OSU Football: Central Michigan Preview

<p>Central Michigan proved to be a tough out for the Cowboys in their opener last year, and the Chippewas will try to test No. 22 Oklahoma State again on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. CT in Boone Pickens Stadium.</p>

Friday, September 9th 2016, 7:08 pm

By: News 9


Central Michigan proved to be a tough out for the Cowboys in their opener last year, and the Chippewas will try to test No. 22 Oklahoma State again on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. CT in Boone Pickens Stadium.

A season ago CMU quarterback Cooper Rush completed 28-of-41 passes for 225 yards and rushed for 51 more with a touchdown. Rush had the Chips ahead 13-10 in the third quarter before Mason Rudolph took over and led the Cowboys on a pair of scoring drives to win 24-13.

That ugly 2015 opener was the beginning of a year’s worth of questions about the Cowboys’ offensive line play, many of which have yet to be answered. Oklahoma State has two new starting guards, but Saturday’s game will likely be our first chance to see the starting unit play a consecutive half as Mike Gundy used second stringers as early as the first quarter in last week’s 61-7 blowout against Southeastern Louisiana.

In Central Michigan’s opener, Rush looked rusty and threw two first half interceptions but the Chippewas rushed for 255 yards and five touchdowns against Presbyterian College. Devon Spalding got 15 carries for 135 yards and one score and Jahray Hayes muscled in three touchdowns on nine totes.

The front seven for OSU might be a little tougher to run on than the Blue Hose though, call it a hunch.

If there was one unit that stood out for Oklahoma State last week, it was the defensive line. The Pokes allowed just 97 yards on the ground to Southeastern Louisiana and notched 12 tackles for loss plus three sacks. The group at defensive tackle is exceptionally deep; Vincent Taylor, Mote Maile, Vili Leveni, D’Quinton Osborne and Darrion Daniels form a five-man rotation with Leveni occasionally lining up at defensive end and Osborne working his way up the depth chart.

OSU Player To Watch – James Washington didn’t have a great start to the season when he had a couple first-half drops. Look for the star receiver to have a bounce-back game on Saturday.

CMU Player To Watch – He didn’t have a great start either but he’s still among the most talented quarterbacks in the country. He’s projected to be a middle-round pick in next year’s NFL Draft and is rated as the seventh best quarterback prospect by CBS Sports.

Prediction – Oklahoma State wins 42-21

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