Preview & Prediction: Oklahoma State

Was anybody as up and down as Oklahoma State last year? The Cowboys finished 7-6 with wins over No. 23 Boise State, No. 9 Texas, No. 20 West Virginia and a one-point loss to No. 4 Oklahoma in Norman. The season wrapped up with a 38-33 win over Missouri in the Liberty Bowl.

On the flip side, however, OSU was drilled by Texas Tech (41-17) and K-State (31-12) along with losses to the Sooners, Iowa State, Baylor and TCU.

After winning at 10 games for three straight years the Pokes took a pretty massive step back last year under head coach Mike Gundy; will things be able to turn back in the right direction in 2019?

WHO ARE THEY?

Despite last year's struggles, the Cowboys still have plenty of dangerous skill position talent, specifically at wide receiver and running back.

Tylan Wallace is easily one of the top returning receivers in all of college football after racking up 1,491 yards and 12 scores a season ago. Justice Hill is gone, but he probably wasn't even OSU's best back last season. Chubba Hubbard averaged 6.0 yards per carry on his way to 768 rushing yards while splitting time last season, and as the lone featured back he should easily crack the 1,000-yard mark this season.

Skill talent isn't really the question; it's toughness. Will Gundy be able to get OSU back to the point where it can be physically and mentally tough on a week-to-week basis?

WHO TO WATCH?

I'd keep an eye on an old quarterback (Gundy) and two quarterbacks battling for the job.

Gundy took a lot of the blame on himself for OSU's performance last season, admitting he let things slide in practice more than he ever had before. He sounds committed to fixing those issues this year, and he's got a great chance to since he seems to genuinely understand it started with him.

Beyond that would be the battle at QB between redshirt freshman Spencer Sanders or Hawaii transfer Dru Brown, with Sanders presenting more of a dual-threat option at the position. At Big 12 Media Days Gundy was not ready to name a starter, and he said he'd play both if nobody could separate themselves.

K-STATE WINS BECAUSE...

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Well, the Wildcats have won two straight against the Cowboys, including a pretty decisive victory a year ago in Manhattan. OSU was not particularly good at home in league play last year, going just 2-2 with losses to the Red Raiders and Iowa State.

The schedule also appears to fall in K-State's favor in this match-up. The Wildcats will have a bye week prior to travelling to Stillwater. During that week the Cowboys will be traveling to Austin to face a Texas team looking for revenge.

The Wildcats will likely be confident heading into this one and with a number of offensive returnees who gave OSU tons of trouble a year ago.

K-STATE LOSES BECAUSE...

In general Oklahoma State is more talented, isn't undergoing a head coaching transition and will be playing at home. Plus the back-to-back losses to the Wildcats will ensure OSU doesn't look beyond K-State, no matter what's happening with either team's early-season results.

I really like Wallace and Hubbard, and I'd imagine OSU will find a capable quarterback out of the options they have. This is probably a game where I would have picked the home team to win, and this one happens to be in Stillwater.

PRESEASON PREDICTION: Oklahoma State 31, Kansas State 24

For the second straight week I have the Wildcats' playing close with a more talented team on the road but falling just short. The Cowboys explosiveness with Wallace and Hubbard could prove the difference. The Wildcats will likely have to piece together a number of long scoring drives, while OSU may be able to pick up a couple of "easy" touchdowns from one of their play makers.