Wednesday, July 17, 2024
Ollie Gordon II, Nick Martin in the top 100 player rankings for EA Sports College Football 25 game players in college football to boast a 96 overall – the highest rating of the game’s initial release – while Martin holds a 90 overall. OSU is tied with Daniel Allen Colorado for the secondStaff Reporter most representation on the list among Big 12 players. Kansas and AriTwo Oklahoma State zona led all conference players have made the cut members with three playfor EA’s top 100 players ers in the top-100 list. list in the upcoming EA Gordon, the reignSports College Football ing Doak Walker Award 25 video game. winner, is coming off a On Wednesday after- stellar sophomore camnoon, EA released the paign, which featured an list on X, which included NCAA-best 1,732 rushing running back Ollie Gor- yards and 21 touchdowns don II (T-3 and lineback- while averaging 8.5 yards er Nick Martin (No. 80). per carry. Martin ranked Gordon is one of three fifth in Division I with
140 total tackles. He also logged 83 solo tackles to go with six sacks, one forced fumble and two interceptions. The Cowboys attained an 87 team overall, which ranks 24th among all 134 FBS programs. Defensively, they garnered an 84 rating, to go with an 80 offensive rating. EA Sports College Football ’25 is set to release July 19. It marks the first college football video game installment since NCAA Football 14, which released July 9, 2013.
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Ollie Gordon II is tied with three other players as the highest-rated players in EA Sports College Football sports.ed@ocolly.com 25.
OSU Extension DART program lends a hand in emergency preparedness Courtesy of OSU News
In April, when an overnight tornado tore through the community of Sulphur, Oklahoma, hundreds of people contacted the Oklahoma State University Extension office in Murray County to offer help. “We were overwhelmed with calls from people all over the country — the phone was ringing every 30 seconds,” said Debbie Sharp, Murray County family and consumer sciences educator. The Murray County Expo Center buzzed with activity as Sharp, her colleagues, other county employees and hundreds of volunteers attempted to organize the disaster response, manage work assignments, keep up with the inventory of donated goods, and prepare meals for not only storm victims but also emergency response personnel, electrical linemen and other cleanup crews. The nationwide response to Sulphur ran nonstop for three weeks before residents could catch their breath, but in the chaos of it all, Sharp also communicated with colleagues who offered a sense of calm. The OSU Extension Disaster Assistance Response Team reached out to her with the simple question, “What do you need?” “They provided federal resources we could tap into on topics such as preventing mold after a disaster,” she said. “We knew they were there should we need them.” The Disaster Assistance Response Team is a group of OSU Exten-
sion specialists and county educators who advocate for emergency preparedness and offer education, resources and ground support to counties during recovery. OSU Extension is a trusted source of information for farmers and ranchers, youth, agribusinesses and community officials. The team plays an important role in keeping communities and Oklahoma agriculture resilient in the wake of tragedy. “The DART program prepares our county offices to assist agricultural producers in recovery from floods, tornadoes, droughts, wildfires and disease outbreaks,” said Jason Warren, OSU Extension assistant director and state program leader for agriculture, natural resources and community economic development. “We provide information on financial assistance programs, mental health support, animal care and agroecosystem recovery.” As a member of the Extension Disaster Education Network, OSU is a long-time proponent of land-grant university involvement during times of emergency. When the OSU Extension Educator Advisory Board for Disaster Preparedness and Response established DART in 2020, OSU Extension specialists focused new efforts on training educators, building stronger relationships with emergency agencies and streamlining crisis communications protocols within OSU Agriculture.
File Photo Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell enters the season with a team that is returning most of its production.
Iowa State’s returning production puts the Cyclones in prime position for 2024
Calif Poncy Staff Reporter
See DART on Page 2
After posting one of the most surprising
seasons in the Big 12 last season, the Iowa State Cyclones are one of the trendiest picks to finish highly in the conference next year. Led by sophomore quarterback Rocco Becht and an impressive cast of skilled position players, the Cyclones will be looking to build on the momentum they began to
gather during the second half of last season. They also have the most returning production in the nation. “We’ve been there; we’ve been able to get to the Big 12 championship game; we’ve been able to win the regular-season conference,” said Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell. “I think our
young team coming off a rough season in 2022, and the way we responded last year. It was really fun to watch this football team come back to the standard of what we are and what we’ve been.” Campbell is heading into his ninth season as the head man of the See Iowa on Page 4