a.m. (ABC) Texas A&M at Texas, 2:30 p.m. (ABC) Saturday, Nov. 27 Missouri at Iowa State, noon (ABC) Oklahoma State at Texas Tech, 2:30 p.m. (FSM) Saturday, Dec. 4 Big 12 Championship, Kansas City, Arrowhead Stadium -- 7 p.m. (ABC) |
"We have to be an efficient offense," Miles said. "We're going to run and throw and do the things that we do and we obviously have to be concerned about not turning it over."
The game will determine fourth place in the Big 12 South and should also be a factor in which bowl games the teams are slotted to play.
Last year, Oklahoma State beat Texas Tech 51-49 and finished one game ahead of the Red Raiders in the standings. Oklahoma State went to the Cotton Bowl while Tech fell to the Houston Bowl.
No comments
Commenting is turned off for this story.