Longhorns defenseless in loss
Cowboys build big first-half lead, hold off comeback attempt to end UT’s 6-game win streak
STILLWATER, Okla. — Texas was not going to approach Oklahoma State like some defenseless animal, of that senior defensive end Charles Omenihu seemed certain.
“Trap game” wasn’t even part of the team’s lexicon, he explained, because the Big 12 was too top-to-bottom talented, too cannibalistic for any program, even a top 10 program, to schedule a win before the game had been played.
And on a day when lowly Kansas downed TCU, chaos was in the air.
The Big 12 anarchy continued at Boone Pickens Stadium on Saturday night as sixth-ranked Texas fell to Oklahoma State 38-35. The loss snapped UT’s six-game win streak and threw the conference’s hierarchy into disarray with one month to go.
“That’s a really dejected locker room,” coach Tom Herman said. “But they are very, very together. I love the fact that one loss hurts that bad. We had guys in tears. To think how far we’ve come, to where one loss matters that much, and it should.”
Starting cornerbacks Kris Boyd and Davante Davis watched the entire first quarter from the sideline, punishment for arriving late to a team function. What they witnessed must have made them queasy.
Oklahoma State (5-3, 2-3 Big 12) scored on each of its first three drives. The Cowboys gashed the Texas defense, kept attacking placeholder corners Kobe Boyce and Anthony Cook, opened gaping holes in the line for running backs Justice Hill and Chuba Hubbard to maneuver through.
On the fourth play of the game, wide receiver Tylan Wallace ran into a dead zone in the coverage, leaped to snatch a sailing pass from quarterback Tyler Cornelius, and evaded a slew of Texas defenders to finish off a 40-yard touchdown.
Ten of the Cowboys’ 27 firstquarter plays went for at least 10 yards. Part of that big-play success was due to coach Mike Gundy’s aggressive play-calling, but an inept and often confused Texas defense kept taking the bait, so Oklahoma State kept baiting.
On fourth-and-1 from the Texas 16-yard line, Gundy kept the ball in his quarterback’s hands. Texas bit on the play-action fake, Cornelius backpedaled away from defensive lineman Ta’Quon Graham and lofted a 16-yard touchdown pass to uncovered receiver Jelani Woods for Oklahoma State’s second touchdown in as many drives.
Texas (6-2, 4-1) looked ready to engage in a Stillwater shootout, at least initially.
Sophomore quarterback Sam Ehlinger looked unbothered by his sprained throwing shoulder. He rushed into the teeth of the defense early, bounced back up like he typically does.
Junior receiver Collin Johnson drew a pass interference penalty and picked up 14 yards on thirdand-9 from just outside the red zone. From five yards out, Ehlinger faked a handoff, tucked the ball, shimmied past a defender who dove into nothing but air, and finished UT’s opening drive with his seventh touchdown run of the season.
It stood to reason the offense would keep rolling when wideout Lil’Jordan Humphrey returned from his opening-drive benching. Didn’t happen, at least not right away.
Texas went three-and-out on two of its next three drives. It never held the ball for more than 1 minute, 20 seconds, forcing a worn-down defense back out on the field with nary a breather.
“They had a a great game plan; we did not,” Herman said. “They executed their game plan; we didn’t. And as coaches, we have to figure out why that happened and make sure that doesn’t happen again.”
After Cornelius’ 1-yard touchdown run put Oklahoma State up 24-7, Texas dug in and mustered a response.
Tight end Andrew Beck channeled Willie Mays with an overthe-shoulder 37-yard catch on a floater from Ehlinger, who on the ensuing play ran in touchdown number two from 2 yards out.
Still, the picture at halftime was bleak, the numbers ugly.
Oklahoma State had gained 378 yards and picked up 19 first downs. It had held the ball for nearly 20 minutes, siphoning energy away from a defense that struggled even during the game’s onset.
Most embarrassing of all was what happened on OSU’s final first-half drive.
On fourth-and-1, 36 yards away from the end zone, Gundy demanded a deep shot, a jump ball to Wallace. Boyd mistimed his leap, safety Brandon Jones misread the play, and Wallace sidestepped into the end zone to extend the lead to 31-14.
Oklahoma State might have ended this game earlier had it not missed a pair of field goals, both from within 41 yards. Texas seized on that bit of hope in the second half.
Late in the third quarter, freshman running back Keaontay Ingram beat OSU linebacker Justin Phillips on a wheel route and caught up to Ehlinger’s end-zone pass just in time. The 22-yard touchdown reception made UT’s deficit a manageable 10.
Texas kept coming, its defense finally making stops and its offense putting together sustained drives.
Early in the fourth quarter, Texas had driven deep into Oklahoma State territory. On second-and-goal, Ehlinger started rolling right, keeping pace with a moving wall of offensive linemen, before hopping up and throwing to Beck for a 10-yard touchdown, cutting the Cowboys’ lead to 31-28.
“As poorly as we played at times tonight, and poor is an understatement on both sides of the football,” Herman said, “it would have been very, very easy for an 18- to 22-year-old man to say, ‘Hey, tonight’s not out night guys, they got us.’ We didn’t.”