By Paul Grange

Next Saturday when the Oklahoma State Cowboys take on the Wildcats of Arizona two things will be fresh in the felines minds: 1) the 84-0 molly-whopping that OSU just handed Savannah State in the battle of crushed self-esteem and 2) the swift and sharp 37-14 loss to the Cowboys last season. What’s changed since the Zona tasted cruel defeat on the same date last year? The Cowboys are minus WR Justin Blackmon, who caught 12 passes for 128 yards and scored two touchdowns on the Cats and QB Brandon Weeden, who racked up 397 yards in the air. So all things considered, the Wildcats should feel pretty good about that.

On the other hand the Cowboys are returning with a young man named Joseph Randle who the Arizona fans may remember as the guy that ran like Forrest Gump all over their defense for 121 yards on 15 carries reaching the end zone twice.

What do we know about the 2012 OSU Cowboys? We know that they can put numbers on the board. Ok so last week they played the Richardson Elementary School of the Blind, but 84 points in a football game is offensive feat regardless of who you are playing. The Milwaukee Bucks can’t score 84 points in double overtime. And chew on this, OSU freshman QB Wes Lunt went 11-for-11 with 129 yards in his debut. Their annihilation of Savannah State in week one allowed the team to gel, which in turn spells bad news for the Cats.

Last time the two schools met Wildcats QB Nick Foles had a solid performance, but this year he’ll be too busy trying to keep the third-string quarterback spot of the Philadelphia Eagles squad to help his alma mater. Arizona now relies on senior Matt Scott’s capable hands as he’s coming off a convincing performance completing 30 of 46 for 387 yards and two TDs in the 24-17 overtime win over Toledo. The win gave Zona’s first-year head coach Rich Rodriguez a chance to breathe easy although undoubtedly the upcoming game against OSU will send him to CVS for some TUMS.

OSU VS. ARIZONA

SAT. Sept. 8 9:30PM / Pac-12 Network

ARIZONA STADIUM