Game Notes: Oklahoma State Travels to Arizona State for First Road Game

Game Notes: Oklahoma State Travels to Arizona State for First Road Game

Complete Notes (PDF)

 

The Basics

The Oklahoma State football team (1-0 overall; 0-0 Big 12) travels to state of Arizona for the third consecutive season this week as it faces Arizona State (1-0 overall; 0-0 Pac-12) at 7:30 MST (9:30 p.m. CDT) on Saturday, September 9, at Sun Devil Stadium.

On the Air

The game will be televised live on FS1 with Alex Faust and Petros Papadakis on the call. It will also be carried live on the Cowboy Radio Network, with Dave Hunziker handling play-by-play, John Holcomb providing analysis and Robert Allen reporting from the sideline. Fans outside of the Cowboy Radio Network can listen to the OSU broadcast for free through The Varsity Network app. The broadcast can also be heard on SiriusXM channel 83.

Back to the Desert

Saturday’s game will make 2023 the third consecutive season that the Cowboys have played in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. The conclusion of the 2021 season saw the Cowboys claim a Fiesta Bowl trophy with a win over Notre Dame, while OSU returned to the Valley of the Sun a year later to take on Wisconsin in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl. This year’s non-conference game at Arizona State will mark a third consecutive year with a trip to the desert, as well as a third different venue played in. With Arizona State and Arizona entering the Big 12 Conference in the 2024-25 season, The Grand Canyon State looks to remain a consistent destination for the Cowboy for years to come.

In the Rankings

The Oklahoma State football team was not ranked in either major preseason poll but did receive votes in the preseason USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll for a school-record 17th consecutive season. The week two polls will be released later this week. Through the 2022 season, Oklahoma State has been ranked in the top 15 of the Associated Press poll in 13 of the past 15 seasons and has reached the top 10 in 11 of those 15 years. Although the first College Football Playoff rankings won’t be released until November 1, it’s worth noting that OSU has been part of the CFP rankings in seven of the past eight seasons entering 2023. Arizona State is not ranked.

The Series

Saturday’s game marks the fifth meeting between Oklahoma State and Arizona State, with the series tied at 2-2. The first matchup came in 1984, as OSU upset No. 12 ASU, 45-3, in Tempe to open a 10-win season for the Cowboys. The Sun Devils came out on top in the next two meetings, winning 30-3 in Stillwater in 1991 and 12-10 in Tempe in 1993. The Cowboys were victorious in the most recent matchup a year ago, winnin 34-17 in Stillwater. Coach Mike Gundy is 1-0 against Arizona State and is 11-3 in his career against current members of the Pac-12. ASU coach Kenny Dillingham is in his first season and has never faced Oklahoma State.

Oklahoma State from a Distance

The Oklahoma State football program is in the midst of the longest sustained stretch of success in its history, as well as in college football today. Although the Cowboys closed 2022 on a downward stretch after 17 different Cowboy starters missed time to injury, OSU still finished the year by extending its school record streaks of winning seasons and bowl appearances to 17 straight years – an active run that only one other school can claim. Over the past three seasons, OSU has the most wins and best winning percentage of any of Big 12 team who competed in the conference during that timeframe. It is also the only one of those 10 teams to post a winning record in each of those three years. The Cowboys have reached the top 10 of the AP poll in 11 of the past 15 seasons and have seen a top 15 ranking in the AP poll in 13 of those 15 seasons. On top of that, OSU ranks among the top 10 FBS teams in total wins over the past 10 seasons. It’s safe to say that Oklahoma State is home to a top-10 football program in the country today.

An Oklahoma State Win Would …

• Give it eight consecutive wins in non-conference road games to improve the second longest streak in school history (Sept 7, 2013 – present). The only longer streak was 10 games from Nov. 28, 1942 – Nov. 24, 1945. Here are the wins that make up the active streak:

	9/7/2013	at UTSA	W	56-35
	9/3/2015	at Central Michigan	W	24-13
	9/8/2017	at South Alabama	W	44-7
	9/16/2017	at Pittsburgh	W	59-21
	8/30/2019	at Oregon State	W	52-36
	9/14/2019	at Tulsa	W	40-21
	9/18/2021	at Boise State	W	21-20

• Make it 2-0 for the seventh consecutive season.
• Give it 12 straight wins in September games, dating to 2019.
• Improve Mike Gundy’s record in September games to 56-12.
• Improve its all-time record against Arizona State to 3-2 and its record vs. ASU in Tempe to 2-1.
• Improve Mike Gundy’s record against Pac-12 teams to 12-3.
• Make it 8-6 in games played in the state of Arizona.
• Improve Mike Gundy’s record in non-conference games to 63-14.
• Improve its all-time record against Arizona State to 3-2.
• Make it 24-3 in its past 27 non-conference games and 46-9 in its past 54 non-conference games.
• Make it 23-8 in its past 31 games overall, dating back to the 2020 season.
• Make it 88-21 in its past 109 games vs. opponents outside of the AP Top 25, dating to 2010.

Notable Streaks and Trends Entering the Game

• OSU has held 30 of its past 33 Big 12 opponents under their season scoring average entering the game.
• OSU has won 82 consecutive games when holding its opponent to fewer than 20 points, dating back to Sept. 13, 2003  – the longest active stretch of time in the FBS and longest since at least 1980.
• OSU has held its opponent scoreless on its game-opening drive in 31 of its past 45 games.
• OSU has held its opponent to less than a 50% third down conversion rate in 38 of its past 39 games.
• OSU is 34-15 in its past 49 games decided by fewer than 10 points.
• OSU is 45-8 in its past 53 games when leading at halftime, dating back to Sept. 17, 2016.
• Dating back to 2005, OSU is 45-4 when not committing a turnover.
• Dating back to 2008, OSU is 74-8 when winning the turnover battle.
• OSU has won three of its past five overtime games.
• Over the past 38 games, OSU has held opponents to 163-for-586 (27.8%) on third down.