After Arrest, Cox Says Cowboys Ready For Prime Time

By JOHN P. WISE
One Great Season

STILLWATER, Okla. -- After Georgia blasted Oklahoma State in 2007, Cowboys Coach Mike Gundy said his team wasn't ready for big-time games like that one. But two years later, OSU players now say they're up to the challenge, including defensive back Perrish Cox, fresh off last week's arrest for allegedly driving with a suspended license.

Oklahoma State, unranked before the 2007 meeting with the traditionally strong Bulldogs, finds itself in a unique position -- ranked among the nation's top ten teams before a single game has been played.

Saturday's meeting at Boone Pickens Stadium will be one of the top games in the country this weekend, and it's arguably the biggest season opener in team history.

There's so much focus on the game that Gundy kept the media away from practice for 10 days. Monday's luncheon was the first chance for reporters to ask their oh-so-critical questions.

And Cox, one of the nation's top dual-threats -- he's a lockdown corner who returns kicks with the best of them -- said he thinks he and his defensive mates are ready to improve a unit that was among the worst in the country.

NCAA's Handshake Move Rattles Gundy

By JOHN P. WISE
One Great Season

STILLWATER, Okla. -- There's going to be some feel-good college football this weekend, particularly in Columbus when Ohio State fans are expected to stand and applaud when visiting Navy takes the field before it gets slaughtered by the Buckeyes.

YOUR THOUGHTS: Should teams shake hands before the game?

And in other games that don't have BCS implications, student-athletes will shake hands with their opponents before going to battle.

The NCAA has encouraged its schools to ask their players to meet their opponents at midfield for pregame handshakes this weekend. But some teams are thinking about things far more important than the practice of good sportsmanship.

Heck, here in Stillwater, Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy has a national championship to chase this year, beginning with a huge tilt at home Saturday against national power Georgia.

Monday was my first face-to-face exposure with the man whose "I'm-a-man-I'm-40" meltdown was a YouTube sensation in 2007, and he told a room full of reporters familiar with the program that he didn't want to get riled up about the handshake sitch. Gundy light-heartedly asked a reporter not to inquire about the NCAA's suggestion, but the reporter of course pressed anyway.

"You have 110 or 115 (Oklahoma State players) that could potentially be in uniform and (Georgia's) bringing approximately 70," Gundy reasoned. "It just takes one guy to pop off, and I don't know that we could get it broken up before the game. That's one thing that concerns us."

Should a pregame donnybrook ensue, you can bet you'll see pictures of it right here on One Great Season.

"I have a lot of respect for (Georgia) Coach (Mark) Richt and their team and I'm sure he probably does for us, but how do you control something like that?"

Though the game is just a few days away, Gundy said he's still uncertain what to do.

"We haven't made that decision," he said. "It's a difficult decision."