OSU will play its first road game of the 2021 football season on Saturday in what figures to be a doozy, as the Cowboys take on Boise State on the blue turf in Idaho. The Cowboys are underdogs in the game after two lackluster showings in nonconference play thus far but have a favorable track record (1-0, babayyy!) against the Broncos.

Ahead of the game, here are 10 things to know about the matchup history and what it means. (Most stats courtesy of OSU’s athletic department.)

1. OSU is 1-0 all-time against Boise State. The one meeting came in 2018, where OSU won in Stillwater 44-21. Saturday’s game is the second of a home-and-home series that was scheduled in 2013.

2. OSU has never played a football game in the state of Idaho.

3. In two nonconference games, OSU still has not yet allowed a single point in the first quarter this season. Boise State scored 14 and 10 points in the first quarter of games against UCF and UTEP, respectively.

4. Mike Gundy is 1-0 all-time against teams from the Mountain West (Boise in 2018). Against non-Power Five foes, he is 39-4 in his career and 57-12 all-time in all nonconference games.

5. Since Mike Gundy took over in 2005, OSU is 41-3 in games in which it did not commit a turnover. Since 2008, it is 64-8 when winning the turnover battle.

6. OSU’s defense has forced 12 total turnovers in its last six outings. That’s an area Mike Gundy highlighted this week as especially important.

“Defensively we played well,” he said of the TU game. “We’ve been aggressive. I’d like to be able to find a way to get a couple turnovers in this next game.”

7. OSU’s defense has held opponents to below a 50% conversion rate on third downs in 13 straight games. Boise State is converting at just a 34.6% rate on the season while OSU’s defense on the season is allowing teams to convert at just a 32.3% rate.

8. Jaylen Warren has scored a rushing touchdown in each of his last three games played. Scorin’ Warren, they call him. (OK, nobody calls him that, but I think it’s fitting, right?)

9. A win on Saturday would give OSU a 3-0 start for the fifth consecutive season and the 12th time under Mike Gundy.

10. OSU ranks No. 19 nationally this season with 3.5 sacks per game. Boise State is tied for the fifth-fewest sacks allowed with only one in two games played.

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