2023 Cowboy Football Picks!

 Alright boys and girls, It's here. I am currently watching real life college football on my T.V. as I type this. It has been a long, hot(!) summer, and at last football season is upon us. So, let's go over the upcoming season for your Pokes. Here are my game by game making score predictions, completely unbiased, like your average die hard fan. Lets get into it.

Week 1: Central Arkansas at BPS- Cowboys 45, Bears 14. Not much to say here, it's Central Arkansas, next...

Week 2: at Arizona State- Cowboys 32, Sun Devils 21. This game is low key sneaky for me solely because of Freshman QB Jaden Rashada. Rashada is an incoming 4 start true freshman who has already beaten out veterans to be named the starter week one. Now does this mean that I think the pokes could drop this game? No, but, would it be the first time that a talented freshman on a bad team diced the cowboys and made the game closer than it should be? Also, no. End of the day, Cowboys take care of business and get the W.

Week 3: South Alabama at BPS- Cowboys 35, Jaguars 10. Now, if you've heard anyone talk about this game, it comes up as the first true test. Now, USA has a much better squad than they've had in years past and I think they will be actually good. But....Gundy has this game circled and is taking it personally. The University of South Alabama received more top 25 votes in the AP's preseason poll than Oklahoma State University. Read that again. This team, hell, this coach will not let that slide and they will make sure and let those voters know it. First test passed, statement win.

Week 4: at Iowa State- Cowboys 28, Cyclones 7. Iowa State football is a dumpster fire right now and will be burnt to the ground by September 9th. Pokes stomp a mudhole in the fighting Matt Campbell's heading into the bye week.

Week 5: BYE

Week 6: Kansas State at BPS- Cowboys 28, Wildcats 35. Listen ya'll, I don't believe Oklahoma State will go undefeated this year. So, I had to pencil in some losses somewhere and this is the obvious answer. K-State returns a very good quarterback and is always nasty in the trenches. These Wildcats are the real deal and will be a contender for a repeated conference title. But, I think it will be a great game and could easily see the cowboys pulling it out. Two undefeated teams on a Friday night? Inside BPS? Yes, please. If there was a roof it would be coming off. Can not wait.

Week 7: Kansas at BPS-  Cowboys 35, Jayhawks 30. Tough game against a good Kansas squad, that still feels weird to say. Last year, week 7 is where the wheels came off for KU and I think it will happen again. Jalon Daniels is special, but I just don't believe that there is enough talent around him to hold this team together for the entire gauntlet of a football season... yet. If they can continue to build talent, watch out for the Jayhawks in a few years. In the end, I don't think their defense will be able to hold the Cowboy offense back and Ollie Gordon runs for 150 yards, Mark it down.

Week 8: at Morgantown- Cowboys 30, Mountaineers 14. In years past, an October trip deep into the heart of the Appalachian Mountains to play West Virginia would have terrified me, and even this year screams trap game. But, in the end the Mountaineers are not good and may not even have the same head coach at this point in the season. Pokes win big.

Week 9: Cincinnati at BPS- Cowboy 24, Bearcats 17. I think Cincinnati is a really good football program and look for them to have success in the new Big12, but I think they will struggle in their inaugural season. I think playing power 5 opponents week in and week out will prove to be too much for them to sustain success. This will be doubly true for homecoming in Stillwater. The Bearcats will not have ever seen anything like the production and passion that goes into homecoming at Oklahoma State. Chalk up another W for the boys. 

Week 10: Bedlam at BPS- Cowboys 24, Sooners 30. I promised myself a long time ago that I will never pick Oklahoma State to win bedlam as long as Mike Gundy is coaching and I have to stick to that as much as it pains me to do it. If the Pokes are 8 and 1 coming into this game, Gundy will coach so tight he will squeak when he walks out onto that field. The last bedlam victory, the ultimate gotcha to OU fans when they start spewing the bedlam record on Twitter (X?). I want to be wrong here so badly, but I've been burned too many times. If we don't win another game, please God let us pull this one off. If the unthinkable happens and the Cowboys win this game, BPS may crumble to the ground. Our grandchildren will talk about the night the Pokes won the final Bedlam game and the celebration that followed. Please.

Week 11: at UCF- Cowboys 28, Golden Knights 20. Much like Cincinnati, UCF is a good program and I think  they will have some good teams, maybe some great ones if they can really start recruiting the state of Florida as a P5 team. For now, they I think they will struggle especially late in the grind of a Big12 season. Cowboys win.

Week 12: at Houston- Cowboys 34, Cougars 10. Houston is not ready for this conference and they do not have a good squad this year. I think defenses in the Big12 has caught up to Dana Holgerson's offensive mind and he is well beyond his glory days at West Virginia and Oklahoma State. Not a close game.

Week 13 BYU at BPS- Cowboys 28, Cougars 24. Many are writing off BYU this year and I think that is a mistake. They have a talented and experienced QB in Slovis and a promising young coach. I'd watch out for the Cougars to play spoiler for a lot of teams that are looking towards a conference title. Not the last game of the season in Stillwater though, Pokes get away with their lives. 

Why yes, I do have the Cowboys going 10-2 and making it to Arlington. Am I delusional? Possibly, but this schedule is perfect for the Cowboys to have a sneaky great season and they avoid playing a single regular season game against a school from Texas (sans Houston). It's like Gundy drew up the schedule himself. Keep in mind these predictions rely on a healthy squad, primarily at QB and O line. Either way I know we are in for one hell of a ride in 2023. Buckle up folks.

GO POKES. 

ALL ABOARD THE 2023 HYPE TRAIN!

 It may still be a sweltering 104 degrees outside, but the 2023 college football season is quickly upon us. I don't know about you, but I am quickly getting the "itch" and not just from the swamp ass because it is SO HOT OUTSIDE.  Every year towards the end of summer and start of fall, I start to read updates about fall camp and all the positivity from Gundy & CO and I can feel the optimism about the team rising inside me. Typically, by kickoff for the season opener I am ready to claim the Cowboys as a title contender and this year is no different. In this article, I will be giving you three reasons to empty your piggy banks and put it all on the pokes. 

1. Low expectations for Gundy typically equals over-achieving

           The Cowboys enter the 2023 season massively slept on coming in unranked in both the AP and Coaches preseason polls. Honestly, that's okay by me because that is when Gundy seems to be at his best. Going back over Mike's career there is example after example of the Pokes not being considered a threat in the conference much less the country. He always seems to shock the world, especially following a mediocre year before. One season that really seems to compare to this is 2015. Coming off an underwhelming 7-6 season in 2014, led by the one and only Daxx Garman, the cowboys were not considered a contender in 2015. However, Mason Rudolph, James Washington etc... comes bursting onto scene and they rattle off 3 consecutive 10 win seasons vaulting the Cowboys back into the national conversation.  Watch out for the bounce back cowboys this year.

        2. Allen Bowman

                With fall camp well under way I have been inhaling OSU content like a true addict. One thing that I keep hearing on every podcast and reading in every article is that everyone loves Allen Bowman. Bowman started his Oklahoma State career by taking his receivers to San Diego this summer to train and build the chemistry that is needed, especially for a transfer quarterback that does not have three years of practice with his teammates to rely on. The last two seasons Bowman has spent riding the pine and fighting injuries at Michigan, however, in his three years at Texas Tech, Bowman boasted a better than 65% and 1500+ yards passing per season. If Bowman can recapture the magic he found at Tech and stay healthy, with a loaded receiving corp, the sky is the limit for this offense. 

       3. Talented Playmakers on Defense

                With brand new Defensive Coordinator Bryan Nardo coming to Stillwater with a brand new defense, growing pains are to be expected this season. While the defensive scheme may have some questions, the playmakers on that side of the ball do not. Star linebacker Collin Oliver returns and seems to be on every available watchlist for end of the season awards at his position. Oliver looks to continue to build on an already impressive career. Rumblings of the absolutely huge nose tackle transfer Justin Kirkland keep coming from fall camp and I can not wait to watch the 6 foot 4 inch, 345 pound monster push opposing O-lines around. Not to mention that Kendal Daniels is coming into his sophomore season and I believe could find himself as the Big 12 defensive player of the year when it's all said and done. Long story short, this defense has explosive playmakers every you look and if Coach Nardo can put together a scheme that these guys can mesh with, Big 12 offenses better look out.

            While this may not be the most talked about Pokes team in recent memory, don't sleep on these cowboys because when the smoke clears, I could see this team making another trip to Arlington for a Big12 title. ALL ABOARD THE HYPE TRAIN!

Go Pokes!

WELCOME TO BLITZED!

  WARNING: This website will contain mostly the ramblings of a deranged Cowboys fan! 

    Join me in the highs and lows of fandom as we dive head first into anything and everything Oklahoma State related. Now, I am far from a professional journalist so do not expect deep and articulate (or even accurate) reporting about the pokes. I'll leave that up to the pros. BUT, you can expect knee jerk reactions, hate towards the bastards in Norman, and completely emotionally driven takes from a half drunk fanatic with the mouth of a sailor. So if that kind of thing is your jam, please stick around and read some posts, share, comment, and give feedback on the direction you'd like to see this thing go.

    I will try and post at least weekly during the football season but no promises because, like I said, this ain't my day job.

Go Pokes!