Breaking down the Oklahoma State offense

Nebraska Opponent Offensive Scouting Report

Team: Oklahoma State Cowboys

Location: Stillwater, Okla.

Colors: Orange & Black

Enrollment: 32,000

Stadium: Boone Pickens Stadium (60,218) in Stillwater, Okla.

Conference: Big 12 (South Division)

Head Coach: Mike Gundy (Oklahoma State, 1990), 42-27 in six seasons

Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks: Dana Holgersen

2010 Record: 6-0 (2-0 Big 12)

National Ranking: No. 17 (AP), No. 15 (Coaches)

Series Record vs. Nebraska: Nebraska leads 36-5-1

Game Date: Saturday, Oct. 23

Game Time: 2:30 p.m. CT

TV: ABC

Radio: Husker Sports Network

Signal-Caller: Brandon Weeden (6-4, 219) has made a strong transition from professional baseball player to gun-slinging quarterback. The junior signal-caller guides the nation's third-ranked passing attack by racking up 315.7 total offense yards per game, including 1,966 yards on 155-of-225 passing. Weeden has 19 passing touchdowns against eight interceptions, although he has tossed two INTs in each of the past three contests. Overall, he has thrown for more than 300 yards in four of the first six games this fall with a high of 409 yards and six TDs against Tulsa. A pocket passer, Weeden does not run by design, as all eight of his rushing attempts this fall have come on sacks.

On the Ground: Kendall Hunter (5-8, 200) has returned to the form of two years ago when he was a first-team All-American and led the Big 12 Conference in rushing yards, averaging 119.6 ypg to rank seventh nationally. This fall, Hunter has rushed 135 times and recorded 830 of the Cowboy's 1,046 rushing yards. His 138.3 ypg ranks fifth in the country as he has produced at least 120 yards in four games. Hunter now has 3,463 rushing yards and 31 touchdowns in his career. Behind Hunter, Joseph Randle (6-0, 193) has 45 carries for 224 yards and one touchdown while Jeremy Smith (5-10, 203) is the only other Cowboy with double figure carries (20 rushes, 76 yards, 2 TD).

Catching It: Justin Blackmon (6-1, 205) is not only the Cowboys' top receiver, but has put up All-America numbers as a sophomore. He leads the country in receiving yardage with 159.2 ypg, almost 30 ypg more than second place. He has 955 receiving yards after posting six straight 100-yard games, including a career-best 207 yards on 10 catches last week at Texas Tech. It was his fourth game with double-figure receptions this fall and Blackmon now owns 12 of the team's 21 receiving touchdowns this year. Josh Cooper (5-11, 188) is second on the squad with 27 catches for 297 yards while Joseph Randle (6-0, 193), Kendall Hunter (5-8, 200), Tracy Moore (6-1, 230) and Bo Bowling (5-9, 183) each also have double-figure receptions this season.

On the Line: LT Nick Martinez (6-4, 315), LG Jonathan Rush (6-4, 308), C Grant Garner (6-3, 291), RG Lane Taylor (6-3,315) and RT Levy Adcock (6-5, 318) have paved the way for an offense averaging 174.3 ypg on the ground and 361.0 ypg through the air. While they have allowed eight sacks, which ranks 34th nationally, the group has helped OSU to the second-highest total offense average (535.3 ypg) in the country entering the matchup with Nebraska. They've also helped OSU rank second in scoring, as it averages 49.5 ppg.

Kicking It Around: After making 35- and 32-yard field goals last weekend, PK Don Bailey (6-0, 197) now ranks second nationally with 2.2 field goals per game. He has made 13 straight field goals to open this season while connecting on 21 of his last 22 attempts dating to last year. Bailey has hit six attempts from 40-plus yards this fall, including booting a 47-yarder and a pair of 52-yarders against Louisiana two weeks ago.

They Said It: "That was a good win for our football team. I thought it was the most complete game that we have played in all three phases. We started fast on offense then we went into a lull for a little while and the defense picked us up. Same thing happened when the defense allowed a couple of long drives then the offense was able to come back in and (Justin) Blackmon made a big play."

--- Head coach Mike Gundy following last week's 34-17 win at Texas Tech

Quick hits

***Oklahoma State earned a 34-17 road win against Texas Tech last weekend. With the win, the Cowboys snapped an 0-9-2 streak against the Red Raiders in Lubbock, making it OSU's first road win in the series since 1944.

*** Last week's victory moved OSU to 6-0 on the year, the fourth time in program history the Cowboys have won their first six games of the season and the second time in three seasons.

***This season, WR Justin Blackmon is tied for first nationally in scoring (13.0 ppg) while PK Don Bailey is third (12.5 ppg) and RB Kendall Hunter is tied for 14th (10.0 ppg).

***After last week's performance, PK Dan Bailey moved into third place on the school's career scoring list as he now has 296 points. RB Kendall Hunter also moved into 11th place on the school scoring list with 198 points in his career.

***Last week's 207-yard receiving performance by Justin Blackmon was the eighth 200-yard receiving game in school history. It was his sixth straight game with at least 100 receiving yards, the longest mark by a Cowboy since Hart Lee Dykes had an eight-game streak in 1988.

Oklahoma State Cowboys 2010 Schedule/Results

9/4 Washington State W, 65-17

9/11 Troy, W, 41-38

9/18 Tulsa, W, 65-28

9/30 Texas A&M, W, 38-35

10/8 at Louisiana, W, 54-28

10/16 at Texas Tech, W, 34-17

10/23 Nebraska, 2:30 p.m. CT

10/30 at Kansas State, TBA

11/6 Baylor, TBA

11/13 at Texas, TBA

11/20 at Kansas, TBA

11/27 Oklahoma, TBA