Oklahoma State will travel through three time zones to open the season with a late-night kickoff (9:30 p.m.) against a Pac-12 opponent.
That’s the bad news. The good news is that the opponent is Oregon State, maybe the worst team in the Pac-12 in 2018.
Oregon State was 2-10 last season, with the lone wins coming against Southern Utah and Colorado (in overtime). The Beaver defense gave up 77 points to Ohio State, 56 to Washington State and 55 to Oregon. The lowest amount of points surrendered (34) was in the upset win over Colorado.
Oklahoma State (7-6) was up and down last year with signature wins over Boise State, Texas, Missouri and West Virginia but losses to Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Kansas State, Iowa State, TCU and Baylor. The Missouri win was 38-33 in the Liberty Bowl.
“What stands out is that they’ve got guys returning,” said OSU running back L.D. Brown. “They are going to be experienced. They got a year’s worth of just being around each other, so their team chemistry is probably going to be good. That’ll be something to look forward to.”
The Beavers may not have been as bad as their record indicated last year.
“Oregon State scored a lot of points last year,” said OSU coach Mike Gundy. “They’ve had success on offense. They want to run the football. Their quarterback has been around for a long time so he is experienced and it gives them a little bit of leeway at that position. They’ve become more athletic. They’ve got a couple of guys who moved in and transferred in. It will be a dog fight. We will have our hands full but we are looking forward to playing them.”
Gundy had not picked a starting quarterback as late as last week and has said he might platoon Dru Brown and Spencer Sanders.
“Both of them are doing really well,” Gundy said last week. “If we were to play this week, we’d play both guys. We don’t have to make that decision until next week. This discussion is taking place, but we aren’t sure yet. We are still evaluating and trying to do what’s best.”
Wide receiver Tylan Wallace isn’t worried about which one starts at quarterback.
“We are doing good,” Wallace said. “The quarterback situation is still the same. I’ve been going back and forth rotating everything. As an offense, we are putting things together, pulling it together and starting to look more together.”
“I don’t think there’s much difference between the two quarterbacks as far as how they throw it,” said wide receiver Dillon Stoner. “They are both great quarterbacks, no matter who is going to start.”
OSU is expecting better play from the offensive line this season, especially with the addition of offensive line coach Charlie Dickey.
“I just want to do special things. I think this whole team wants to do special things this year,” said offensive lineman Johnn Wilson. “With it being my last year, I want to go out with a bang. Coach Dickey is helping everyone get in that mentality of, ‘You’re not just doing it for yourself, but you’re doing it for these older guys before you.’ Hopefully, we can make the alumni proud and do something crazy this year.
“He and I have a really close bond ever since he got in. He had a lot of questions for me and I had a lot of questions for him and just going back and forth like that. I think we will build a strong bond between us. I trust him more than I trust anyone else. He takes us out there and we do individual stuff and he works on technique and going after that hard mentality, that old school mentality about life. I think he’s doing great here. Everyone loves him so far, respects him and trusts him, so I think we are going to do good things as an offensive line.”
And the OSU defense seemed primed and more committed to finishing games better this season.
“Three weeks ago, we weren’t comfortable at all,” said defensive end Brock Martin. “There were a lot of guys who were new. The freshmen were getting time and those were my first game-speed reps that I was getting. So considering we started at a zero, we are doing pretty well.”
Actual playing experience means a lot.
“I would say they’re beneficial toward my growth of understanding the speed of the game and the size of the guys who are out there,” said Martin. “It’s not high school anymore. Last year was my first time feeling that, so it helped out a lot.”
Safety Jason Taylor, II, played the last three games of 2018 as a redshirt but didn’t lose a year of eligibility.
“It was a big benefit for me,” Taylor said. “Especially having a whole redshirt year behind me. That whole year was a big benefit for me. The last three games I got to learn the system and get some game experience.”
Linebacker Calvin Bundage may or may not play against Oregon State.
“He is released and can start practicing,” Gundy said. “I don’t know (if he will start in the first game). I expect him to go out there and get some action if all goes as planned.”