Oklahoma State Cowboys vs. Kansas Jayhawks: Complete Game Preview

The Oklahoma State Cowboys came out of the gate a little sluggish last weekend against the Iowa State Cyclones, but right before halftime the kicking game gave them a much-needed boost to give them a 13-6 lead going into the half.

Ultimately, the Pokes managed to turn on the jets in the second half and ride the momentum generated by the special teams to a 37-20 victory.

Kansas hasn't been as fortunate, as the Jayhawks have lost their two Big 12 games by a combined 42 points so far. That's led to Charlie Weis losing his job and has put this team into a bit of turmoil.

On paper, this looks like an easy win for the Cowboys; however, this has the potential for a classic trap game on the road.

Can Oklahoma State take care of business and improve to 5-1 before it hits the meat of its schedule? Read on to find out.

Game-Day Information

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Who: Oklahoma State at Kansas

When: Saturday, October 11 at 3 p.m. CT/4 p.m. ET

Where: Lawrence, Kansas

Stadium: Memorial Stadium (50,071 capacity)

Series History: Oklahoma State leads 39-29-2

TV: Fox Sports 1 (Craig Bolerjack and Ryan Nece)

Radio: Cowboy Radio Network (Dave Hunziker, John Holcomb and Robert Allen)

Internet: OKState.com

Satellite Radio: Sirius Channel 93, XM Channel 199 (Kansas broadcast feed)

Oklahoma State's Key to Victory

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Get Daxx Garman back on track

Garman wasn't terrible against Iowa State, but he was nowhere near as effective as you would expect him to be against a team like the Cyclones.

Iowa State dropped players back into coverage deep and forced Garman to complete short and intermediate throws, taking away his jaw-dropping deep ball. Outside of his two big mistakes, Garman actually completed more than 63 percent of his passes and throwing for 271 yards.

However, those two mistakes led to costly turnovers that greatly diminished his performance. On top of that, he only got to stretch the field a few times, which kept him from breaking the game open through the air.

Part of the problem was that the running game started poorly and Garman never really had time to throw. That said, his decision-making and accuracy on anything that isn't a deep ball are still questionable, and that has to change going forward.

This weekend presents an opportunity for Garman to have something of a tune-up game before facing TCU, Baylor, and Oklahoma. Look for the Pokes to attack the field early and often, giving Garman the chance to get his groove back.

Kansas' Key to Victory

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Get the crowd involved

This Oklahoma State team is very young, and many of them have yet to play their first true road game.

That means the Jayhawks' crowd could play a major factor in this contest.

Now, the Lawrence crowd isn't exactly known for its love of football, but maybe this week can be a little different.

If the Jayhawks can whip their home crowd into a frenzy early, they might be able to disrupt Oklahoma State's rhythm. 

Kansas obviously loses this battle on paper, but crazier things have happened.

Oklahoma State Player to Watch

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Marcell Ateman

Oklahoma State has seemingly had a new leading wideout each week, which speaks to the team's amazing depth at the position.

Ateman led the team in receiving a few weeks ago against Texas Tech with 131 yards, but he's been relatively quiet this season outside of that matchup. In addition, he has yet to record a touchdown in his two seasons of college football.

This might be the week Ateman finally breaks that barrier. Kansas is giving up almost four touchdowns per game, and I like Ateman's chances to get one of those this weekend.

Look for him to reel in about six catches for 70 yards and a score.

Kansas Player to Watch

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Montell Cozart/Michael Cummings/T.J. Millweard

Basically, you can read this as whichever player Kansas starts at the quarterback position.

The firing of Charlie Weis has seemingly led to Kansas reopening the quarterback battle that Cozart won this spring.

That's bad news if you're a Jayhawks fan.

Kansas was already giving up a significant talent advantage this weekend, but now there's a quarterback controversy in the middle of a season. That's never a good sign.

Another bad sign is how poorly Kansas has been when Cozart underperforms. The Jayhawks have won every game in which he's thrown for more touchdowns than interceptions; however, they've been unable to overcome his mistakes and lost all their other games.

The quarterback position is important for any team but even more so when a struggling like Kansas is right now.

Final Prediction

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You'd be hard-pressed to envision a scenario where Kansas emerges as the victors in this one.

True, it's Oklahoma State's first real road game, and it's a young team that might get rattled in that environment.

However, the talent gap is just too big to imagine the Pokes losing to a team going through so much turmoil right now.

Look for the Pokes to walk away with a three-touchdown victory this week and get themselves ready for the meat of their schedule.

Oklahoma State 45, Kansas 21