Big 12 Football: OK State’s Spencer Sanders ruled out vs. Kansas
Bad news arrived for one of the ranked Big 12 football teams in action on the afternoon of Nov. 5. The news dropped right before kickoff that longtime head coach Mike Gundy and the No. 18 ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys would be without senior standout quarterback Spencer Sanders in a key matchup in Lawrence against the Kansas Jayhawks and head coach Lance Leipold.
Dave Hunziker of the Cowboys Sports Network on Nov. 5 announced that Sanders was included amid the large group of Oklahoma State players that are ruled out for the Pokes game against the Jayhawks this weekend (per a write-up from 247Sports). This will be the first game that Sanders misses for Oklahoma State this season.
Moreover, it looked as if Sanders suffered an upper-body injury late in the game for Oklahoma State in a blowout loss to the Kansas State Wildcats in Manhattan on Oct. 29.
Sanders has dealt with some lingering injury issues throughout the season.
In place of the injured Sanders, Oklahoma State will either be starting true freshman Garret Rangel or redshirt freshman Gunnar Gundy (the son of Mike) at quarterback against the Jayhawks. Neither Rangel nor Gundy has started a single college game in their respective careers.
Another Big 12 football QB out in Week 10 with Spencer Sanders dealing with an injury for Oklahoma State
Gundy has taken more snaps than Rangel this season. He has just over 50 offensive snaps under his belt on the season, which mostly came against FCS Arkansas-Pine Bluff in Week 3 (37 snaps) and last weekend after Sanders was injured against Kansas State (14).
On the season so far, Gundy has 14 completions on 27 passing attempts, good for 144 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, and two picks. He also has 74 rushing yards on a dozen attempts with no rushing scores.
Meanwhile, Rangel is a former blue-chip recruit that could have a bright future ahead with the Pokes. But for the time being, he’s very green with only eight offensive snaps under his belt in his collegiate career, all coming back in Week 3 against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
Those eight offensive snaps resulted in zero completions on two passing attempts along with nine rushing yards on two carries.
The injury news for Sanders obviously spells trouble for an Oklahoma State team that heavily relies on his production. Oklahoma State had a lot of issues when Sanders is limited due to injury in the last few games.
Yet, Sanders is not the only notable Oklahoma State starter out against Kansas. Oklahoma State will also reportedly be missing senior wide receiver Braydon Johnson, redshirt senior right guard Hunter Woodard, senior safety Thomas Harper, and senior punter Tom Hutton (who just announced the end of his collegiate career in the last week on social media).
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Oklahoma State heads into this matchup on the road against Kansas with a record of 6-2 (3-2 Big 12) following a convincing 48-0 loss against Kansas State last weekend. Meanwhile, Kansas comes into this game with a record of 5-3 (2-3 Big 12) as it looks to snap a three-game skid against the Pokes on Nov. 5.