No. 9 Pokes get shot at revenge vs. No. 13 Georgia

STILLWATER, OKLAHOMA - For two years, Oklahoma State has been distancing itself from the memories of a disappointing day between the Hedges when it was whipped 35-14 in Athens.

A highlight factory of an offense and a landmark win against No. 3 Missouri last season has pushed the Cowboys into the Top 10 and created some hype for the program, just in time for the grand opening of $268 million in new facilities.

And look who's coming to town. No. 13 Georgia, the same SEC powerhouse that dashed Oklahoma State's hopes of breaking into the big time in 2007, will be the opponent when the ninth-ranked Cowboys test out their first preseason Top 10 ranking in school history.

``Any time you take a loss to anybody, as a natural competitor, you're going to want to prove yourself to the best of your ability,'' Oklahoma State offensive tackle Russell Okung said.

In what's billed as perhaps the best season opener at home ever for Oklahoma State, an offseason of big dreams can be validated with a win against the Bulldogs. Or they could be shattered again, just like two years ago.

``It's not as fun when you play a cupcake team early on in your schedule, and we're playing someone a national contender right off the bat,'' said linebacker Andre Sexton, who had seven tackles in the last meeting with the Bulldogs.

``It's something that everybody's excited for because you look forward throughout the offseason, spring ball and two-a-days. It just makes you work that much more harder.''

The Bulldogs will be only the second Top 25 team the Cowboys have hosted in a season opener, with the other being a 64-21 loss to No. 2 Nebraska in 1995. Billionaire booster T. Boone Pickens is expected to speak before the game at a rededication of the stadium that now bears his name.

``I know they are excited about opening up in their new stadium. I would be too from what I've seen on video and heard about. It should be an exciting day for them,'' Georgia coach Mark Richt said. ``Then we kick it off and we'll see what happens after that.''

Richt is 8-0 in season openers at Georgia, including two wins against Clemson and one against Boise State. He called this one perhaps the toughest he's faced. He'll no longer be able to rely on quarterback Matthew Stafford and running back Knowshon Moreno, both first-round picks in the NFL draft.

``They lost a couple of first-round picks, but Georgia's got players,'' Cowboys coach Mike Gundy said. ``They always have and I'm going to guess for a long time they always will.''

Senior Joe Cox, whose only career start came in 2006, will take over Georgia's offense while sophomore Richard Samuel is expected to be taking his handoffs.

``The good news is Joe knows the system. We don't have to sugarcoat anything for him,'' Richt said. ``He can run anything that we do from a mental point of view. There might be some things he does better physically than others. We won't say we'll throw every route that Matthew threw. We are going to do what Joe can do best.''

Since the teams last met with Gundy declaring that Oklahoma State was ``not ready for the big time'' afterward the Cowboys have catapulted from a team scraping to get into a bowl each year to one that's eyeing a Big 12 title and the school's first BCS appearance.

Unlike Georgia, three of the biggest cogs from OSU's high-scoring offense are back: quarterback Zac Robinson, Big 12 rushing leader Kendall Hunter and breakaway receiver Dez Bryant.

Their T-shirts and wristbands read ``270 STW 2 DFW,'' shorthand for the distance in miles from Stillwater to the Dallas area, where the Big 12 championship will be played. While the Georgia game won't impact the Big 12 South race, it'll give OSU an immediate feel for whether they're ready to take down division rivals Texas and Oklahoma.

``I'd say it's probably as big as it gets,'' Gundy said. ``If you were going to say the right thing publicly, you would say, `Oh, no, it's not anything like (the) Bedlam (rivalry against Oklahoma).' But I would say that there's a lot of excitement and the anticipation in the community is very much like what it would be in a Bedlam week.''