When unbeaten and No. 20 Oklahoma State takes the field this Saturday afternoon against Texas Tech, they could do so without a trio of wide receivers who have already contributed to varying degrees this season.
Michael Harrison, who caught a touchdown pass in the win over Louisiana-Lafayette last Friday, has already been ruled out of the conference match-up because of a fractured finger. Surgery was performed on the injured digit and the receiver is expected to be out for a period of around ten days.
The Cowboys’ second-leading receiver, Josh Cooper (22 receptions, 259 yards), suffered a head injury in the same game and head coach Mike Gundy is uncertain whether or not he’ll play. Hubert Anyiam, OSU’s fourth-leading receiver in yardage, has a sprained ankle and appears to be doubtful.
Of course, when you have, statistically speaking, the best receiver in the country -- Justin Blackmon‘s 15.9 receptions per game are nearly five catches better than No. 2; his 149.6 yards per game is more than 23 yards more than the nearest receiver -- does it really matter all that much who else is available?
Especially when you consider the Red Raider defense they’ll be facing this weekend is 114th in the nation in pass defense. Dana Holgorsen‘s chops, meet licked.