JimBob
12-31-2007, 08:47 AM
Cowboy defenders face challenge
By BILL HAISTEN World Sports Writer
12/31/2007
Hardy, Hoosiers look to exploit struggling defense
TEMPE, Ariz. -- There are 119 teams playing major-college football, and Oklahoma State ranks No. 116 in pass defense.
Cowboy opponents have completed 66 percent of their passes for 292 yards per game.
Against OSU, Texas Tech's Michael Crabtree and Danny Amendola had remarkable statistics -- a combined total of 28 receptions for 470 yards. Against OSU, Kansas State's Jordy Nelson had 12 catches for 176 yards.
However, in spite of those outrageous numbers, the Cowboys got enough from their offense to defeat Texas Tech 49-45 and Kansas State 41-39.
Unless the OSU defense somehow has gotten significantly better since the end of the regular season, another shootout seems inevitable. On Monday, the Cowboys (6-6) and Indiana (7-5) are matched in the Insight Bowl at Sun Devil Stadium.
Indiana has a quality quarterback in sophomore Kellen Lewis and a 6-foot-6 wide receiver in junior James Hardy. An All-Big Ten selection, Hardy has 74 catches for 1,075 yards.
Hardy seems to be stating the obvious when he says, "I feel there are holes in the (OSU) defense that we can exploit."
The Cowboys are making their fifth bowl appearance in six years, while the Hoosiers are bowl participants for the first time since 1993.
"I think Indiana is thrilled to death to be here," OSU coach Mike Gundy said. "They feel like we did last year at the Independence Bowl.
"We have to play hard because they'll definitely play hard. Indiana is a better team than people think. I promise you that. Their quarterback can make plays."
Lewis, a Florida native who three years ago was recruited by OSU, is similar to Cowboy quarterback Zac Robinson in that he is both a skilled passer and a productive ballcarrier. Lewis leads the Hoosiers in rushing with 653 yards and eight touchdowns, and he has passed for 2,839 yards and 26 TDs.
"(Lewis) is a great athlete," said Cowboy linebacker Jeremy Nethon, the defensive MVP of the 2006 Independence Bowl. "Talent-wise, he can play with the best of us in the Big 12. His playing style is just different. He is real fast. Watching film on him, we've been trying to prepare as well as we can for him."
In their first game since offensive coordinator Larry Fedora left to become the new head coach at Southern Miss, the Cowboys benefit from the return of wide receiver Adarius Bowman, who missed the final two regular-season games with a sprained knee. In advance of the Insight Bowl, Gundy primarily was responsible for offensive game-planning. He is expected to call plays on Monday.
OSU has endured yet another season of sub-standard defense, but its offense has averaged 484 total yards per game. It is the second-best figure in school history, trailing only the 515-yard average of the 1988 Cowboys.
Robinson, who in September supplanted Bobby Reid as the starting QB, broke the single-season school record for total offense by rolling up 3,299 yards (2,522 passing, 777 rushing). OSU tailback Dantrell Savage has run for 1,172 yards, with nine consecutive 100-yard performances.
The Cowboys, Indiana coach Bill Lynch said, are "pretty scary because they're so balanced. They can run it and they can throw it, so you've got to do a great job with both. Any time you play a team that runs the football as well as they do, you've got to be conscious of that."
OSU defenders should be concerned not only by the presence of Hardy, but by the Hoosiers' receiving corps as a whole. Operating a spread attack, Lewis has at his disposal three additional wideouts -- Ray Fisher, Andrew Means and James Bailey -- who have a combined total of 115 catches for 1,178 yards.
But it is Hardy, with his height and stats and All-Big Ten reputation, who commands the most attention. Following the Insight Bowl, Hardy is expected to explore the possibility of early entry in the NFL draft.
"Crabtree won the award as the top receiver in the country, and Hardy's name was on the same list," Lewis said. "I know I've got him for one more game, and I'm going to try and get him the ball."
By BILL HAISTEN World Sports Writer
12/31/2007
Hardy, Hoosiers look to exploit struggling defense
TEMPE, Ariz. -- There are 119 teams playing major-college football, and Oklahoma State ranks No. 116 in pass defense.
Cowboy opponents have completed 66 percent of their passes for 292 yards per game.
Against OSU, Texas Tech's Michael Crabtree and Danny Amendola had remarkable statistics -- a combined total of 28 receptions for 470 yards. Against OSU, Kansas State's Jordy Nelson had 12 catches for 176 yards.
However, in spite of those outrageous numbers, the Cowboys got enough from their offense to defeat Texas Tech 49-45 and Kansas State 41-39.
Unless the OSU defense somehow has gotten significantly better since the end of the regular season, another shootout seems inevitable. On Monday, the Cowboys (6-6) and Indiana (7-5) are matched in the Insight Bowl at Sun Devil Stadium.
Indiana has a quality quarterback in sophomore Kellen Lewis and a 6-foot-6 wide receiver in junior James Hardy. An All-Big Ten selection, Hardy has 74 catches for 1,075 yards.
Hardy seems to be stating the obvious when he says, "I feel there are holes in the (OSU) defense that we can exploit."
The Cowboys are making their fifth bowl appearance in six years, while the Hoosiers are bowl participants for the first time since 1993.
"I think Indiana is thrilled to death to be here," OSU coach Mike Gundy said. "They feel like we did last year at the Independence Bowl.
"We have to play hard because they'll definitely play hard. Indiana is a better team than people think. I promise you that. Their quarterback can make plays."
Lewis, a Florida native who three years ago was recruited by OSU, is similar to Cowboy quarterback Zac Robinson in that he is both a skilled passer and a productive ballcarrier. Lewis leads the Hoosiers in rushing with 653 yards and eight touchdowns, and he has passed for 2,839 yards and 26 TDs.
"(Lewis) is a great athlete," said Cowboy linebacker Jeremy Nethon, the defensive MVP of the 2006 Independence Bowl. "Talent-wise, he can play with the best of us in the Big 12. His playing style is just different. He is real fast. Watching film on him, we've been trying to prepare as well as we can for him."
In their first game since offensive coordinator Larry Fedora left to become the new head coach at Southern Miss, the Cowboys benefit from the return of wide receiver Adarius Bowman, who missed the final two regular-season games with a sprained knee. In advance of the Insight Bowl, Gundy primarily was responsible for offensive game-planning. He is expected to call plays on Monday.
OSU has endured yet another season of sub-standard defense, but its offense has averaged 484 total yards per game. It is the second-best figure in school history, trailing only the 515-yard average of the 1988 Cowboys.
Robinson, who in September supplanted Bobby Reid as the starting QB, broke the single-season school record for total offense by rolling up 3,299 yards (2,522 passing, 777 rushing). OSU tailback Dantrell Savage has run for 1,172 yards, with nine consecutive 100-yard performances.
The Cowboys, Indiana coach Bill Lynch said, are "pretty scary because they're so balanced. They can run it and they can throw it, so you've got to do a great job with both. Any time you play a team that runs the football as well as they do, you've got to be conscious of that."
OSU defenders should be concerned not only by the presence of Hardy, but by the Hoosiers' receiving corps as a whole. Operating a spread attack, Lewis has at his disposal three additional wideouts -- Ray Fisher, Andrew Means and James Bailey -- who have a combined total of 115 catches for 1,178 yards.
But it is Hardy, with his height and stats and All-Big Ten reputation, who commands the most attention. Following the Insight Bowl, Hardy is expected to explore the possibility of early entry in the NFL draft.
"Crabtree won the award as the top receiver in the country, and Hardy's name was on the same list," Lewis said. "I know I've got him for one more game, and I'm going to try and get him the ball."