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A talking point all week has been finding a new anchor on the Oklahoma State offensive line. The left tackle position has been an open competition in practice and the week two depth chart listed either Desmond Magiya or Shaun Torgeson as the potential starter.
Oklahoma State beat Oregon 39-31 on Saturday inside Boone Pickens Stadium in a game that had kickoff delayed by more than an hour due to lightning.
“We knew going into it as soon as the delay happened that it was to our advantage,” Morris said. “Finally as they kept resetting the clock we finally just told our kids to relax and get off their feet and lay down; put your earphones in and just relax.”
When the Cowboys first drive started it was Torgeson who took the field as the starter. His first snap saw him seal a block which freed quarterback Drew Mestemaker for a 75-yard rush to the Oregon three-yard line.
“Shaun is a dog. There’s no other way to describe him,” offensive guard Johnny Dickson said. “He’s from California so he brings a little different attitude but that Cali swag comes out and it’s awesome.”
Coach Eric Morris spoke highly of Torgeson in fall camp and hinted that he could potentially see playing time on the offensive line.
“Overall the offensive line played really well,” Morris said. “I think any time you have 237 on the ground that it means you played pretty well upfront.”
Caleb Hawkins also ran Torgeson’s way multiple times early in the game to help establish the Cowboy rushing attack.
The Cowboy offense drew widespread criticism following a lackluster performance in Tulsa. Much of that criticism was directed toward the offensive line. Torgeson provided an anchor for an offense which looked much more polished than it did in week one.
“We preached it in practice just play fast no matter who we’re playing or who we’re replacing,” Dickson said. “The whole mindset was just to play faster so we could get off the ball quick.”
Oklahoma State rushed for 237 yards which included 174 in the first half. The team only had 127 rushing yards last week. The Cowboys also averaged 10.2 yards per rush in the first half and 5.9 yards per rush overall.
“We played really well without the ball in our hands today,” Morris said. “All the people in this room today played fast and hard and blocked with their teammates.”
Torgeson played his first two seasons at Portland State before transferring to the Cowboys in the offseason. He started 12 games for the Vikings in his second season and played the most snaps of anyone on the team.
