Missouri 7 Point Underdogs Against No. 16 Oklahoma State

NFL News - October 16th, 2009 - Written by Scott

It's early in conference play this season, but Saturday's game featuring the Missouri Tigers and No.16 Oklahoma State could have an huge impact on the Big 12. The Tigers lost a heart breaker to Oklahoma Sate a year ago. The Oklahoma Cowboys ended Missouri's national title hopes last year as they defeated Oklahoma State 28-23. Missouri is coming off a tough lost last week to Nebraska and Oklahoma State had a close game with Texas A&M, but held on to get a 36-31 victory.

Missouri (4-1, 0-1) quarterback Blaine Gabbert will come into their game against Oklahoma State nursing a sore ankle. Gabbert has thrown for 1,295 yards and 11 touchdowns. He will need to improve on his accuracy as he had 26 incomplete passes last week. He is also effective running the ball, but his ankle injury could limit his ability to produce on the ground. Their rushing attack has gotten off to a slow start. Derrick Washington leads the Tigers in rushing this year with 381 yards and 2 touchdowns. Gabbert has a talented group of wide receivers to throw to and they are led by Jared Perry and Danario Alexander. They have combined for 896 yards and 9 touchdowns. They will need to find a way to revive their running game in order to take the pressure off of Gabbert.

Defensively, they will need to regroup after a fourth quarter meltdown last week against Nebraska. They were leading 12-0 going into the fourth quarter before collapsing and the Tigers were scorched for 27 points in the final period.

Oklahoma State (4-1, 1-0) will most likely be without quarterback Zac Robinson's favorite target Dez Bryant. Bryant has been declared ineligible for improper interaction with a former NFL player. Bryant is the team leader in receiving with 323 yards and 4 touchdowns and has missed the last 2 games. They do have four other receivers with over 100 yards that can get the job done. Robinson has thrown for 1,070 and 8 touchdowns with just 3 interceptions on the year. They also have 5 running backs with over 100 yards. Keith Toston is leading their ground game with 410 yards and 4 touchdowns.

The Cowboy's defense will need to pressure Gabbert on Saturday and follow up with their 4 sack performance a week ago. They have 11 sacks on the year and have shown that they can apply pressure all season.

Oklahoma State will be favored by 7 against Missouri according to BetUS sportsbook. The over/under is set at 54 1 1/2.

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