No. 17 Oklahoma State won't be dealing with a typical Football Championship Subdivision opponent in its season opener.
South Dakota State has won 29 straight games and back-to-back national titles. The Jackrabbits' last loss was a close call at Iowa nearly two years ago and they have a senior quarterback in Mark Gronowski who passed for 3,058 yards last season and won the Walter Payton Award as the top player in the FCS.
Oklahoma State is not taking Saturday's matchup lightly. Coach Mike Gundy’s Cowboys are eager to establish themselves as a team to beat in the expanded Big 12 after winning 10 games last season and reaching the conference championship game for the second time in three seasons.
“This is a really good game for us,” Gundy said. “This team can play competitively in the Power Four conferences, in my opinion. They’re very competitive in the matter and way they’ve won games. They know what they’re doing.”
South Dakota State coach Jimmy Rogers, a longtime assistant who went 15-0 in his first season as head coach, returned the respect. He called Gundy a Hall of Fame coach and said Oklahoma State is “arguably one of the best programs in college football today.”
“This week will bring challenges, surely, and we’re excited for those challenges,” Rogers said. “We’re not going down there for moral victories. We plan to go down there and give it our best and however it shakes it shakes.”
Depth could help Oklahoma State on what is expected to be a hot, muggy day. The teams will play at 1 p.m., and the National Weather Service says temperatures should reach 87 degrees with 30% humidity.
That could work in Oklahoma State's favor. The Cowboys return 11 starters on offense and 10 on defense. South Dakota State returns just three starters on offense and five on defense.
Rogers, a former South Dakota State player and defensive coordinator, isn’t buying it.
“Yeah, we can’t control the weather,” he said. “We try to put our focus on the things that we can control. We practice extremely hard; we compete against each other. It is what it is. You make the most of it. You learn how to adapt and compete. We’re going to put our focus on ourselves and try to get better and go out and give it our best.”
Oklahoma State returns running back Ollie Gordon II, who won the Doak Walker Award as the nation’s top running back last season. Gordon ran for 1,732 yards and 21 touchdowns as a sophomore and is the preseason Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year.
In addition to Gordon, Oklahoma State features a lot of big-play potential on offense in wide receivers Brennan Presley and Rashod Owens. Presley, a preseason All-Big 12 pick, caught 101 passes for 991 yards and six touchdowns while Owens grabbed 63 passes for 895 yards and five scores.
Alan Bowman, who passed for 3,460 yards and 15 touchdowns a season ago, with get the ball to them. The 24-year-old is in his seventh year of eligibility.
Oklahoma State linebackers Nick Martin and Collin Oliver are preseason All-Big 12 selections, and secondary depth means 6-foot-4 safety Kendal Daniels could see time at linebacker against the Jackrabbits.
South Dakota State, which lost several key players to graduation, will lean heavily on the leadership of Gronowski. The 6-foot-3, 230-pounder is 37-3 as a starter and led FCS quarterbacks in passing efficiency (179.67) last season.
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