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Stillwater, Oklahoma, has a perception problem.

Oklahoma State's defensive coordinator Glenn Spencer is a fiery, stalwart of a man ubiquitously beloved by Cowboy fans. He has produced multiple draft picks (Emmanuel Ogbah, Justin Gilbert) in the last few years and has an approval rating among OSU fans about 30 percent higher than that of his counterpart on the offensive side, Mike Yurcich. He can do and say whatever he wants, and OSU fans will buy in.

The only problem with that? Oklahoma State quietly has not been all that great on defense the last few years. To compound that problem, last year was a return to the lights-out offense that has been a mainstay since Mike Gundy took over back in 2005.

Oklahoma State, ranked No. 22 in the CBS Sports 128 preseason rankings, has given up more than 2.2 points per drive on defense each of the last two years, which is worse than the NCAA average in that time. Even when you normalize the numbers nationally (which is what points per drive does), OSU has stunk on defense in 2014 and 2015. On offense, its high-octane squad is soaring towards 3 points per drive and could legitimately reach that mark in 2016.

The primary reason for this is that it returns one of the best quarterback-receiver duos in school history. And that's actually saying something considering Oklahoma State is a school that has produced Brandon Weeden-Justin Blackmon, Zac Robinson-Dez Bryant and Josh Fields-Rashaun Woods.

Now juniors, Mason Rudolph and James Washington have taken the mantle from those generations gone by and are presumably back for the next two seasons to see if ground-to-air missiles are really the way to capture the Big 12 and bring it back to Stillwater.


Washington was No. 1 in the country in yards per reception of players who caught 50 or more passes in 2015. Rudolph was No. 6 in yards per pass of quarterbacks with 400 or more attempts. They were efficient and explosive. And they return an offense that has 10 of its 11 starters back from last year. Scary? Depends on who you ask.

"James can run past almost anybody because he's so fast and he can jump with the best of them," safety Jordan Sterns told the Oklahoman this year. "Having that combination with Mason, who is going to make good decisions, it's almost unstoppable. Every day in practice you're going against two of the best guys in the country."

There have been plenty of memorable moments with these two. There was the one-handed TD in the 2014 Cactus Bowl, the spinning, leaping catch in the TCU blowout at home in 2015 and the long TD in the Baylor game later that year that almost put Gus Johnson into cardiac arrest. He screamed, "THE PRESIDENT, JAMES WASHINGTON!" over and over again.

Coach Mike Gundy compares the slightly undersized Washington to another former Cowboy receiver but maybe not the one you're thinking of.

"James falls more into the Rashaun Woods category in my opinion," said Gundy. "Very quiet, he's a terrific route runner. He has a burst that is a little more deceptive than what defensive players think. That's what makes him a good player. All of them are ultra-competitive. And he is more of the Rashaun Woods mold than the other guys."

Oklahoma State will have several question marks on offense. Its second-best receiver Marcell Ateman is out until October with a foot injury. None of its running backs have separated themselves as "the guy." And though its offensive line has a whole host of lettermen, they weren't very good last season, which begs the question of whether all experience is good experience.

Oklahoma State stunk in the running game, ranking outside the top 100 nationally in yards per carry at 3.58. In a way, that actually makes what Rudolph and Washington did even more impressive. Teams knew there was nothing to fear up front and No. 2 hit No. 28 over the top repeatedly. It took what should have been an average to above-average offense and made it a really good one.

Oklahoma State's 2016 season hinges upon a variety of things. Can it get stops against teams that can run the ball like Oklahoma? Will its offensive line show any improvement over last year (it would be difficult not to, frankly)? Will Stanford transfer Barry J. Sanders be the salve the Cowboys' needs in the backfield? Will a tough schedule (at Baylor, at Kansas State, at TCU, at OU) ultimately be its undoing?

But the one question it does not have is the connection between Rudolph and Washington. It is the foundation upon which this year's offense (and probably team) is built. Ogbah, Gilbert and Spencer have gotten many of the headlines locally and regionally in recent years, but Rudolph and Washington have been quietly building towards something special.

"James has always been a quiet guy, a guy that's been a great friend all the way through," Rudolph told the Oklahoman recently. It's just cool to connect with a guy on the field, and when you know what you've been through off the field. It's really rewarding to see when it comes fall time and you're throwing bombs to James and he's taking them to the house."