Cowboys Play Like ‘Big Boys’

A few more “big-boy” wins for Oklahoma State, and the Cowboys may find themselves riding into San Antonio for the Big 12 championship game.

In coach Bob Simmons’ third season, Oklahoma State has become the surprise team of ‘97 - the Northwestern of ‘95, if you will - by galloping out to its best start since 1945.

The 16th-ranked Cowboys (6-0, 3-0 Big 12) entered the weekend first in the South Division and will come out the same way, thanks to a day off on Saturday. Next week, Missouri visits Stillwater before a division showdown against No. 14 Texas A&M at College Station.

Down the road, there’s a potential matchup against No. 2 Nebraska in the league title game at the Alamodome on Dec. 6.

“We have a sense of maturity that we can compete with some of the big boys in the country and come out victorious,” Simmons said. “That was always a question mark. And to get it out of our system, we had to go out and get it done.”

Have they ever.

Last Saturday, Tony Lindsay’s 19-yard TD pass to tight end Alonzo Mayes with 1:52 left lifted the Cowboys over Colorado, 33-29. The chance to win came 64 seconds earlier, when cornerback Maurice Simpson intercepted a pass by John Hessler at the Buffaloes’ 33.

“Our attitude is not to just expect things to happen, but to make them happen,” Simmons said. “There’s a sense of confidence on this team.”

The week before, it was a 42-16 thumping of Texas, a team which clobbered the Cowboys 71-14 in ‘96.

So what it Colorado and Texas forgot they were supposed to be top 10 teams this season? The Longhorns are defending Big 12 champs and the Buffs had been in the top 25 for 143 consecutive polls. The little ol’ Cowpokes haven’t been to a bowl game since 1988.

Simmons cited several reasons for the turnaround - an aggressive new 46 defense under Rob Ryan (Buddy’s son), minimizing turnovers and a strong punting game.

“I like to think we are solid and sound,” Simmons said. “And we’ve played that way the last couple of weeks.”

Entering the weekend, the Cowboys were third nationally against the run (60 yards per game), tied for fifth in turnover margin (plus 1.67) and eighth in scoring defense (12.2 points).

Also, R.W. McQuarters was fifth in punt returns (17 yards per game) and Jason Davis eighth in punting (46 yards). Cornerback Kevin Williams is among the nation’s leaders with five interceptions.