ACC & Big 12 Week 4 Preview: OK-State looks to upset another ranked Texas foe

Oklahoma State (2-1) at No. 12 Texas (2-1) – 7:30 p.m. on ABC

Saturday’s primetime tilt marks the 34th all-time meeting between the Cowboys and the Longhorns, with Texas holding a 24-9 advantage in the series. However, Oklahoma State has won seven of its past nine meetings with Texas, including each of the past four.

Further, Oklahoma State has won its last five games in Austin — 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017 — making the Cowboys the only team in college football history to have won five games in a row at Darrell K. Royal – Texas Memorial Stadium.

Last season in Stillwater, an unranked Oklahoma State team upset the sixth-ranked Longhorns 38-35. After falling behind 24-7 early in the second quarter, Texas rallied to close the gap to 31-28 with 11:47 left to play, but ultimately, quarterback Taylor Cornelius’ 10-yard touchdown run with 5:44 remaining proved to be the difference.

Cornelius’ effort was also bolstered by the play of receiver Tylan Wallace, who had 10 receptions for 222 yards, the first of two games with over 200 receiving yards last season (220 yards against Oklahoma).

Now let’s take a closer look at the teams:

Oklahoma State Quick Hits:

• The Cowboys are coming off of a 40-21 win at Tulsa in their final non-conference game of the season.
• Oklahoma State is ninth in the nation in scoring offense (49.3 points per game), rushing offense (285.3 yards per game) and passing efficiency (189.28). They also lead the nation with seven plays from scrimmage that have gone for 50 yards or more.
• Two of the most explosive players on the Oklahoma State offense are running back Chuba Hubbard and wide receiver Tylan Wallace. Between the two, the team has the FBS leader in rushing yards (Hubbard, 521), receiving yards (Wallace, 390), rushing yards per game (Hubbard, 173.7) and receiving yards per game (Wallace, 130.0).
• The offense also boasts freshman quarterback Spencer Sanders, who ranks third among FBS freshmen with a pass efficiency rating of 181.8.
• Linebackers Malcolm Rodriguez and Amen Ogbongbemiga lead the defense with 31 and 25 total tackles, respectively.
• Rodriguez ranks 18th among FBS players with 10.3 tackles per game, while Ogbongbemiga is seventh nationally with 2.0 tackles per loss per game and 14th with 1.17 sacks per game.
• The Cowboys defense is second in the Big 12 in red zone defense.
• Click here to see Oklahoma State’s complete game notes
• Click here for the Cowboys’ depth chart

Texas Quick Hits:

• Texas is coming off a 48-13 victory over Rice last weekend. It was the Longhorns’ fifth win in its last six non-conference outings.
• A Texas win on Saturday would mark Tom Herman’s first victory over Oklahoma State as head coach.
• Junior quarterback Sam Ehlinger has not thrown an interception in his last 139 attempts, dating back to last season’s Allstate Sugar Bowl. He is one of three FBS quarterbacks with at least 10 touchdown passes and no interceptions in 2019 (Tua Tagovailoa, Justin Herbert).
• Senior wide receiver Devin Duvernay has 27 catches through the first three games of the season, tied for the most in the country (Cedric Byrd, Hawaii). His 27 catches are also the most by a Texas receiver through three games in school history.
• Sophomore running back Keaontay Ingram logged his first multi-touchdown game with two scores against Rice last weekend. Last season, Ingram was just the seventh true freshman with a 700-yard rushing season in school history (708 yards on 142 attempts).
• The defense is led by sophomore defensive back Caden Sterns, who has racked up 17 total tackles, including a career-high nine against LSU in Week 2. Sterns was named the Big 12’s Defensive Freshman of the Year last season, the seventh Longhorn to earn the honor.
• Click here to see Texas’ complete games notes
• Click here for the Longhorns’ depth chart

Here’s a quick look at some of the other top games from this weekend’s slate:

Boston College (2-1) at Rutgers (1-1) – 12 p.m. on BTN
A rivalry is renewed as these two former Big East foes meet for the 27th time in a lopsided series that the Eagles lead 19-6-1. The programs have not met on the gridiron since 2004, a 21-10 Boston College win in Chestnut Hill.

No. 15 UCF (3-0) at Pittsburgh (1-2) – 3:30 p.m. on ABC/ESPN2
For the second consecutive week, the Panthers are taking on a nationally ranked opponent in No. 15 UCF, who enters the matchup boasting a 27-game regular-season winning streak. Pitt and UCF have split their two previous meetings, as the Panthers claimed a 52-7 victory in 2006 but fell to the Knights 45-14 in Orlando last season.

Louisville (2-1) at Florida State (1-2) – 3:30 p.m. on ESPN
The Cardinals and the Seminoles are both looking for their first conference win this Saturday as Louisville travels to Doak Campbell Stadium for an ACC clash. Florida State leads the all-time series 15-4, but since Louisville joined the ACC in 2014, the Seminoles only lead 3-2. A win on Saturday would be No. 300 for the ‘Noles in Doak Campbell Stadium, and the 308th all-time at home.

West Virginia (2-1) at Kansas (2-1) – 4:30 p.m. on ESPN+
Both West Virginia and Kansas open Big 12 Conference play on Saturday in the ninth all-time meeting between programs. The Mountaineers currently hold a five-game winning streak that began in 2014; the first and only Jayhawks win over the Mountaineers came in 2013, a 31-19 home victory.