The Oklahoma State Cowboys will be without two defensive starters when they take on the Kansas State Wildcats on Saturday.

The Cowboys ruled linebacker Tate Romney and defensive end Jaleel Johnson out for the game due to injuries suffered last weekend against Iowa State. They are two of five players that have been ruled out for the game.

The Cowboys (5-3, 3-2 in Big 12) had already ruled out tight end Carson Kolb and wide receiver Dayvon Standard. OSU also downgraded defensive tackle Landon Dean to out.

But losing Romney and Johnson hurts a defense that allowed nearly 600 yards and 51 points in a loss to the Cyclones last weekend.

What Cowboys Do Now

Romney already has a career-best 61 tackles with 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble. He had a game-high nine tackles against the Cyclones, including a tackle for loss and a forced fumble. But without him the Cowboys will probably turn to Isaiah Chisom, who is listed as the starter at WILL linebacker, to start alongside Ethan Wesloski, the team’s leading tackler.

Johnson had a quarterback hurry before he suffered an injury that put his arm in a sling against the Cyclones. In his fifth year with the Cowboys, he’s been seen as the leader of the holdover defensive players that stuck around when head coach Eric Morris took over the program from Mike Gundy in December.

He has 16 tackles and two sacks this season.

The Cowboys will probably lean into Malik Charles and Keviyan Huddleston on that side of the defensive line. Between the pair they have 4.5 sacks in a rotational role with Johnson. Charles also has an interception.

The Cowboys removed safety Quinton Hammonds and wide receiver Wyatt Young from the report on Friday, an indication that both are good to play. Hammonds played last week after recovering from an injury he suffered against Colorado. Young was a surprise addition to the report on Thursday.

For Kansas State the Wildcats downgraded the status of four players from questionable to doubtful — S Koy Beasley, LB Sawyer Schilke, TE Lawson McGraw and DT Eli Jackson. The Wildcats upgraded LB DJ Ackerson Jr. to probable and removed RB Jay Harris from the list.

Oklahoma State vs. Kansas State

Player Availability Report: Friday

Oklahoma State

OUT: TE Carson Kolb, WR Dayvon Standard, LB Tate Romney, DT Landon Dean, DE Jaleel Johnson

NOTE: S Quinton Hammonds, WR Wyatt Young were removed from the report.

Kansas State

OUT: QB Avery Johnson, QB Jacob Knuth

DOUBTFUL: S Koy Beasley, LB Sawyer Schilke, TE Lawson McGraw, DT Eli Jackson

PROBABLE: LB DJ Ackerson Jr.

NOTE: RB Jay Harris was removed from the report.