.vresize.36.36.medium.0.png){kind=small}
.vresize.36.36.medium.0.png){kind=small}
The statistics suggest Oklahoma State's Zac Robinson might be the best quarterback in the Big 12, but that's an opinion rarely shared outside of Stillwater.
Even if he doesn't have the name recognition of some of his higher-profile peers, surely his play in this, his senior year, makes up for any perceived shortcomings. No, he's not Oklahoma's Sam Bradford, but he's also not injured like his Heisman Trophy-winning rival. He's not Texas Tech's (insert a new name this week), but the Cowboys don't ask him to throw 50 times a game, either. He's not Kansas' Todd Reesing, the spunky underdog who was building a case to succeed Bradford as the recipient of college's most prestigious award until last week's meltdown against the Sooners.
downlevel descriptionThis video requires the Adobe Flash Player. Download a free version of the player.
Oh, and he's not Colt McCoy either, but he can emerge from the Texas quarterback's shadow with a triumph at Boone Pickens Stadium this weekend against the third-ranked Longhorns.
Which seems about right. Because all Robinson has done this year is win.
The Cowboys are a quiet 6-1 and 3-0 in the conference, despite being written off for dead after a 45-35 loss to Houston on Sept. 12. One week earlier, OSU knocked off Georgia, 24-10, but by losing to the Cougars — who are also 6-1 and ranked 15th in this week's Associated Press poll, by the way — the critics howled.
Can't handle prosperity, they cried.
Overrated all along, they huffed.
Same old Pokes, they claimed.
Essentially, the Cowboys were ignored, another flash in the pan that failed to turn that sizzle into substance. And when all-world wide receiver Dez Bryant was suspended on Oct. 7 for misleading NCAA officials about his relationship with former NFL star Deion Sanders, OSU reportedly didn't stand a chance without its main offensive weapon.
In retrospect, doesn't it all seem a little silly?
Oklahoma State has won five straight, its last three without Bryant, whom the NCAA ruled out for the remainder of the season Tuesday. In that stretch without Bryant, Robinson has played perhaps the best football of his career. Known mostly as a dual threat, the senior has relied on his arm to lead the Cowboys, and the results — 59-of-87 for 706 yards and six touchdowns against just one interception — have been staggering.
"He's playing well right now," OSU coach Mike Gundy said. "He's playing with more confidence. He's managing the game very well. In my opinion, being a good quarterback is being able to manage the game in understanding what your strengths are and where their weaknesses are and try to attack those areas using what your strengths are as an offense.
