OSU football: The Six Shooter pregame thoughts on the Cowboys vs. Texas Tech

STILLWATER — Oklahoma State is set for its final home game of the 2020 season when it hosts Texas Tech at 11 a.m. Saturday at Boone Pickens Stadium, televised by Fox:

Time to unholster The Six Shooter: 

Cowboy in the Crosshairs

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Quarterback Spencer Sanders

It’s been an odd year for Sanders with all the time missed because of injury. He’s played 3 1/2 games and missed 3 1/2 games. The Cowboys clearly need him healthy to be able to move the ball, but he can’t flash back to last season, when he turned the ball over five times against Texas Tech.

Matchup that Matters

Texas Tech quarterbacks vs. OSU pass rush

Tech coach Matt Wells has said he might play both Alan Bowman and Henry Colombi on Saturday. But the goal for Oklahoma State doesn’t matter. The Cowboys have to get pressure. OSU has four players with at least three sacks this year, and all four of them have at least three quarterback hurries as well. Texas Tech has allowed 14 sacks in eight games this season.

Number to Know

603.5

That’s the average total yardage gained by Texas Tech in the last two meetings with OSU, both Tech victories. Even coming off its worst performance of the season against OU, the Cowboy defense is only giving up 337.3 yards per game this year.

Against the Spread

Under 54

The OSU offense isn’t firing on all cylinders, but the defense should bounce back strong after last week’s disappointment. Getting to 54 points seems like a stretch, considering it means one team might need to get up in the 35 range. The game line has moved down a little bit after OSU was a 12-to-13 point favorite early in the week. Now that number is down to 11, and it still feels like this game is going to be closer than that.

Uni-Guess

Orange-Black-Black

We’ve yet to see an orange helmet this season, so it seems like it should be coming at some point. Might as well be this week, with the chrome face masks and OSU on the side. 

1 Wild Prediction

Landon Wolf will lead OSU in receiving yards

Receiver Tylan Wallace is getting a lot of attention on the outside. The run game will keep the linebackers occupied. That should open up the middle of the field for slot receivers Wolf and Dillon Stoner, along with the tight ends.

(Wild Prediction record: Season, 3-4; All-time, 6-40)