Oklahoma State has a seasoned quarterback and a deep defense to start the 2021 season after a strange year that was damaged by the Chinese coronavirus.

The Cowboys open at 6 p.m. Saturday by hosting Missouri State in Stillwater. The game is on ESPN+.

OSU coach Mike Gundy thinks his team has a good grip on dealing with the virus this year.

“I’ve had two serious discussions with them about students being back on campus and we know the virus is around and present,” Gundy said. “Last year we felt like the team did a really good job of reducing its social interaction, which is extremely difficult, but I shared with them that I think they will have to do it again.”

Losing their best running back Chuba Hubbard (Carolina Panthers) and the best wide receiver Tylan Wallace (Baltimore Ravens) to the NFL makes returning starting quarterback Spencer Sanders even more valuable this season.

“The bar is always high at that position,” Gundy said. “Spencer handles things great. In the two years that he has played here he was in competition just to play. He has always done his job, done what was asked of him and never said a word. He just competes and he is starting to get more confidence. He makes plays out here, but the defense makes plays against him, too, which is good. I feel like he is in a good spot mentally and think he will play really well.”

The Cowboys must also replace offensive tackle Teven Jenkins, who was drafted in the second round by the Chicago Bears.

Running  back Dezmon Jackson hopes to step into the limelight this year after a stellar career by Hubbard.

“He’s a little bit of a slasher,” Gundy said of Jackson. “You don’t want to go out on a limb too much, but his performance in the games he played in, he probably played as good as anyone in the country for the amount of reps he got. He actually plays better in games than he practices. He practices hard, but in games he slashes and seems to be more productive than he is in live settings in practice. There’s very few young men who I’ve come across who have been able to do that. There is a big role for him on our team with what he brings to the table.”

Defensive coordinator Jim Knowles knows his defense is good but can be better.

“Inside we’ve held our own the last couple of seasons, but I want to be dominate,” said Knowles. “We have a lot of guys that can play there and a lot of big guys coming back.”

The OSU defense returns 84% of its tackle production from last year. The only starter who is gone is Cameron Murray.

“We’re a special group,” defensive lineman Tyler Lacy said.  “We’ve been together for some time now. We all know each other we all click together. It’s amazing to see where we started to where we are now. The younger guys are looking up to us and it feels like we were just them not too long ago.”

Special teams should be outstanding for the Pokes in 2021.

“If we’re not really good in special teams than I will be disappointed,”Gundy said. “We have experience at punter, experience at kicker and experience at deep snapper, who might be good enough to play in the NFL. We also have a bunch of guys who weigh between 190 and 210 pounds who can run and tackle. We should be good.”

The Cowboys went 8-3 last year, including an upset win over Iowa State. The only OSU losses were to Big 12 Champion Oklahoma, Texas and TCU.

OSU had an exciting win over Miami in the Cheez-It Bowl in Miami, 37-34.

Missouri State is coached by Bobby Petrino, who formerly coached Arkansas.

In 2020, Missouri State went 5-5 but was 5-1 in the Missouri Valley Conference.

In a quirky schedule, the Bears lost twice to No. 11 Central Arkansas: 20-27 on September 26 in Conway, Arkansas, and 24-33 on October 17 in Springfield, Missouri.

MSU fell to (Division 1) No. 5 Oklahoma 0-48 in Norman on September 12. Their other two losses were to No. 6 North Dakota State and to No. 7 North Dakota, 10-44, in the playoffs. Missouri State beat Western Illinois, No. 21 South Dakota, No. 10 Northern Iowa, No. 10 Southern Illinois and Youngstown State. A game against North Dakota was canceled due to the Chinese coronavirus.

Saturday’s game marks the ninth meeting between Oklahoma State and Missouri State, with the Cowboys going 8-0 in a series that dates back to 1993. All eight of the previous matchups have been played in Stillwater, with OSU winning the first meeting in 1993, 45-7, and winning the most recent in 2018, 58-17.

This year’s game will mark Missouri State coach Petrino’s first time facing the Cowboys, while Gundy is 4-0 in his career against the Bears.

Since 2010, the Cowboys have won 72% of their games (101-40) and have now extended school-record streaks of 15 consecutive bowl bids and 15 consecutive winning seasons.

“I think our players have made a good commitment and have worked hard at it,” Petrino said.

“I’ve done some research and have had guys come in and talk to them. Where we’re at right now is a good thing and we’re there.”