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The Cowboys are in Houston for a chance to make it to double-digit wins and finish 2023 on a high note. The offseason is always full of questions, but the Cowboys have answered a couple of them during bowl prep. They’re building toward a 2024 that will include Doak Walker winner Ollie Gordon, and his offensive line. The Aggies, on the other hand, are set to look a lot different come next fall thanks to turnover among the coaching staff and the roster. A bowl game is normally a crapshoot; this year I have no idea what to expect. Regardless, it should be a fun one. Stick with us for live updates and reactions from the game. If you’re a PFB+ subscriber, head over to The Chamber. We’re already getting into it. Pre-Game HomeworkPFB staff predictions: [LINK] Talent vs. Culture: Dekota took a look at the Cowboys and Aggies based on recruiting and wins. A look at the Texas Bowl QB matchup between Alan Bowman and Jaylen Henderson. Gundy’s top five quotes from the Texas Bowl presser. LIVE UPDATESInjury Report: [Coming soon] Uni Reveal: [Coming soon]
Read this original article at Pistols Firing Blog. Oklahoma State is in Houston to face Texas A&M in the Texas Bowl for the second time in four years. The Cowboys will look to make it 1o wins for the eighth time under Mike Gundy and push his bowl record to 12-6. They could also rinse some of that sour taste still lingering from the thumping the Pokes took from Texas in the Big 12 Championship and finish 2023 on a high note. Across the field, OSU will face an A&M team that’s been as in flux as any team in the country with massive portal transfers and an overhaul of the coaching staff. The PFB staff convened to discuss the Texas Bowl and how we see things playing out. Here are our predictions. Marshall ScottScore: Oklahoma State 35, Texas A&M 31 Game MVP: Brennan Presley Uniform: Orange (Cursive)-Black-Black Thoughts: With all the turnover going on in College Station, it’s hard to make sense of what this game is going to look like. The Aggies undoubtedly have a ton of talent, but they’ll be relying on some guys to step up with their portal losses. OSU meanwhile is coming off a poor performance in the Big 12 title game but can reach the mythical 10-win number. I think the Pokes just have a bit more to play for Wednesday, so I think they pull it out. As for my MVP prediction, Brennan Presley has been known to go off in a bowl game. In three bowl games, he is averaging 109.7 receiving yards and 1.3 receiving touchdowns a game. Kyle CoxScore: Oklahoma State 31, Texas A&M 24 Game MVP: Ollie Gordon Uniform: White (Cursive)-Black-White Thoughts: It’s hard to know what to expect from a Texas A&M team that’s had so much change with its roster and coaching staff. That being said, I’m going with the Cowboys who are in the mode of building on this year’s success versus the Aggies, who are trying to figure out what next year’s team looks like. I’m taking the over and the (more) consistent Cowboys to win. We have yet to see the W-B-W in this uniform set, and with the Cowboys the home team in Houston, now is the time. Dekota GregoryScore: Oklahoma State 31, Texas A&M 21 Game MVP: Ollie Gordon Uniform: Orange (Cursive)-Black-Orange Thoughts: No one from Texas A&M actually wants to make the short trip from College Station for this Texas Bowl. Almost every guy making decisions is gone, the guy leading the Aggies is already worried about his next destination and 13 players are in the portal. All that will be evident Wednesday night. On the flip side, the Pokes are still concerned with goals of capping this season with 10 wins to build for a 2024 that will still include the best running back in the country. I also need the Cowboys to reach 10 wins to prove I wasn’t drunk on orange Kool-Aid in August. Speaking of Ollie Gordon, gas prices may skyrocket Thursday morning after A&M donors witness Gordon firsthand and are desperate for more NIL money to try to persuade Gordon to change his mind and go back to his home state to play. Gordon runs for over 150 yards and scores more than once after a frustrating outing in the Big 12 Championship. Read this original article at Pistols Firing Blog.
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Merry Christmas! Carson Cunningham and Colby Powell are back from the holiday, reacting to Ollie Gordon’s return and previewing OSU vs. Texas A&M. You know what helps the show and helps us make more shows? When you rate us on Apple Podcasts or subscribe to our pod: Apple Podcasts | Google Play | Spotify | SoundCloud. As always, we appreciate our sponsors Chris’ University Spirit and Yuengling.
Read this original article at Pistols Firing Blog. The Cowboys will cap 2023 with a familiar bowl matchup. In a rematch from 2019, Oklahoma State will face Texas A&M in the Texas Bowl. This time, OSU, ranked No. 20, will play the unranked Aggies, but the Cowboys still find themselves the underdogs. The Aggies will be riding with their third starting QB of the season, Jaylen Henderson, and will be without a number of players that bolted to the transfer portal. After head coach Jimbo Fisher was fired with two weeks of the regular season left, co-defensive coordinator Elijah Robinson was tabbed as interim. He has since been hired as the defensive coordinator at Syracuse but is still readying the team for the matchup with OSU. Offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino is also gone, back to Arkansas. So, who knows what to expected from A&M. Despite all of the changeover, the Aggies are two-point favorites. Here’s how to watch, how to bet (if you’re so inclined) and who’s calling the action. Game information• TV: ESPN Gambling information (via BetMGM)• Spread: A&M -2 Broadcast informationThe ESPN crew consists of Roy Philpott, Roddy Jones and Taylor McGregor. On the Cowboy Radio Network, you’ll get your normal play-by-play from Dave Hunziker, with John Holcomb providing the analysis. Robert Allen is manning the sideline. Read this original article at Pistols Firing Blog. The 2023 Oklahoma State football season will come to a close on Wednesday (maybe early Thursday morning). Oklahoma State travels to Houston for a meeting with Texas A&M in the Texas Bowl. Here is a preview of the matchup. Viewing InfoTime: 8 p.m. Wednesday Team Stats
Available Statistical LeadersPassing: Rushing: Receiving: Tackling: Sacks: Series History (Texas A&M Leads 18-10)
We did a larger breakdown on the history between these two teams when the bowl was announced earlier this month, but the short version of that is the Cowboys and Aggies last met in the 2019 Texas Bowl, where A&M won 24-21. That was the teams’ first meeting since the Aggies left the Big 12 for the SEC. OSU sent the Aggies to the SEC on a four-game losing streak in the series, with their last meeting as conference foes being that 30-29 thriller 2011 in College Station. Justin Blackmon iced that game by running out of the back of his own endzone. The Cowboys are just 1-4 in neutral site meetings against Texas A&M. Mike Gundy is 4-4 against the Aggies with a chance to get above .500 on Wednesday. Read this original article at Pistols Firing Blog.
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Daily Bullets (Dec. 25): Ollie Gordon Returns Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from PFB12/25/2023
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The headline was worth stopping a scroll and taking a click, “Texas A&M officially lands best football recruiting class ever.” It’s been a year since the Aggies had the best recruiting class in history, according to On3. Texas A&M’s 2022 recruiting class featured eight five-star prospects, ranked as the best in the country by every major outlet. The Aggies’ Texas Bowl opponent, Oklahoma State, has had one five star ever, according to 247Sports — Bobby Reid in 2004. But a year after A&M signed that class both teams are still in the same place, except OSU’s roster with no five-star recruits actually has the better record at 9-4, compared to A&M at 7-5. And the Cowboys also still have the same coach, and have for the past 19 seasons. A&M fired Jimbo Fisher with two weeks still left in the regular season after six years leading the program. Associate head coach Elijah Robinson took over as interim head coach for the rest of the season, including the Texas Bowl. However, Robinson will be leaving College Station to become the defensive coordinator at Syracuse when his tenure as interim head coach ends. A&M has already hired former Duke coach Mike Elko to replace Fisher. So, where Gundy’s Cowboys don’t have as much star talent, they have culture to fill in the cracks. But how do you quantify culture? Gundy echoes the “Cowboy Culture” constantly and anyone who watched this 2023 OSU football team would agree it’s evident this group cultured its way from 2-2 to a Big 12 title game appearance and a bowl victory away from a 10-win season. And while that Big 12 title game may have been proof culture can get a team only so far, the Aggies are proof that the same could be said about talent alone, as well. Before we get further into this, there’s no question OSU also has talent and A&M has culture. The Cowboys do have the best running back in the country, after all. And the Aggies fired their coach and attract such talent because their culture demands such expectations. But it’s fair to say both are still lacking the other. OSU’s most recent recruiting class currently ranks 64th nationally and 11th of 14 in the Big 12 after the start of the early signing period, with nothing higher than a three-star recruit, according to 247Sports. It’s honestly, on paper anyway, a dud of a recruiting class so far for Gundy and Co. after securing six four-star recruits and ranking behind only OU and Texas last year in Big 12 rankings. Even with the turnover, A&M still has the No. 15 recruiting class in the country this year. The Aggies have been outside of the top 15 in 247Sports’ national recruiting rankings only twice in the last decade, and just barely (17th in 2018 and 18th in 2016). OSU has never cracked the top 15 of 247Sports’ national rankings. But just like predicting your future based on astrology, recruiting stars are also only projections. Although usually pretty accurate, having all that talent still doesn’t always equate to wins, hence why even though the Aggies have had top-15 recruiting rankings, their teams have not had the same kind of rankings during the season. In that 10-year timeframe we looked at for recruiting, plus this season so far, A&M has a 86-52 record and 62.32 win percentage. OSU is 98-44 with a 69.01 win percentage. Although a victory in the Texas Bowl would give the Cowboys their fifth season with at least 10 wins in 10 years, the Aggies have never met that mark during that time. It’s a tale of both extremes in the Texas Bowl. Gundy preaches finding players that buy in and even at one point this season told players to hit the road if they didn’t believe the Pokes could turn around a 2-2 start. You want to jump in the portal and leave Stillwater for a new home? Oh well, Gundy will find someone who wants to be there. There is no solidified culture for a team that will have three different leaders in one calendar year, though. Even Gundy said he can’t predict what OSU may see from the Aggies because of all the turnover, which includes 13 players in the portal compared to OSU’s nine (two of which were walk-ons and another that wasn’t even a part of the team this season). That Big 12 title game shouldn’t be the final experiment of talent vs. culture. Under Steve Sarkisian, Texas has both now, which is why it’s competing to play for a national title compared to being 5-7 only two seasons ago. That 5-7 team still had talent, but again, a Gundy team cultured its way into another win over a “more talented” team and finished that same season 12-2. The Texas Bowl will be a matchup of the epitome of both culture and talent. An extreme of both. But yet there’s no real way to quantify either, except for maybe the score. Read this original article at Pistols Firing Blog. |
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