Sad Result for Pokes in Houston, but Oklahoma State and Houston Put Up Some Numbers
Welcome to Stillwater, Oklahoma! Shop, dine, stay, and play, the Stillwater way! Visit Stillwater is your go-to guide for the best places to eat, stay, explore, and enjoy in America’s Friendliest College Town.
HOUSTON, Texas – The fan’s face tells it all. The story was wild, the game was exciting, but in the end Oklahoma State went home with a loss that will knock them out of some possible wild achievements in the first season for Eric Morris and his band of 92 new players on the roster. Don’t get me wrong, Oklahoma State can still achieve some marvelous rewards, even get to the Big 12 Championship Game. It will all be harder and with two losses there is little wiggle room.
As Eric Morris said himself after the game, this is still a really good team.
“We have a gritty group and that's what I told them in the locker room,” Morris told the media of what he said to his team after the 35-32 loss to No. 20 Houston. “We're building this program up right now and you put yourself in these chances to win these games on the road. In a matchup like this, it's tough, right? We're right there. There's so many good things going on right now. But I've always been one to tell the truth.”
The truth is this game had some insane numbers. After a 14-3 halftime score, the two teams combined for 50 second half points. After Oklahoma State had 138-yards in the first half and Houston had 213-yards with 21:58 of possession time in the first 30 minutes. There were 1,004-yards of total offense by both teams in the game. For Oklahoma State that was 499-yards and 361 of those in the second half. Houston had 292-yards in the second half and 505-yards for the game. They also had a total of 35:12 of possession time in the game.
On the officials end, there were seven reviews, although it seemed like more. There was even a review where the on-the-field liason for replay was standing out there signaling a review and the official ignored it and allowed a play to be run. It was that kind of night.
Individually, Mestemaker (365-yards and three touchdown passes) and Conner Weigman for Houston (343-yards and five touchdown passes) were awesome at quarterback.
“I think he is a really good quarterback, UH head coach Willie Fritz said of Weigman. “I’m glad we got him. We wouldn’t trade him for anybody. He is a darn good quarterback and he just keeps getting a little better every single week. As I said before, he’s smart, he’s really accurate, and he can also run the ball. He’s not a statue back there. He’s a very good football player and we are fortunate to have him.”
“Overall, probably not his best performance, but he's maybe the toughest kid on our team,” Morris said of his quarterback Drew Mestemaker. “He continued to battle. His competitive character is through the roof. He gave us a chance at the end.”
Caleb Hawkins had 70-yards rushing, 125-yards receiving for 195-yards of total offense. He also crushed Houston defender on pass protection.
“I do,” Hawkins confirmed remembering the bone jarring block. “I saw him come straight off the line and he couldn’t see me. I could see him. It just worked out perfectly for me.”
“His pass pro has been phenomenal all year,” added Morris. “He’ll stick his nose in there and take on whoever they bring. He’s someone who loves to compete. He’ll fight to the end with his teammates. I thought we could get him on some matchups at times in the passing game. He continues to create value for this team in so many different ways. The ball continues to find people who play like he does.”
Houston had two 100-yard plus receivers in Amare Thomas (126 and two touchdowns) and Trent Walker (104 with a touchdown).
Third down conversions didn’t end up being as critical as you thought. Houston was 7-of-13 and Oklahoma State was 3-of-8. Fourth down conversion was another matter as Houston was three-for-three and Oklahoma State was one-for-two.
All-in-all a crazy night that Houston will remember and Oklahoma State will try to correct before hosting Colorado next week for homecoming at a time stil to be determined.
