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GAME NOTES: Coming off a shocking loss, the 16th-ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys will look to avoid any further damage this weekend, as they host their second straight Conference USA opponent in the Rice Owls.

The Cowboys had a major letdown last weekend, as they were knocked off by visiting Houston, 45-35, in Stillwater. It was a puzzling result for OSU, which opened the season with one of its biggest wins in recent memory, a 24-10 triumph of then 13th-ranked Georgia.

"They get to see the other side of it now," said head coach Mike Gundy of the team's shocking loss following a big season-opening victory. "Everybody's been telling them how good they've been and how good they are. They're going to see the other side of it."

OSU had catapulted to the No.5 spot, its highest ranking since 1985, following the win over Georgia, but the loss to Houston dropped the Cowboys 11 spots in the most recent poll. While it was certainly a big drop off for OSU, there is still a lot of season left and the team has plenty of opportunities to rebound with several ranked opponents looming in the future.

As for the Owls, they are members of C-USA just like Houston, but they are in a rebuilding year, so don't expect them to perform like the Cougars did last weekend. Rice is facing its second consecutive Big 12 opponent, falling 55-10 at Texas Tech this past weekend. It marked the second of three straight road games for the Owls, who opened the season with 44-24 loss at UAB.

"Tough times don't last; tough teams do and that's what we're going to do," stated head coach David Bailiff. "We're going to persevere and keeping working hard. Great things are still in store for this football team."

In terms of the all-time series, OSU owns a 2-0-1 lead over Rice, but the schools haven't met on the gridiron since 1923.

The Owls are rebuilding this season and that is especially true on offense, where they lost several key players from last year's 10-win club. Rice has yet to find a solution under center and in last weekend's loss to Texas Tech, it rotated three quarterbacks that went a combined 25-of-41 for 197 yards, one touchdown and one interception. John Thomas Shepherd was the most successful of the three, as he led both scoring drives and hit on 14-of-19 tosses for 109 yards and a score. Shepherd is a senior, unlike his counterparts Nick Fanuzzi (sophomore) and Ryan Lewis (redshirt freshman), so even though he was successful last weekend, he may not get the most snaps considering the team is looking towards the future.

Rice didn't do much to take any pressure off its quarterbacks last weekend, as the team rushed for just 60 yards on 35 carries. It was a big drop off for the Owls, who gained 156 yards on the ground in the opener versus UAB. If the team is to keep OSU in check this weekend, it will certainly need more production from the ground attack.

In the team's opener, Rice was torched for over 500 yards of total offense and last weekend was the same story. Facing Texas Tech's pass-happy offense, the Owls surrendered 560 total yards, including 508 through the air. Rice gave up all eight touchdowns via the pass and allowed the Red Raiders to complete 40- of-63 tosses. The defense also failed to make any big plays, recording no turnovers or sacks, while permitting Texas Tech to convert 8-of-14 third downs and 2-of-3 fourth downs.

"We were there making plays it's just the last down and you've got to finish each drive and get off the field," said linebacker Terrance Garmon of the team's struggles on third and fourth down. "The longer you stay on the field, the longer the drive."

Garmon posted five tackles in the loss, while Andrew Sendejo paced the team with eight tackles.

The Cowboys are supposed to be one of the most explosive teams around, but they haven't been all that impressive after two games, at least for their standards. After posting just 307 total yards in an opening win over Georgia, OSU gained 434 versus a Houston team which it racked up almost 700 yards against in 2008. Furthermore, OSU turned the ball over four times last weekend and that certainly played a big part in the outcome.

"Ultimately, what it came down to was turnovers," said coach Gundy. "It was the opposite last week. We had the turnovers and they didn't."

OSU generated three turnovers and committed none against Georgia, but last weekend the team lost three fumbles and quarterback Zac Robinson had an interception returned for a touchdown with just over three minutes left that put the game away.

"They did a good job," Robinson said of the Cougars' defense. "They covered some guys, so I got picked off a couple times. They did a good job of covering up."

Robinson hasn't looked sharp thus far and has completed only 29-of-53 pass attempts with three touchdowns and one pick. Those numbers aren't horrible, but they aren't indicative of a quarterback who completed 65 percent of his tosses for over 3,000 yards in 2008.

One reason for Robinson and the offenses's struggles is that they haven't been getting the ball enough to Dez Bryant. The All-American wideout has just eight catches so far after hauling in 87 a year ago. He does have three touchdowns, including an 82-yard punt return this past weekend, but Bryant needs to touch the ball more in order for this group to be successful.

The Cowboys' ground game has been solid thus far and the group rushed for 194 yards and three touchdowns last weekend despite losing Kendall Hunter early in the game. The Big 12's leading rusher a year ago, Hunter ran for 29 yards and one touchdown last weekend before leaving with a leg injury. Hunter is listed as doubtful for this one, so expect Beau Johnson and Keith Toston to pick up the slack. Against Houston, both Johnson and Toston had a touchdown and they combined for 148 yards.

Entering the season, the talk in Stillwater was about how the defense was improved enough to complement the offense and make OSU legitimate national title contenders. After limiting Georgia to just 257 total yards in the opener, many believed this defense had really turned the corner. Last weekend, however, the defense and expectations were brought back to reality, as OSU was torched for 512 yards, including 366 through the air by Houston.

"Defensively, it's exactly what I thought after the game," said Gundy. "We gave up too many big plays, some of them due to missed tackles. When you attempt 50 or so passes and never tackle him with the ball behind the line of scrimmage is not good."

Houston completed nearly 70 percent of its pass attempts, didn't allow a sack and averaged 6.2 yards per play in exploiting OSU's defense for five touchdowns.

Patrick Lavine had 11 tackles, including two for losses, while Victor Johnson chipped in with nine stops in the setback.

OSU is coming off a devastating loss and rebounding will be easier said than done. Still, the Cowboys are facing a team they can beat with little effort, so expect them to run up the score in this one.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Oklahoma State 50, Rice 13