Another late lead slips away
Turnovers, missed opportunities plague Longhorns as Cowboys rally for key Big 12 victory
STILLWATER, Okla. — No. 11 Oklahoma State and No. 20 Texas both carried conference title aspirations into Saturday's pivotal matchup inside blustery Boone Pickens Stadium. But only one would exit the sold-out venue with a tidy pathway to December's Big 12 title game.
That team turned out to be Oklahoma State (6-1, 3-1 Big 12), which overcame a two-touchdown deficit in a 41-34 win over Texas (5-3, 3-2) in front of 55,509 fans. The loss dropped Texas to 1-6 in true road games under coach Steve Sarkisian.
“It hurts to the core,” fifth-year linebacker DeMarvion Overshown said. “Losing a big game on the road going into a bye week, it's gonna sting.”
The first half contained all the trappings of a good old-fashioned Big 12 barnburner.
It stretched on for two hours and two minutes. Texas gained 351 yards and scored 31 points. Oklahoma State gained 318 and scored 24. It featured a profusion of eye-popping, head-scratching and stomach-churning moments in a game that sometimes felt as chaotic and rambling as one of OSU coach Mike Gundy's press conferences.
Texas running backs Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson provided a few weeks' worth of highlights in the first half working behind an offensive line that occasionally included three true freshmen.
Robinson scored on a 42-yard run and 41-yard catch-and-run. Johnson used key blocks from tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders and right guard Cole Hutson to slingshot through the line's interior and explode into the open field for a 52yard touchdown to put Texas ahead 31-17 late in the first half.
Robinson and Johnson combined for 160 rushing yards in the first half and 213 overall.
Texas' passing attack was iffier Saturday. Quarterback Quinn Ewers threw an interception on the Longhorns' opening drive and missed the mark on several other throws while dealing with some pressure. He completed 19 of 49 passes for 319 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
The redshirt freshman did sprinkle in a few impressive
strikes, and he was able to find receiver Xavier Worthy in space for a 12-yard touchdown pass to give Texas a 14-10 lead the first quarter.
“We just didn't execute at the level that I think we're (usually) able to,” Ewers said.
But Oklahoma State never fell too far behind, even after losing one fumble in its own territory and throwing an interception in the end zone. Quarterback Spencer Sanders (shoulder) looked reluctant to run around at first, but he kept successfully attacking the middle of the
field and capitalizing on a deluge of Texas penalties.
Running back Dominic Richardson finished off three drives with short touchdown runs, and kicker Tanner Brown connected on a 48-yard field goal to account for the Cowboys' first-half scoring.
The second half reverted into a rock fight filled with punts, more penalties, an unusual number of bobbled snaps. The only scoring came courtesy of short field goals from Texas' Bert Auburn and Oklahoma State's Brown, keeping Texas' advantage at one touchdown heading into
the final 15 minutes.
And like it has so too often under Sarkisian, Texas eventually let its halftime lead vanish. The chief culprits: mounting penalties (14 for 119 yards), too many missed tackles and a consistent failure to execute on offense. Oh, and the Cowboys' veteran quarterback.
Sanders (391 passing yards) led Oklahoma State on a 12-play, 66-yard scoring drive that included three third-down conversions and a blown coverage that allowed wideout Brennan Presley to get open in the end zone for a game-tying 10-yard touchdown reception.
Texas had a chance to retake the lead on its ensuing drive. But Worthy appeared to misjudge a deep ball from Ewers in the end zone, and Auburn pushed a 46-yard field goal wide left following that thirddown incompletion.
Sanders and the Cowboys made them pay for the empty possession.
After converting yet another third down to extend the drive, Sanders connected with receiver Bryson Green (133 receiving yards) on a deep crossing route. Green dragged cornerback D'Shawn Jamison
for a few yards before shedding him, then slipped away from two nearby defenders to break loose for a go-ahead 41yard touchdown with 3:09 remaining.
Texas couldn't capitalize on its next chance to answer. Cowboy safety Jason Taylor flew in to intercept Ewers' desperation throw on fourth-and-8 with 83 seconds left, though the Longhorns forced a punt and got the ball back on its own 24 with exactly a minute remaining.
But Texas' final drive ended the same way as its previous one. Ewers' pass sailed off the hands of his intended target and right to safety Kendal Daniels.
His game-sealing interception put Oklahoma State back on a path toward the Big 12 title game in Arlington. And it flung Texas right back to the middle of the pack heading into its bye week.
“It's things we talk about all the time,” Overshown said. “We've gotta be able to play complementary football, gotta be able to get them off the field on third down, gotta be able to finish. Like I said, it hurts.”