Oklahoma State Defends "America's Greatest Homecoming" With a Win
STILLWATER, Okla. — It was “America’s Greatest Homecoming”, and the Oklahoma State defense was not about to spoil it by allowing a loss.
Nick Martin, Kendal Daniels, Trey Rucker and Cameron Epps helped Oklahoma State to a 45-13 win against the Cincinnati Bearcats. With the win, the Cowboys became bowl-eligible and increased their winning streak to four games.
Despite allowing a touchdown in the first quarter, Oklahoma State held Cincinnati scoreless until late in the fourth quarter. After the Bearcats’ first scoring drive, the Cowboys forced three turnovers and four punts.
Nick Martin, a redshirt sophomore linebacker, led the team in tackles again with 12 and a sack. He has 83 on the season and has emerged as a cornerstone and a leader for the Cowboy defense.
“We all knew the game wasn’t over yet,” Martin said. “We had to put it away. Our mentality coming out of halftime is 0-0, you know? Score don’t matter. We keep hammering the nail and really just try to put these guys to sleep. So, I’m really proud of my guys and proud of how we executed the second half and showed up.”
Epps had another interception to start the third quarter and continue the momentum the team built up going into halftime. The redshirt freshman safety, who recorded his third interception of the season, will be a fun playmaker to watch over the next few years during his time at Oklahoma State.
Cincinnati’s second score came toward the end of the fourth quarter but was scored against a third-string Cowboy secondary, not the starters.
Ollie Gordon, of course, helped the defense out by having another massive performance on offense with 292 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns. He now has over 1,000 rushing yards through 8 games.
After Oklahoma’s loss to Kansas earlier today, OSU’s win against Cincinnati holds more weight than ever. Headed into Bedlam next weekend, the Cowboys have a lot of momentum on their side. OU, on the other hand, lost to an unranked opponent and looks to make up for that loss with a Bedlam win.
Kickoff for the final Bedlam matchup is at 2:30 on Nov. 4 in Boone Pickens Stadium.