Oklahoma State Powers Through Thanks to a Strong Second Half
STILLWATER, Okla.– While it wasn’t exactly a pretty game for either team, the Oklahoma State Cowboys were able to pull off the 41-34 homecoming win against the visiting Texas Longhorns.
The first half was all over the place defensively for OSU, as they allowed 351 total offensive yards for UT. The second half, however, was a different story. After a few adjustments at halftime, Oklahoma State came out ready to play and held the Longhorns to 36 total yards in the third quarter. OSU ended the game with six freshmen playing on defense.
“We all knew how the game was going to end,” Kendal Daniels explained. “We knew that they only scored off of stuff that we messed up on. It’s not like we got outplayed or were getting beat on deep balls, we had a few gaps that were open. Number five (Bijan Robinson) is a really good player. We just had to limit him, stop number 8 (Xavier Worthy), and limiting those guys really helped us.”
Oklahoma State was also able to limit Texas QB Quinn Ewers. Ewers is now one of only three quarterbacks since 2000 to attempt over 49 passes and complete less than 20 of them.
There were three game-defining drives for the Cowboy defense as the fourth quarter came along. The first came after a 10-yard touchdown pass from Spencer Sanders to Brennan Presley, tying the game at 34 after kicker Tanner Brown made the PAT.
Texas gets the ball with 9:49 left in the game, which resulted in a 3-and-out thanks to the OSU defense. After another punt by the Cowboys, then another by the Longhorns, OSU is able to get some offense rolling as time rolls down in the last half of the fourth quarter.
After taking advantage of good defensive play and not-so-good offense from UT, Bryson Green breaks away for a 41-yard touchdown, putting OSU up 41-34 with 3:09 left in the game.
The next and final two Texas drives were dominated by the Cowboy's defense.
The first, starting with 3:03 remaining in regulation, was plagued by penalties and pass breakups.
To kick things off, Mason Cobb hits Texas star RB Bijan Robinson for a loss of two yards. The next play would’ve been Ewers’ lone rushing play for a 33-yard breakaway run, but it got called back on a holding penalty against Texas O-lineman Christian Jones.
That brought the drive to 2nd and 22 for the Longhorns, leading to an incompletion and a third down thanks to pressure from OSU D-lineman Collin Clay.
Playmaker safety Jason Taylor II, who finished the day with two interceptions, makes the 3rd down stop after a 19-yard gain by Texas, bringing it to 4th and 3. During that 4th down, Mason Cobb intercepts what would've been a pick-six, but Texas TE Ja’Tavion Sanders false starts, bringing it back to 4th and 8 with 1:29 left.
The next play is where the energy erupted across Boone Pickens Stadium. Jason Taylor makes a great read and intercepts Ewers, gaining possession for OSU at their own 41-yard line with only 1:23 left in regulation, the Cowboys still in the lead at 41-34.
The next offensive drive for OSU didn’t amount to much, as they were unable to get first down. Tom Hutton’s punt got down to the 24-yard line, giving Texas the ball with 1:00 left in the game.
Starting their last drive off with a penalty, the Texas first down results in a false start. It’s 1st and 15 with 40 seconds left, UT still trailing by a score.
After two straight incompletions by Ewers, he was temporarily able to redeem himself on 3rd and 15 with 27 seconds left after throwing a 21-yard first-down pass to Ja’Tavion Sanders for a wide-open first down to the OSU 38-yard line.
The play of the game happened on the last first down for Texas. As Ewers stepped back to pass, he felt pressure from the Cowboy D-line and threw a 27-yard interception, deflected by the hands of his intended receiver right into the hands of Kendal Daniels with 8 seconds remaining in regulation.
“It’s crazy, man,” Daniels said as he walked through what the final play of the game was like for him. “Just to have people come to my game, I mean when I leave here I’m going to say hello to about 200 people and thank them for coming to see me from back home, it’s just a really good feeling.”
It’s safe to say that, even though it was tough to watch at times, Oklahoma State pulled off a statement win thanks to great awareness on defense and solid execution of big plays in the second half.