Independence Bowl Preview Part 1: A Cursory Glance

Taking a break from our typically shallow approach to bowl reviews, we'll be breaking down the OSU Cowboys today and tomorrow for our upcoming meeting in the Independence Bowl.  First, a cursory glance:

Oklahoma State 6-6 (3-5)

Missouri State- W 52-10
at Arkansas State- W 35-7
Florida Atlantic- W 48-8
at Houston- L 25-34
at Kansas State- L 27-31
at Kansas- W 42-32
(23) Texas A&M- L 33-34
(20) Nebraska- W 41-29
at (4) Texas- L 10-36
Baylor- W 66-24
at Texas Tech- L 24-30
(13) Oklahoma- L 21-27

Average margin of victory: 29
Average margin of defeat: 8.7

Looking at those numbers it would appear that the Cowboys were in every game they lost and dominated every game they won, but the margin of victory is padded with blowout wins over the likes of 1-AA Missouri State, Sun Belt members Arkansas State and Florida Atlantic, and Big 12 also ran Baylor.  The only win of worth for the Cowboys is over conference foe Nebraska, a team headed to the Cotton Bowl to face our own arch-rival Auburn.  The rest were over teams that are staying home this year (though Kansas was bowl eligible at 6-6).