2013 Oklahoma State football's 10 things to know: The plug-and-play 'Pokes

What Mike Gundy lacks in tact, he makes up for with coaching prowess, and for the fourth straight year he will likely be at the reins of a top 15 team in Stillwater, at least as long as his staff changes are as successful as the last ones. For more OSU, visit Cowboys Ride for Free.

By Bill Connelly@SBN_BillC Jun 21, 2013, 10:19am EDT

Confused? Check out the glossary here.

1. Spoiler alert:

The numbers love Oklahoma State. When the Football Outsiders Almanac 2013 is released next month, it will project Oklahoma State sixth in the country with a 30 percent chance of winning the Big 12.

It's not hard to see what the numbers like so much, is it? The Cowboys have ranked 11th, third, and 12th in the F/+ rankings the last three years. The offense has ranked in the Off. F/+ top 15 for five of the last six years, the defense has ranked in the Def. F/+ top 25 for each of the last four, and special teams has been top-10 for three straight years. Recruiting is not elite, but it's good enough, and the schedule is favorable, with three of the conference's other four top teams coming to Stillwater.

Mike Gundy has built a wonderfully steady program. OSU took the field in 2012 without its most decorated player ever (two-time Biletnikoff winner Justin Blackmon) and its most successful quarterback ever (Brandon Weeden) but still ranked in the F/+ top 15, prevented only by three tight losses from reaching double-digit wins for the third straight year. The offense has survived multiple coordinator changes, and Gundy places as much pure speed on the field as any Big 12 team this side of Waco.

This is a rock-solid program, built for the long haul by a coach with attitude, smarts, great hair, and, as we've seen this offseason, outright ruthlessness. Gundy began the offseason by first flirting openly with a couple of SEC jobs, then cutting ties with successful defensive coordinator Bill Young, an OSU grad who'd inherited a mediocre unit and turned it into a consistent set of bend-don't-break ballhawks. He did so because Young is old, and because the top 25 is not good enough for his defense; he wants the top 10, which Young achieved in Def. F/+ only once.

Gundy also began the summer by severely restricting the list of schools to which quarterback Wes Lunt, last year's season-opening starter, could transfer, then by easing the restrictions when it was too late to matter.

Gundy's moves have been perfectly within the rules assigned to his profession, but if karma is a thing, OSU could be in trouble this year. Gundy has not won many friends and has not shown the desire to care about such a thing. But he wasn't hired to be a nice guy, and he hasn't brought unprecedented success to Stillwater (49 wins in five years) with empathy or a politician's penchant for baby-kissing.

He's here to win, and he's not afraid to offend. So far, it's worked. Will it in 2013?

More: Bill C. previews every Big 12 team And every other team, too

2012 Schedule & Results

Record: 8-5 \| Adj. Record: 12-1 \| Final F/+ Rk: 12
Date	Opponent	Score	W-L	Adj. Score	Adj. W-L
1-Sep	Savannah State	84-0	W	39.8 - 8.6	W
8-Sep	at Arizona	38-59	L	33.6 - 25.1	W
15-Sep	UL-Lafayette	65-24	W	45.8 - 22.7	W
29-Sep	Texas	36-41	L	46.1 - 26.5	W
13-Oct	at Kansas	20-14	W	15.3 - 24.1	L
20-Oct	Iowa State	31-10	W	38.6 - 25.1	W
27-Oct	TCU	36-14	W	40.1 - 22.6	W
3-Nov	at Kansas State	30-44	L	38.5 - 30.4	W
10-Nov	West Virginia	55-34	W	30.1 - 20.1	W
17-Nov	Texas Tech	59-21	W	46.0 - 19.8	W
24-Nov	at Oklahoma	48-51	L	38.1 - 27.9	W
1-Dec	at Baylor	34-41	L	28.8 - 27.6	W
1-Jan	vs. Purdue	58-14	W	39.0 - 23.4	W

Category	Offense	Rk	Defense	Rk
Points Per Game	45.7	3	28.2	64
Adj. Points Per Game	36.9	9	23.4	25

2. Plug-and-play, in the booth and on the field

It certainly looked a little strange. In last year's F/+ rankings, 11-2 Clemson came in at 22nd, 12-0 Ohio State ranked 14th, 11-2 South Carolina placed 13th ... and there Oklahoma State was, with five losses, sitting at 12th, just a few decimal points behind 12-2 Stanford.

Both pieces of the F/+ rankings -- my S&P+ rankings (10th) and Brian Fremeau's FEI (15th) -- loved what the 'Pokes brought to the table and saw how close they were to a much brighter season. They outgained Arizona by 135 yards in a turnovers-and-penalties loss to the Wildcats. They outgained Texas by 136 yards but had to settle for too many field goals in a five-point loss. They outgained KSU by 20 yards despite switching quarterbacks midgame, but bounces and turnovers doomed them. And they led Oklahoma for almost the entire game in Norman before allowing the tying score with four seconds left and falling in overtime.

OSU was not quite mature enough to avoid key mistakes or overcome bad breaks in 2012, but the Cowboys proved the foundation was strong. (And here's where I point out that Texas A&M and Notre Dame looked similarly out of place in the 2011 rankings; they turned out alright in 2012.) That they could play at such a high level on offense, not only without Weeden and Blackmon, but without any stability at the quarterback position, was amazing.

Lunt, then a true freshman, began the season as the starter but missed time with knee and head injuries. Redshirt freshman J.W. Walsh filled in capably for Lunt but went down with a knee injury. So Clint Chelf, Weeden's backup who began the season as a third-stringer, came in, completed 62 percent of his passes, and finished the season atop the depth chart.

Shuffling from quarterback to quarterback did almost nothing to damage OSU's offensive prowess:

Adj. Points Per Game with West Lunt (3.5 games): 37.9
Adj. Points Per Game with J.W. Walsh (4 games): 36.5
Adj. Points Per Game with Clint Chelf (5.5 games): 36.6

Similarly, Gundy has seen success no matter who is filling the offensive coordinator chair.

With Gunter Brewer in 2007-08, OSU ranked ninth and sixth, respectively, in Off. F/+; but following an injury-filled slump in 2009 (OSU fell to 66th), Gundy brought in Dana Holgorsen and watched the 'Pokes surge to 15th. Holgorsen left for West Virginia, so Gundy hired Todd Monken; the results: fourth in 2011, 12th in 2012. Monken is now the head coach of Southern Miss, so Gundy, never conventional, went after Shippensburg offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich. The Division II squad averaged 530 yards of offense (388 passing, 142 rushing) last season, and that was good enough for Gundy.

No matter the quarterback, no matter the coordinator, OSU's offense has been great for most of recent history. But every time you make another change, of course, you risk veering off-course.

Offense

Category	Yards/ Game Rk	S&P+ Rk	Success Rt. Rk	PPP+ Rk
OVERALL	4	21	28	19
RUSHING	21	36	31	37
PASSING	7	23	34	18
Standard Downs		16	30	14
Passing Downs		59	51	60
Redzone		21	29	18

Q1 Rk	12	1st Down Rk	14
Q2 Rk	38	2nd Down Rk	29
Q3 Rk	16	3rd Down Rk	31
Q4 Rk	13

3. Musical chairs at coordinator can catch up to you, Part I

It really is easy to simply assume that Yurcich will keep the offensive ship sailing at OSU. He improved Shippensburg's offense by 46 percent in two years, Gundy usually makes great hires, Gundy (a former quarterback and offensive coordinator himself) is around to keep things steady and keep the identity in place, and the personnel is experienced, deep, and amenable to the type of system Yurcich will run.

But nobody makes good hires 100 percent of the time. A decade or so ago, two stalwart programs, Florida State and Kansas State, each ran aground in part because of the number of times Bobby Bowden and Bill Snyder had to replace top assistants. We assume the odds are in Gundy's favor here, especially now that the culture he wanted to build has fully taken hold, but it's never a given.

Quarterback

Note: players in bold below are 2013 returnees. Players in italics are questionable with injury/suspension.

Player

Ht, Wt

2013
Year

Rivals

Comp

Att

Yards

Comp
Rate

INT

Sacks

Sack Rate

Yards/
Att.

Clint Chelf

6'1, 210

Sr.

*** (5.5)

119

197

1,588

60.4%

3.4%

7.6

J.W. Walsh

6'2, 205

So.

**** (5.9)

109

163

1,564

66.9%

2.4%

9.2

Wes Lunt

131

1,108

61.8%

0.8%

8.3

4. Wanted: passing downs magic

I've long held the theory that standard downs are the game-planning and execution downs, and passing downs are the "Hey quarterback, go make a play" downs.

Last year's top 10 in Standard Downs S&P+ (Georgia, Oregon, Arkansas, Nebraska, Florida State, Tennessee, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Alabama, Texas A&M) featured some of the better offensive coordinators/play-callers in the country. Meanwhile, the Passing Downs S&P+ list (Texas A&M, Clemson, Alabama, Arizona, Baylor, Georgia, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Oregon, USC) featured some of the best quarterbacks. Yes, there is plenty overlap there, and no, this is not meant as some black-and-white, rigid truism. But you can't play-call your way out of second- or third-and-long -- somebody has to make a play.

It probably should have been predictable, then, that an offense that was struggling to keep a healthy quarterback on the field would also be struggling to convert on passing downs. OSU ranked a healthy 16th on standard downs, with a nearly 50-50 split between rushing and passing and plenty of big plays, but the Cowboys were actually rather conservative on passing downs, choosing to either run or dump off to the running back quite a bit. Monken justifiably didn't trust the quarterbacks enough to just let loose. We'll see what changes Yurcich brings to the table in that regard, especially now that Chelf and Walsh are both quite a bit more experienced than they were a year ago.

(It also bears mentioning that Yurcich's system and Shippensburg utilized mobile quarterbacks to an extent, so the nimble Walsh will probably have a role to play in the offense whether he's the full-time starter or not.)

Running Back

Player	Pos.	Ht, Wt	2013 Year	Rivals	Rushes	Yards	Yards/ Carry	Hlt Yds/ Carry	TD	Adj. POE
Joseph Randle	RB				274	1,417	5.2	4.6	14	+6.5
Jeremy Smith	RB	5'10, 208	Sr.	**** (5.8)	70	371	5.3	4.2	8	+7.2
J.W. Walsh	QB	6'2, 205	So.	**** (5.9)	46	311	6.8	7.3	7	+6.7
Desmond Roland	RB	6'2, 210	Jr.	*** (5.5)	46	301	6.5	6.6	4	+6.5
Clint Chelf	QB	6'1, 210	Sr.	*** (5.5)	24	205	8.5	6.4	0	+7.9
Caleb Muncrief	RB	5'8, 190	So.	** (5.4)	14	57	4.1	2.4	0	-1.5
Corey Bennett	RB	5'9, 190	So.	NR	12	91	7.6	3.4	1	+1.1
Josh Stewart	IR	5'10, 185	Jr.	*** (5.7)	8	120	15.0	14.8	1	+6.6

Receiving Corps

Player

Pos.

Ht, Wt

2013
Year

Rivals

Targets

Catches

Yards

Catch Rate

Yds/
Target

Target
Rate

%SD

Real Yds/
Target

RYPR

Josh Stewart

5'10, 185

Jr.

*** (5.7)

135

101

1214

74.8%

9.0

28.4%

67.4%

8.9

155.0

Charlie Moore

6'2, 202

Sr.

** (5.4)

509

50.7%

7.4

14.5%

69.6%

7.1

65.0

Isaiah Anderson

407

47.8%

8.8

9.7%

65.2%

8.4

52.0

Blake Jackson

6'3, 235

Sr.

*** (5.7)

598

64.4%

13.3

9.5%

64.4%

13.0

76.4

Austin Hays

6'2, 185

So.

** (5.2)

394

69.0%

9.4

8.8%

73.8%

8.5

50.3

Joseph Randle

226

70.0%

5.7

8.4%

47.5%

5.4

28.9

Tracy Moore

6'2, 215

Sr.

*** (5.7)

283

64.5%

9.1

6.5%

61.3%

9.2

36.1

Blake Webb

5'11, 190

So.

*** (5.5)

218

73.7%

11.5

4.0%

57.9%

11.8

27.8

Kye Staley

5'10, 236

Sr.

**** (5.9)

166

92.3%

12.8

2.7%

69.2%

12.2

21.2

John Goodlett

5'10, 190

Sr.

62.5%

10.1

1.7%

50.0%

10.7

10.3

Jeremy Smith

5'10, 208

Sr.

**** (5.8)

50.0%

5.3

1.3%

83.3%

3.9

4.1

C.J. Curry

6'2, 205

RSFr.

**** (5.8)

50.0%

8.3

0.8%

75.0%

6.7

4.2

Brandon Sheperd

6'1, 195

So.

*** (5.6)

25.0%

0.3

0.8%

100.0%

0.2

0.1

Jhajuan Seales

6'2, 185

RSFr.

** (5.4)

Marcell Ateman

6'4, 189

Fr.

**** (5.8)

Ra'Shaad Samples

6'0, 170

Fr.

**** (5.8)

5. Wanted: consistency at wide receiver

We basiaclly know what we're getting from the OSU running game. If he can stay healthy, Jeremy Smith brings a nice combination of power and speed to the table (he proved that more in previous years than he did in 2012), Desmond Roland showed exciting explosiveness last season, and despite some short-yardage glitches last year, the OSU offensive line will really never be a concern for me as long as phenomenal OL coach Joe Wickline is still around.

But while the quarterback position was in flux last season, the receiving corps never totally gelled either. Josh Stewart was a perfectly strong possession receiver, with a 75 percent catch rate at only 12.0 yards per catch, while big targets like Blake Jackson and Tracy Moore proved to be matchup nightmares (with potentially iffy hands) when healthy (in Moore's case).

But there was no star, and there was only so much reliability. It further emphasizes how impressive this system is that OSU could provide such strong results with issues at quarterback and receiver (and with a shakier line than normal), but here we are. OSU is all but guaranteed to have a good offense, but receivers will need to step up to get OSU back in the Off. F/+ top five or so.

Blake Jackson. Richard Rowe, US Presswire.

Offensive Line

Category	Adj. Line Yds	Std. Downs LY/carry	Pass. Downs LY/carry	Opp. Rate	Power Success Rate	Stuff Rate	Adj. Sack Rate	Std. Downs Sack Rt.	Pass. Downs Sack Rt.
Team	104.6	3.28	2.91	44.6%	63.0%	18.1%	182.1	2.4%	2.5%
Rank	50	14	88	11	90	49	17	19	11

Player	Pos.	Ht, Wt	2013 Year	Rivals	Career Starts/Honors/Notes
Lane Taylor	RG				47 career starts; 2012 1st All-Big 12
Jonathan Rush	LG				24 career starts
Parker Graham	RG	6'7, 315	Sr.	** (5.2)	18 career starts
Evan Epstein	C				12 career starts
Daniel Koenig	RT	6'6, 310	Jr.	*** (5.6)	12 career starts
Brandon Webb	LG	6'3, 326	Sr.	**** (5.8)	5 career starts
Devin Davis	LT	6'5, 298	So.	*** (5.7)	1 career start
Jake Jenkins	C	6'3, 298	Jr.	*** (5.5)	1 career start
Eli Dickerson	RG	6'6, 310	Jr.	*** (5.6)
Chris Grisbhy	RG	6'5, 325	Jr.	*** (5.6)
Brandon Garrett	RT	6'5, 295	Jr.	** (5.4)
Michael Wilson	LT	6'6, 290	RSFr.	*** (5.7)
Paul Lewis	LG	6'3, 295	RSFr.	*** (5.5)
Zac Veatch	C	6'4, 290	RSFr.	*** (5.6)

Defense

Category	Yards/ Game Rk	S&P+ Rk	Success Rt. Rk	PPP+ Rk
OVERALL	82	26	37	23
RUSHING	38	26	32	24
PASSING	113	27	37	21
Standard Downs		58	70	50
Passing Downs		8	12	8
Redzone		21	23	21

Q1 Rk	42	1st Down Rk	41
Q2 Rk	13	2nd Down Rk	15
Q3 Rk	17	3rd Down Rk	16
Q4 Rk	48

6. Musical chairs at coordinator can catch up to you, Part II

You can't control an offensive coordinator leaving to take a head coaching job. That type of attrition can certainly catch up to you, as referenced above, but it is still a sign of success overall. Willingly giving up on a good defensive coordinator, however, is incredibly risky.

That Mike Gundy gave up on Bill Young after four straight seasons of top-25 defense (according to Def. F/+) proves how high Gundy is aiming for his program. That's fine. But risk is not always associated with reward.

OSU's 2012 defense regressed in comparison to the bend-don't-break masterpiece of 2011, but the components of the D were still pretty strong. The Cowboys were strong at preventing big plays, shut drives down beautifully on passing downs, and played rather stiff defense in the red zone. They struggled on standard downs more than they had recently, and they were less lucky in fumble recoveries (they recovered 20 of 27 opponent fumbles in 2011 but only 11 of 22 in 2012) and turning passes broken up into interceptions (17 percent of their passes defensed were interceptions in 2012 after an unsustainably high 28 percent in 2011; national average is around 21 percent). But this was still a pretty successful defense overall, and giving up on good in the quest for great can backfire.

Defensive Line

Category	Adj. Line Yds	Std. Downs LY/carry	Pass. Downs LY/carry	Opp. Rate	Power Success Rate	Stuff Rate	Adj. Sack Rate	Std. Downs Sack Rt.	Pass. Downs Sack Rt.
Team	105.1	2.87	2.89	36.7%	72.0%	23.2%	114.4	4.2%	5.4%
Rank	40	55	33	40	86	18	40	74	82

Name	Pos	Ht, Wt	2013 Year	Rivals	GP	Tackles	% of Team	TFL	Sacks	Int	PBU	FF	FR
Ryan Robinson	DE				13	28.5	3.5%	8	2.5	0	6	0	0
Calvin Barnett	DT	6'2, 300	Sr.	*** (5.7)	13	27.0	3.3%	8.5	1	0	1	0	0
Nigel Nicholas	DE				13	26.5	3.3%	5	4	0	2	2	1
James Castleman	DT	6'2, 296	Jr.	*** (5.7)	12	26.0	3.2%	6.5	1	1	3	0	0
Tyler Johnson	DE	6'1, 245	Sr.	** (5.4)	11	25.5	3.2%	6	4	1	1	2	1
Cooper Bassett	DE				13	19.5	2.4%	2	0	0	1	0	0
Anthony Rogers	DT	6'3, 293	Sr.	*** (5.6)	13	9.5	1.2%	3	0	0	0	0	0
Davidell Collins	DT	6'5, 275	Sr.	*** (5.6)	13	9.0	1.1%	1	0	0	2	0	1
Trace Clark	DE	6'4, 250	So.	*** (5.7)	8	4.5	0.6%	0	0	0	0	0	0
Christian Littlehead	DT				8	3.5	0.4%	0	0	0	0	0	0
Taylor May	DE	6'2, 240	So.	NR	3	2.0	0.2%	0	0	0	0	0	0
Jimmy Bean	DE	6'5, 245	So.	*** (5.7)
Eric Davis	DE	6'3, 275	RSFr.	*** (5.7)
Jeremiah Tshimanga	DE	6'2, 230	RSFr.	*** (5.7)
Emmanuel Ogbah	DE	6'4, 270	RSFr.	*** (5.6)
Victor Irokansi	DE	6'3, 240	RSFr.	*** (5.6)
Sam Wren	DE	6'2, 255	Jr.	*** (5.6)
Naim Mustafaa	DE	6'3, 230	Fr.	*** (5.7)
Vincent Taylor	DT	6'3, 277	Fr.	*** (5.7)

Linebackers

Name	Pos	Ht, Wt	2013 Year	Rivals	GP	Tackles	% of Team	TFL	Sacks	Int	PBU	FF	FR
Alex Elkins	WLB				13	69.5	8.6%	3.5	1.5	0	0	1	0
Shaun Lewis	SLB	5'11, 225	Sr.	**** (5.8)	13	54.0	6.7%	7.5	2.5	0	4	1	1
Caleb Lavey	MLB	6'3, 235	Sr.	*** (5.7)	13	49.0	6.1%	7	1.5	0	0	1	0
Joe Mitchell	SLB	6'3, 225	Sr.	*** (5.5)	13	21.5	2.7%	4.5	2.5	0	1	0	2
Ryan Simmons	WLB	6'0, 242	So.	*** (5.7)	13	21.0	2.6%	4.5	0.5	0	1	1	0
Nico Ornelas	WLB				13	15.5	1.9%	0	0	0	1	0	1
Kris Catlin	WLB	6'1, 225	So.	*** (5.7)	12	8.5	1.1%	1	0	0	0	1	0
DeMarcus Sherod	MLB	6'0, 225	So.	*** (5.7)	12	6.0	0.7%	1.5	0	0	0	0	0
Seth Jacobs	SLB	6'2, 220	RSFr.	**** (5.8)

7. Playmaking in the front…

New defensive coordinator (and current and former linebackers coach) Glenn Spencer has promised a more aggressive style of play, complete with attacking, blitzing defense. He certainly has some potentially exciting personnel for this, with four returning linebackers who logged at least 4.5 tackles for loss in 2012 and a nice pair of tackles in Calvin Barnett and James Castleman. The end position is quite green, but there is a lot of speed here.

(Spencer, by the way, used the word "aggressive" like he had an endorsement deal with it this spring, promising a "return" to the aggressive success of 2011. But a lot of the difference between 2011 and 2012 was simple luck in the number of bouncing balls that landed in defenders' hands. OSU's sack rate actually improved by quite a bit in 2012, and the run defense was equal in 2011 and 2012. Plus, the biggest dropoff in 2012 came in defending the pass on standard downs. You can't really blitz more on standard downs without risking getting gashed by the run, so it's not entirely clear to me what increased aggression will do to solve OSU's problems, as they were, from 2012.)

Secondary

Name	Pos	Ht, Wt	2013 Year	Rivals	GP	Tackles	% of Team	TFL	Sacks	Int	PBU	FF	FR
Daytawion Lowe	FS	5'11, 205	Sr.	**** (5.8)	13	66.5	8.2%	3	1	2	4	1	1
Shamiel Gary	SS	6'0, 210	Sr.	** (5.1)	13	66.0	8.2%	1	0	2	4	1	0
Tyler Patmon (2012 Kansas)	CB	5'11, 170	Sr.	*** (5.6)	12	55.0	8.1%	4	1	3	8	0	0
Justin Gilbert	CB	6'0, 200	Sr.	**** (5.8)	13	58.5	7.2%	2	0	0	9	1	0
Brodrick Brown	CB				13	29.0	3.6%	3	1	0	2	0	1
Lyndell Johnson	SS	6'3, 215	Jr.	*** (5.7)	9	26.0	3.2%	6.5	2	2	1	1	1
Ashton Lampkin	CB	5'11, 180	So.	*** (5.7)	13	18.0	2.2%	0	0	1	0	0	0
Kevin Peterson	CB	5'11, 185	So.	*** (5.6)	13	18.0	2.2%	0	0	0	2	0	0
Larry Stephens	FS	5'10, 185	Sr.	*** (5.6)	13	13.5	1.7%	1	0	0	0	0	0
Zack Craig	SS	6'1, 200	Sr.	*** (5.5)	13	12.5	1.5%	2	1	1	4	0	0
Deion Imade	FS	5'11, 205	Sr.	*** (5.5)	11	4.0	0.5%	0	0	0	1	0	0
Miketavius Jones	CB	5'10, 175	So.	*** (5.5)	10	3.0	0.4%	0	0	0	0	0	0
Jerell Morrow	CB	5'11, 180	Fr.	**** (5.8)
Darius Curry	DB	6'1, 190	Fr.	*** (5.7)
Deric Robertson	DB	6'2, 195	Fr.	*** (5.7)

8. …play-prevention in the back

OSU wasn't quite as elite in preventing big plays in 2012, but it was still an area of strength. Daytawion Lowe is one of the nation's best safeties, and despite being a little leaky on standard downs, OSU got mostly strong coverage from corners Justin Gilbert and Brodrick Brown.

Brown's gone, but Kansas transfer Tyler Patmon, part of an underrated KU defensive backfield last year, is immediately eligible as a fifth-year transfer, and everybody not named Brown returns. The secondary has been an OSU strength for a while, and it should more than suffice in 2013, It has both depth and a super steady set of safeties in Lowe, Shamiel Gary, and big converted linebacker Lyndell Johnson.

Special Teams

Punter	Ht, Wt	2013 Year	Punts	Avg	TB	FC	I20	FC/I20 Ratio
Quinn Sharp			44	46.3	2	12	18	68.2%

Kicker	Ht, Wt	2013 Year	Kickoffs	Avg	TB	TB%
Quinn Sharp			103	62.8	71	68.9%
Bobby Stonebraker	6'0, 175	Jr.	6	53.7	3	50.0%

Place-Kicker	Ht, Wt	2013 Year	PAT	FG (0-39)	Pct	FG (40+)	Pct
Quinn Sharp			72-72	19-19	100.0%	9-15	60.0%

Returner	Pos.	Ht, Wt	2013 Year	Returns	Avg.	TD
Justin Gilbert	KR	6'0, 200	Sr.	32	25.8	1
Jeremy Smith	KR	5'10, 208	Sr.	5	17.6	0
Charlie Moore	PR	6'2, 202	Sr.	20	7.2	0
David Glidden	PR	5'7, 185	So.	6	4.5	0

Category	Rk
Special Teams F/+	10
Net Punting	3
Net Kickoffs	11
Touchback Pct	4
Field Goal Pct	19
Kick Returns Avg	12
Punt Returns Avg	24

9. Quinn Sharp was a badass

There's no other way to put it. He was an all-conference kicker and punter in 2011 and 2010, an all-conference punter in 2010, an All-American punter in 2010, an All-American kicker in 2011-12, and a semifinalist for both the Ray Guy (punter) and Lou Groza (kicker) awards in his career. OSU rode his leg to a No. 3 ranking in net punting, a No. 4 ranking in touchback percentage, and a No. 11 ranking in net kickoffs, and Sharp didn't miss a kick of under 40 yards all season, either via PAT or shorter field goal. He was absolutely incredible.

And he's now gone. OSU hasn't had kicking problems for a while (Sharp's punting predecessor, Matt Fodge, won the Ray Guy Award), and there's no guarantee that Sharp's replacement(s) will be poor. But there's almost nowhere to go but down for OSU's special teams unit, even with kick returner Justin Gilbert returning.

2013 Schedule & Projection Factors

2013 Schedule
Date	Opponent	Proj. Rk
31-Aug	vs. Mississippi State	51
7-Sep	at UTSA	114
14-Sep	Lamar	NR
28-Sep	at West Virginia	41
5-Oct	Kansas State	40
19-Oct	TCU	16
26-Oct	at Iowa State	76
2-Nov	at Texas Tech	42
9-Nov	Kansas	104
16-Nov	at Texas	11
23-Nov	Baylor	36
7-Dec	Oklahoma	7

Five-Year F/+ Rk	9
Two-Year Recruiting Rk	29
TO Margin/Adj. TO Margin*	0 / +1.7
TO Luck/Game	-0.7
Approx. Ret. Starters (Off. / Def.)	13 (6, 7)
Yds/Pt Margin**	-3.0

10. Why can't the 'Pokes start 9-0?

Primarily because of the changes in coordinator and my uncertainty about the defense (the changes we're hearing about aren't necessarily the changes OSU needs), I feel slightly less comfortable about OSU than I do Texas and TCU overall. But I still see the 'Pokes as a top 15 team, and I love their schedule. They should be built to survive early trips to Houston (to face Mississippi State) and Morgantown, and they get Kansas State and TCU at home. They could potentially be favored to win each of their first nine games before a brutal closing set against Texas, Baylor, and Oklahoma. But even then, two of those final three games are in Stillwater.

OSU is not a threat to go undefeated by any means, but the combination of schedule and experience should get them very far in the Big 12 title race. What Mike Gundy lacks in tact, he makes up for with prowess, and for the fourth straight year he will likely be at the reins of a top 15 team.