Big 10 beating the Big 12

The Big 10 seems to have the Big 12's number this bowl season. Iowa beat Missouri on Tuesday night, and Illinois is ahead of Baylor, 24-7, midway through the third quarter. Several of OSU's 2010 season foes have completed their bowl games with victories. Troy and Tulsa won their bowls in blowouts.

Keys to selling out Boone Pickens Stadium

Oklahoma didn't sell out Boone Pickens Stadium this year -- never really came close. Ticket prices are part of the problem. OSU reduced some ticket prices to help put fans in the stadium. Now, the coaches and players must step up with a great performance in tonight's Alamo Bowl game. A victory would do a lot to bring more fans to the stadium. Three key off-season decisions also will could bring more OSU fans to the stadium. OSU quarterback Brandon Weeden and wide receiver Justin Blackmon have NFL decisions to make. OSU head coach Mike Gundy must select a replacement for offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen. Gundy will stick with the Air Raid offense because it fits OSU's players. If Weeden or Blackmon stay or if both stay and Gundy picks a well-known Mike Leach/Holgorsen disciple, The Cowboys should play to packed houses in 2011.

More on East Carolina

Miscues hurt East Carolina's offense in the first half, and ECU's defense is tired in the second half as Maryland jumps out to a 29-10 lead. East Carolina's offense resembles Oklahoma State's offense, but the Pirates look much slower than OSU's athletes. Also, East Carolina doesn't have a running back like Kendall Hunter, but few teams do. East Carolina runs a lot of passes over the middle, screens and some passes downfield.
East Carolina's offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley is 27-years old. He's younger than OSU's starting quarterback Brandon Weeden.

East Carolina coordinator mentioned as Holgorsen replacement

East Carolina plays Maryland at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday on ESPN in the EagleBank Bowl. Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Lincoln Riley has been mentioned as a possible replacement for OSU offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen, who is leaving the Cowboys after the Alamo Bowl game to be offensive coordinator and head coach in waiting at West Virginia.
West Virginia's offense looked terrible in Tuesday night's 23-7 loss to North Carolina State in the Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando, Fl. I can see why WVU went after Holgorsen and his inventiveness on offense.
OSU fans may want to tune into East Carolina's bowl game to see Riley's offense and how it might work at OSU.

Who should punt for Oklahoma State?

Oklahoma State's kickoff specialist/punter Quinn Sharp is academically ineligible for Wednesday's Alamo Bowl.
That's bad news for the Cowboys.
Sharp kicked off 98 times this season and touchbacks were the result of 53 of those boots.
Touchbacks are great for the defense. Automatically, the opposition must travel 80 yards for a score. An 80-yard drive is pretty hard to manufacture consistently.
Oklahoma State's Lou Groza Award winning kicker Dan Bailey can handle the kickoff duties in the Alamo Bowl. He handled OSU's kickoff chores prior to the 2009 season.
Earlier this season, Bailey told me he would really like a shot at kicking off, but realized Sharp could consistently put the bowl into the end zone for touchbacks.
Bailey may not put every kickoff into the end zone, but OSU's kick coverage has improved greatly as the season progressed and shouldn't be a problem against Arizona.
Punting is the larger problem.
Sharp handled every punting opportunity this season. He had a 46.2 yard average and placed 15 punts inside the 20. He had a 78-yard punt against Nebraska.
Gundy has options.
Bailey, a senior, punted in high school but hasn't punted in college. OSU could turn to redshirt freshman Michael Reichenstein from Dallas.
Reichenstein didn't return to playing football until his junior year at Dallas Jesuit College Prep school. He played football in the fifth, sixth and eighth grades.
Reichenstein didn't have many opportunities in his senior year. He played behind Notre Dame signee Nick Tausch. In the National Combine Dallas semi-final, his punting average was 48 yards with a hang time of 4.17 seconds.
He has a lot of potential but, like Bailey, hasn't punted in a college game.
What does a head coach do?
• Go with your senior and hope he doesn't wear the leg out and miss a key field goal.
• Pick the redshirt freshman, putting him into a bowl-game pressure cooker.
• Hope the Cowboys' offense is so prolific that it doesn't have to punt or has to punt rarely in the Alamo Bowl. OSU punted just once in a 55-28 win over Baylor and didn't punt at all when it beat Kansas, 48-14.
You have got to believe Gundy will put the ball in the hands of a trusted senior for the punting chores as well and hope for the best.
Chris Day is sports editor for the NewsPress. He can be reached at 405-372-5000 ext. 220 or at cday@stwnewspress.com

OSU missing two players at Alamo Bowl

SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Oklahoma State's kickoff specialist and punter Quinn Sharp and a long snapper Marc Yerry will not play in the Alamo Bowl, Cowboy head coach Mike Gundy said.
"Everybody made it except we're short two players who didn't pass the six hours," Gundy said. "It was just the two guys who didn't pass the six hours, Marc Yerry and Quinn Sharp."
According to NCAA rules, a student must successfully complete six semester hours of academic credit during the preceding term to be eligible to participate in post-season competition, including bowl games.
Field goal/extra point specialist Dan Bailey will handle kickoff duties for the Alamo Bowl. Either Bailey or Michael Reichenstein will punt.
"We worked on that a little bit Thursday," Gundy said. "Andrew Suter has done the snapping all year, so we should be in the flow there."
Oklahoma State's wide receiver coach Gunter Brewer learned his mother had died shortly after the team arrived in San Antonio. Brewer and his family left for Mississippi to be with their family, Gundy said.
"We got here and he was getting settled (when he received the call)," Gundy said.

Cowboys 11-1 going into break

The winter break concerns Oklahoma State's men's basketball coach Travis Ford.

Tuesday night, the Cowboys ran their record to 11-1 with a 79-68 victory over Stanford.

"I wish we were 12-0," Ford said. Oklahoma State's lone loss was a 56-51 loss on Nov. 26 to Virginia Tech in the 76 Classic.

The players should be proud and humble about the 11-1 record. The Pokes have won 11 games, and haven't played a complete game, yet, Ford said.

The coach hopes his charges won't go away for the holidays, get out of playing shape and forget everything they have learned and accomplished en route to the 11-1 record.

"We need to continue the climb up the ladder," Ford said. "I'm a little concerned about the break."

The Cowboys will travel to Spokane, Wash., to face Gonzaga on Dec. 31 before hosting University of Texas San Antonio on Jan. 3 in the final tuneup before Big 12 play starts Jan. 8 against Kansas State at Gallagher-Iba Arena.

"It was a big win before Gonzaga. ... We needed this win before we go to Gonzaga. Gonzaga is one of the toughest places to play," Ford said.

The Bulldogs (6-5) before Wednesday's game against Xavier posted their signature win of the season so far on Dec. 18 with a 68-64 win over the previously unbeaten and then-9th ranked Baylor Bears.

Gonzaga may be tough but the Big 12 schedule should be much tougher.

No. 3 Kansas is 10-0. Four teams – OSU, No. 25 Texas A&M, No. 9 Missouri and No. 15 Baylor – have one loss. Three teams – Iowa State, Nebraska and No. 18 Texas – have two losses and two teams – Colorado and No. 11 Kansas State – have three.

Oklahoma is at .500 with a 6-6 record and Texas Tech is 5-6.

The Big 12 has six teams in the AP Poll and USA Today/ESPN poll released Dec. 20. Oklahoma State isn't ranked but is receiving some poll votes.

A win over Gonzaga may put the Cowboys into the Top 25.