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Oklahoma States climb to near the top of the college football rankings last season surprised many experts.The Cowboys wont sneak up on anyone this year. Quarterback Mason Rudolph returns to lead a program that went to the Sugar Bowl last season and was ranked as high as No. 4 nationally.Coach Mike Gundy is proud of what he has accomplished at his alma mater, and he doesnt think its success should shock anyone at this point. The Cowboys have 10 straight winning seasons and 10 consecutive bowl appearances. The media picked them to finish third in the Big 12 this season.We all know that theres a lot of things that we do that are good, but if we dont win, Im not standing up here for 12 years, so it doesnt make a difference, he said. Weve been able to perform on the field more quickly than ever in the history of this program consistently.If the Cowboys take another step forward this season, Rudolphs arm likely will be the main reason. He passed for 3,770 yards and 21 touchdowns last season to post one of the best campaigns in school history.Rudolph wont have J.W. Walsh to step in for him in red zone situations this season. Walsh had 13 rushing and 13 passing touchdowns last season. Gundy wouldnt mind having another dual-threat quarterback to play Walshs role, but he feels Rudolph is capable of producing.Hes a good throwing quarterback inside the five yard line, Gundy said. Hes been pretty accurate. Well lean more toward those plays than trying to draw up something new.Here are some things to watch for from the Cowboys this season:BARRY J. SANDERS: The son of Oklahoma States 1988 Heisman winner is a graduate transfer from Stanford, and he will have one season of eligibility. He ran for 315 yards and four touchdowns last season as a backup to Heisman finalist Christian McCaffrey.He draws a lot of attention, and hes been tremendous in the way hes handled it, Gundy said. He has to live day in and day out, especially here. I watched the players that are on our team, and theyve taken him in and they appreciate him. Hes humble and he understands his background and embraces it and does a good job with it.Sanders will wear number 26 instead of his dads 21.RUNNING GAME STRUGGLES: The Cowboys lit up the scoreboard last season, but at times, the lack of a running game hurt them when they needed to control the clock. The leading rusher last season, Chris Carson, had just 557 yards, and the team averaged just 3.6 yards per carry last season.JAMES WASHINGTON: The speedy receiver hauled in 53 passes for 1,087 yards and 10 touchdowns last season. He should still have opportunities because the Cowboys boast plenty of other threats who cannot be left open.DEFENSE: As explosive as Oklahoma States offense was last season, its defense was one of the nations worst. The Cowboys allowed 30.5 points and 439 yards per game a year ago, and that was with star defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah on the roster. Now, with Ogbah gone, Oklahoma State will need to find a way to slow opponents so the offense isnt under constant pressure.KEY GAMES: A home game against Pittsburgh offers the top challenge during the non-conference slate. The Cowboys play at Baylor and host Texas. They close at TCU and at Oklahoma. Without a true marquee opponent on the non-conference schedule, Oklahoma States margin for error will be slim in conference play.SEASON OPENER: Sept. 3 vs. Southeastern Louisiana.PREDICTION: 9-3 regular season, third in Big 12.---Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter (at)CliffBruntAP . Barry Larkin Jersey . LOUIS -- Roman Polak was celebrating even before Alexander Steen scored the winning goal in Saturdays 4-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. Jim Bottomley Jersey . Datsyuk will miss Tuesdays game against New Jersey and could be sidelined longer, while Cleary will likely miss at least the next three games. Its been an injury-plagued season for Datsyuk, who has suited up for just 39 games. https://www.cheapredsjerseys.us/525s-vada-pinson-jersey-reds.html . But when it comes to determining if Raymond will find a place on the Leafs roster when training camp concludes in a week, well, that decision will ultimately fall to the head coach. Joe Morgan Jersey . JOHNS, N. Joel Kuhnel Jersey . Catch all the action on TSN2 at 11pm et/8pm pt. The nine-time Big 12 champion Jayhawks are positioning themselves for another title, as they have run out to a flawless 6-0 mark in conference play thus far. DENVER -- Weighing just 153 pounds, former Air Force option quarterback Dee Dowis wasnt the most intimidating presence. That is, until he got the ball in his hands.Dowis, who finished sixth in the Heisman Trophy voting in 1989, died in a car accident outside Atlanta on Monday morning, police in Gwinnett County, Georgia, confirmed. He was 48.As a lanky sophomore in 1987, Dowis began running coach Fisher DeBerrys triple-option offense. He was an instant hit.Dowis graduated as the academys career leading rusher and had the highest finish ever for an Air Force player in the Heisman voting. During that `89 season, Dowis rushed for 1,286 yards and 18 touchdowns while throwing for 1,285 yards and seven touchdowns. He led the Falcons to an 8-4-1 record and an appearance in the Liberty Bowl.Pound for pound, without a doubt, the greatest, most gifted and talented player to maybe ever play the college game, DeBerry said in a phone interview Tuesday. He proved you dont have to be a physical giant to be a quarterback in the triple-option offense.As a tribute to Dowis, the Falcons rush-ordered helmet decals for their season opener Saturday against Abilene Christian. Other honors are in the works, too.I think anybody who has ever met him will tell you he was quite kind, respectful, humble -- a guy that loved his family immensely, current Falcons coach Troy Calhoun said. Somebody you always felt like was a real quality, quality friend.DeBerry searched his memory for his favorite Dowis highlight. He couldnt come up with just one because, he had a lot of great performances.Like the time he rushed for 249 yards and scored six TDs against San Diego State in 1989. Or when he had 377 yards of total offense versus Northwestern in 1988. He also went 11 for 11 through the air in that contest.Dowis was inducted into the academys athletic Hall of Fame in 2009.He was terrific at anticipating and seeing tthings happening, DeBerry said.dddddddddddd If we wouldve been more of a passing team, he would still have been a great quarterback. He was a complete player, not just a runner. He was like a coach on the field.Not to mention one of DeBerrys dearest friends. He once asked Dowis to serve as an assistant coach, but Dowis wanted to stay close to family. The two talked all the time.I admired him so much, DeBerry said. Its a very sad, sad day for Falcon football. For as great of player as he was, he was an even greater friend. ... He leaves a great legacy for us all.According to a news release from the Gwinnett County police, Dowis was going south in the northbound lanes of I-85 early Monday when he pulled his 2014 BMW into the center median. As he backed up, Dowis was hit in the drivers side door by a 2015 Subaru driven by a 22-year-old from North Carolina. The other driver was transported to a nearby hospital.The police said Dowis wasnt wearing a seat belt and died at the scene.It is still not clear what caused Dowis to travel down the interstate in the wrong direction. Speed does not appear to be a contributing factor, the release said.Dowis was working as a sales manager for a pharmaceutical company in South Carolina. He is survived by his wife, Tracie, and two children.People all over the nation always say to me, `That was a great quarterback you had at Air Force. Whats his name again? DeBerry recounted. Im always like, `You must be talking about Dee. Theyd tell me how much they enjoyed watching him play and execute so well. I told them, `If you weighed 153 pounds, youd be running for your life also. I used to say thats why he was so successful.---AP Sports Writer Arnie Stapleton contributed.---AP college football site: http://collegefootball.ap.org ' ' '