After one week of getting burned by an overly confident Oklahoma State pick, the predictions are back on the board for Saturday’s visit from No. 6 Oregon.
The Cowboys host the Ducks at 11 a.m. in Boone Pickens Stadium, and the staff settled on a range of takes that all lean one direction: OSU can play better than it did in Tulsa, but most of the group still sees Oregon leaving Stillwater with a comfortable win.
Uniform guesses were part of the exercise, too, and the picks were all made before OSU’s early drop. Marshall Scott called White - Orange - White with Patriot Pete and nailed it. Kyle Cox went with Black - Orange - Black, while Tyler Waldrep chose White - Orange - White with the Brand look.
At quarterback, every picker took the over on Drew Mestemaker’s 250-yard passing line.
Marshall Scott pointed to Tulsa’s slow pace and the Cowboys’ offensive line issues after Jacob Sexton went down just six plays in, then argued that a week of preparation without Sexton and a game with more possessions should help Mestemaker get there anyway.
Kyle Cox also stayed on the over, saying, “I’ll go over to be optimistic. I still hold out some hope that some of the bugs will get worked out and/or OSU hits on a big play or two.”
Waldrep backed the over as well, noting that if Oklahoma State hangs around or wins, Mestemaker probably posts a huge day, and if the game gets away from the Cowboys, the passing volume should climb even more. He also pointed out that Mestemaker had reached 250 yards in eight of his previous nine games before last week’s collapse.
The second-leading rusher question brought more variety, but Ayo Adeyi was the most common pick. Cox and Waldrep both landed there, with Waldrep citing Tre Page III’s fumble against Tulsa and the open competition Morris said exists this week for the No. 2 job. He also noted that Adeyi averaged more yards per carry, gained one more yard after contact and forced one more missed tackle despite six carries to Page’s seven.
Scott went a different direction and picked Page, saying coaches hate running backs who put the ball on the turf and that Page could reclaim his spot in the pecking order. Cox, meanwhile, expected Caleb Hawkins to get the early work before Adeyi becomes the next option if the game tilts heavily toward Oregon.
The score predictions all pointed to Oregon, with the Ducks projected anywhere from 38 to 45 points. Scott had it Oregon 38, Oklahoma State 21, saying the Cowboys would show “notable improvement” from last week, though hosting Oregon is hardly the ideal bounce-back setup. Cox went with Oregon 45, Oklahoma State 21, while Waldrep picked Oregon 42, Oklahoma State 17, citing concern about Oklahoma State’s tackles against Oregon’s front seven.
The group also tracked its prediction standings after one week. Justin Southwell leads with 4 points, followed by Nathan Gilsleider and Tyler Waldrep with 3 apiece. Kyle Cox and Marshall Scott are tied at 2.
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Will Hammond and the Beavers' offensive line will be under the spotlight again, but the bigger question may be how Oregon State handles Texas Tech through the air and whether its defense can make the Red Raiders work for everything. The Beavers showed real growth in pass protection as the Houston game wore on, and now they have to build on that against a Texas Tech group that can test a secondary in a hurry, making this one of the early season's biggest checks on where Oregon State really stands. [Read more 🡒]