News Releases

The Basics

The Oklahoma State football team (6-6 overall; 3-6 Big 12) makes its 13th consecutive bowl appearance when it travels to Memphis to face No. 23/24/RV Missouri (8-4 overall; 4-4 SEC) in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl at 2:45 p.m. CT on Monday, Dec. 31 in Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.

 

On the Air

The game will be televised by ESPN with Clay Matvick, Dan Orlovsky and Paul Carcaterra on the call. ESPN Radio will be on hand as well, with Dave Lamont, Ray Bentley and Alyssa Lang bringing the game to a national audience. The contest will also be carried live on the Cowboy Radio Network and streamed to okstate.com with Dave Hunziker handling play-by-play, John Holcomb providing analysis and Robert Allen reporting from the sideline.

 

The Series

The Liberty Bowl marks the 53rd meeting between Oklahoma State and Missouri, and the second time the teams have faced each other in a bowl game. The series dates back to 1915, with Mizzou leading, 29-23-0. The teams met every year from 1960 through 1995 during Big Eight play, and met regularly from 1996-2011 as part of Big 12 Conference play. With the last matchup coming as part of the 2013 season, the five-year stretch between meetings marks the longest since an eight-season break between meetings in 1952 and 1960. Although the Tigers were 41-31 winners the last time the teams met in Cotton Bowl to close the 2013 season, the Cowboys have won three of the past four matchups and four of the past six, including each of the past three meetings when the Tigers were part of the Big 12. Mike Gundy is 3-2 in his career against Missouri, while Barry Odom is facing OSU for the first time.

 

Oklahoma State Among The Best In Bowl Games

Oklahoma State is 18-10 in its 28 all-time bowl appearances. Its 63 percent winning percentage ranks fourth among all schools with a minimum of 20 bowl appearances. A closer look:

 

School	Games	Wins	Losses	Ties	Pct.
Utah	21	17	4	0	0.81
USC	52	34	18	0	0.654
Ole Miss	37	24	13	0	0.649
Oklahoma State	28	18	10	0	0.643
Florida State	46	28	16	2	0.63
Penn State	48	29	17	2	0.625
Syracuse	25	15	9	1	0.62
Mississippi State	21	13	8	0	0.619
Alabama	68	40	25	3	0.61
Georgia	54	31	20	3	0.602

 

Oklahoma State's Bowl Results

1945	Cotton Bowl	vs. TCU	W	34-0
1946	Sugar Bowl	vs. St. Mary's	W	33-13
1949	Delta Bowl	vs. William & Mary	L	0-20
1958	Bluegrass Bowl	vs. Florida State	W	15-6
1974	Fiesta Bowl	vs. BYU	W	16-6
1976	Tangerine Bowl	vs. BYU	W	49-21
1981	Independence Bowl	vs. Texas A&M	L	16-33
1983	Bluebonnet Bowl	vs. Baylor	W	24-14
1984	Gator Bowl	vs. South Carolina	W	21-14
1985	Gator Bowl	vs. Florida State	L	23-34
1987	Sun Bowl	vs. West Virginia	W	35-33
1988	Holiday Bowl	vs. Wyoming	W	62-14
1997	Alamo Bowl	vs. Purdue	L	20-33
2002	Houston Bowl	vs. Southern Miss	W	33-23
2004	Cotton Bowl	vs. Ole Miss	L	28-31
2004	Alamo Bowl	vs. Ohio State	L	7-33
2006	Independence Bowl	vs. Alabama	W	34-31
2007	Insight Bowl	vs. Indiana	W	49-33
2008	Holiday Bowl	vs. Oregon	L	31-42
2010	Cotton Bowl	vs. Ole Miss	L	7-21
2010	Alamo Bowl	vs. Arizona	W	36-10
2012	Fiesta Bowl	vs. Stanford	W	41-38 (OT)
2012	Heart of Dallas Bowl	vs. Purdue	W	58-14
2014	Cotton Bowl	vs. Missouri	L	31-41
2015	Cactus Bowl	vs. Washington	W	30-22
2016	Sugar Bowl	vs. Ole Miss	L	20-48
2016	Alamo Bowl	vs. Colorado	W	38-8
2017	Camping World Bowl	vs. Virginia Tech	W	30-21

 

Oklahoma State From a Distance

Oklahoma State is 6-6 on the year and enters the AutoZone Liberty Bowl on a streak of 13 consecutive bowl appearances that represents the ninth-longest active streak in the nation and the longest in school history. With a win against Missouri, the Cowboys will secure a 13th consecutive winning season, which also represents the longest streak in OSU history. As is customary for Oklahoma State during the Mike Gundy era, the Cowboys have one of the most explosive offenses in the nation. OSU ranks among the top 15 teams in the FBS in scoring offense (14th with 38.4 points per game), total offense (10th with 500.0 yards per game), passing offense (12th with 307.9 yards per game) and first downs (ninth with 312). From an individual perspective, quarterback Taylor Cornelius is third in the Big 12 and ranks 10th nationally with 3,642 passing yards. His 335.6 yards of total offense per game ranks third in the Big 12 and seventh nationally and ranks as the third-most productive season for a quarterback in OSU history, trailing only Mason Rudolph's 379.9 yards per game in 2017 and Brandon Weeden's 355.8 yards per game in 2011. Cornelius was the Walter Camp National Player of the Week after passing for 338 yards, rushing for 106 and accounting for six total touchdowns in the Cowboys' win over No. 7 West Virginia He became only the third player in Big 12 history to have 300 yards passing, 100 yards rushing and five passing touchdowns in a game, as well as the first player in OSU history to pass for 300 yards and rush for 100 yards in the same game. His primary target in the passing game is All-America receiver Tylan Wallace, who was one of three national finalists for the Biletnikoff Award presented to the nation's outstanding receiver this year. Wallace leads the FBS in yards per reception (min. 60 catches) with 17.82, 100-yard games (seven) and 200-yard games (two). In addition, he ranks among the top five nationally in receiving yards (third with 1,408) and receiving yards per game (third with 117.3) and is 11th in FBS with 11 receiving touchdowns. Though he will miss the bowl game, running back Justice Hill was a star performer as well, averaging 93.0 yards per game and 5.9 yards per rush. With Hill out, redshirt freshman Chuba Hubbard has filled in admirably with back-to-back 100-yard games against a pair of top-10 opponents in Oklahoma and West Virginia. Hubbard carried 22 times for 104 yards and three touchdowns against OU and had 26 carries for 134 yards against WVU. Defensively, Oklahoma State has done its best work in opposing backfields. The Cowboys lead the Big 12 and rank fifth nationally with 3.25 sacks per game and rank second in the Big 12 and 12th nationally with 7.8 tackles for loss per game. Another area where the OSU defense has performed well is in the red zone, where the Cowboys rank first in the Big 12 and seventh nationally by limiting opponents to scores 72.9 percent of the time. Defensive end Jordan Brailford leads the Big 12 and ranks 18th in the FBS with 0.75 sacks per game and ranks third in the Big 12 and 22nd nationally with 1.3 tackles for loss per game.

 

Missouri From a Distance

Missouri finished the regular season with an 8-4 overall record and 4-4 mark in SEC games, rounding out the regular season with a four-game win streak that began with a win at then-No. 13 Florida, 38-17. Its regular-season wins total marks just the 12th time in the last 60 years and first time since 2014 it has reached eight wins, as coach Barry Odom became just the fourth Mizzou coach to finish a regular season with eight wins in one of his first three seasons. Odom is also just the fourth Mizzou head coach to earn bowl eligibility in two of his first three seasons, and he is the first to do so since Warren Powers did so from 1978-81. The Tigers are led offensively by senior quarterback Drew Lock, who ranks as the SEC's second all-time leading passer with 11,820 passing yards and is third on the all-time conference list with 96 career passing touchdowns. The Mizzou offense enters bowl season ranked among the FBS leaders in total offense (18th), scoring offense (18th), third-down percentage (18th) and first downs offense (20th). Defensively, the Tigers have allowed opponents to convert third downs at just a 31.8 percent rate to rank 13th in the FBS. Mizzou's defense has held opponents to converting on fourth downs at just a 29.2 percent clip to rank No. 2 in FBS. Mizzou has also allowed just 217 total first down to opponents this season, ranking No. 21 nationally.

 

An Oklahoma State Win Would...

• Guarantee a winning record for the 13th straight season, extending the longest such streak in school history.

• Make OSU 6-1 in its past seven games vs. opponents ranked in the top 25 of the A.P. poll.

• Mark OSU's fourth straight win vs. non-conference opponents ranked in the top 25 of the A.P. poll.

• Improve the Cowboys to 25-10 in their last 35 games and 39-15 in their last 54 games overall.

• Make the Cowboys 24-29-0 all-time vs. Missouri.

• Improve Mike Gundy's record vs. Missouri to 4-2.

• Improve Mike Gundy's bowl record to 9-4.

• Give OSU a 19-10 all-time record in bowl games, ranking among the top five bowl winning percentages among teams with at least 20 appearances.

• Mark the third straight season it has won a bowl game, its fourth bowl win in the last five seasons and its seventh bowl win in the last nine seasons.

• Improve Mike Gundy's record in non-conference games to 49-11.

• Give OSU 10 straight wins in non-conference games, matching its fourth-longest streak in program history.

• Improve the Cowboys to 32-5 in their last 37 non-conference games.

• Improve Mike Gundy's record vs. current members of the SEC to 11-8, with a 3-3 record in neutral site games.

• Improve OSU to 8-9-0 all-time in neutral site games against current members of the SEC.

 

Notable Streaks and Trends Entering the Game

• Oklahoma State has won 24 of its last 34 games overall.

• OSU is 17-6 in its last 23 games decided by less than 10 points.

• OSU has scored on its opening drive in six of its last eight games.

• OSU has won 20 of its last 21 games when leading at halftime, dating to Sept. 17, 2016.

• Matt Ammendola has made 26 of his last 32 field goal attempts, and 28 of his last 35 tries.

• OSU has won three straight overtime games.

• OSU has had at least one 100-yard receiver in 13 of its last 17 games.

• OSU has had a 100-yard rusher in 16 of its last 26 games.

• OSU has outrushed its opponent in 17 of its last 26 games and in 19 of its last 29 games.

• Oklahoma State has won 38 of its last 53 games overall, dating back to the end of the 2014 season.

• OSU has forced at least one turnover in 36 of its last 39 games and in 45 of the last 49 games, dating to 2015.

• Dating back to 2005, the Cowboys have won 35 of their last 37 games when not committing a turnover.

• Dating back to 2008, the Cowboys have won 58 of their last 63 games when winning the turnover battle.

• Dillon Stoner has at least one catch in each of his last 24 games.

 

-----

The Cowboys wrap up the 2018 season at the AutoZone Liberty Bowl on New Year’s Eve, with kickoff set for 2:45 p.m. CT on ESPN. Tickets are still available at www.okstate.com/tickets or by calling the OSU ticket office at 877-ALL-4-OSU.