Oregon State Football: A Midsummer’s Opponent Preview - Oklahoma State Cowboys (Game 1)

The Beavers will begin the 2020 season with a trip to Stillwater.

By The_Coach May 18, 2020, 9:00am PDT

Oklahoma State Cowboys

Head Coach: Mike Gundy (16th Season)
2019 Record: 8-5 (5-4 in Big 12)
Last Meeting: 8/30/19 - Oklahoma State 52, Oregon State 36
Key Returners: QB - Spencer Sanders, RB - Chuba Hubbard, WR - Tylan Wallace

The Skinny

As expected, Oklahoma State enters 2020 in a good spot offensively, as the Cowboys return the three focal points of their offense in quarterback Spencer Sanders, running back Chuba Hubbard and receiver target Tylan Wallace.

Sanders, a versatile talent who split time last season with current Canadian Football League gunslinger Dru Brown, will be handed the reigns full-time, while Hubbard enters 2020 as an early Heisman candidate, after posting 2,094 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns as a sophomore. Wallace, the team’s top target from 2019, had a team-high 53 receptions for over 900 yards and 8 scores a season ago, despite not playing in the team’s last five games due to an ACL injury.

Overall, the Cowboys return 19 starters on both sides of the ball and are once again considered as legitimate challengers in the Big 12 race. Their defense should be another season improved, anchored by two triple-digit tacklers in linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga and rising senior Malcolm Rodriguez. Safety Kolby Harvell-Peel has all-league abilities for Oklahoma State and a duo of defensive line talents in Israel Antwine and Trace Ford will work to clog things up front.

Having finished lower than 3rd just twice in the league standings over the past ten seasons, the Cowboys’ focus in 2020 might be chasing Oklahoma and Texas and not their home-based, super-manageable, non-conference slate. However, if the Beavers can close the gap on their 16-point defeat to Gundy’s squad last year, they may be able to give themselves a fighting chance for a tenure-defining win for soon-to-be third year head coach Jonathan Smith.

Player To Watch

NCAA Football: Oklahoma State at Oregon State

Chuba Hubbard - Running Back

An early Heisman contender who should end up in New York at the end of the season, there’s few players in college football who are more enjoyable to watch than Hubbard, that is unless you’re an Oregon State fan. The Beavers were throttled by the tailback for 221 yards on the ground last season, as the play-maker found the end zone 3 times in the Cowboys victory.

Game Info

Date: Thursday, September 3rd
Time: TBD
Location: Boone Pickens Stadium (Stillwater, Oklahoma)