Oklahoma State vs. Missouri
January 3, 2014
AT&T Stadium (Arlington, TX)
Oklahoma State Season Review
Despite Oklahoma State’s record and impressive win over Baylor, they were very inconsistent as a team. Early on in the season, they had thought they settled on J.W. Walsh as their quarterback. But, after a loss to West Virginia and poor performances, the team made the switch to Clint Chelf. With Chelf under center, they slowed down on their aerial attack, and used a much more balanced attack, implementing Desmond Roland into the gameplan more, which paid major dividends, helping lead them over the Bears and put them in the driver's seat for the Big XII conference title. Unfortunately, the Cowboys fell to bitter rival, Oklahoma, in the Battle of Bedlam.
Missouri Season Review
Missouri was a pleasant surprise this season. After finishing near the bottom in their inaugural season in the SEC in 2012, the Tigers made it all the way to the conference championship game, where they fell to national title-bound Auburn. Their only other loss was a triple overtime to South Carolina, when kicker Andrew Baggett put a short field goal off the uprights.
Missouri's turnaround can be credited in large part to their defense dominating opponents and their receivers ability to win at all levels of the field. It also certainly helped that when James Franklin went down for a few weeks, Maty Mauck did a great job filling in.
Game Matchup
Oklahoma State Offense vs. Missouri Defense: The advantage on paper goes to Missouri. Despite the offensive improvements as the season has gone on, Oklahoma State is still very streaky. With Missouri's ability to rush the passer with Kony Ealy and Michael Sam, and with E.J. Gaines in the secondary, the Tigers should be able to force the Cowboys into many mental mistakes.
Missouri Offense vs. Oklahoma State Defense: The advantage on this side of the ball also goes to Missouri. Justin Gilbert is a phenomenal cornerback, but the Tigers also have two very big, physical receivers in Dorial Green-Beckham and L'Damian Washington. These receivers help open up running lanes for Franklin and Henry Josey to gash the defense.
Predicted Winner: Missouri
Draft Impact
Justin Gilbert (CB, Oklahoma State): Gilbert, as mentioned previously, is a very physical corner. His technique is a little stiff at times, but he has good length and has the ability to be put on an island. Many project Gilbert to be a first-round pick come May.
Michael Sam (LB, Missouri): Sam projects to be a rush linebacker in the NFL, but has shown ability to play with his hand in the ground. He has a good first step and does a good job finding the ball in the backfield and attacking.
Kony Ealy (DE, Missouri): Ealy looks to project as a defensive end in either a 4-3 or 3-4 scheme. He has great size and strength, and enough quickness to get in gaps when needed.
E.J. Gaines (CB, Missouri): Gaines is a physical corner who attaches himself to receivers and does not let them get free. He does a good job staying on their routes and following them closely, reading breaks very well.
L’Damian Washington (WR, Missouri): Washington has an incredibly high ceiling as a gamechanger at the next level. With incredible size (6'4", 205) and athletic ability, he also has long speed and shows a strong ability to track the ball. He will likely be a later round pick due to the depth of this year's receiving class, but Washington could be a steal when it's all said and done.