How will Cowboys respond to first defeat?
AMES, Iowa — Oklahoma State quarterback Spencer Sanders tossed his boxed Chick-fil-A meal on the table and it landed with a thud, the way the Cowboys' undefeated season came to a halt Saturday at Iowa State's Jack Trice Stadium.
Sanders sat down behind the microphone for postgame interviews and the pain of the 24-21 loss was evident.
“I made too many mistakes,” Sanders said when asked what made the difference in Saturday's game. “That just can't happen.
“Just gotta come out, keep our heads up, go to practice (Sunday) and keep this thing going. It's one loss. It happened. Ain't nothing we can do about it now.”
The 15th-ranked Cowboys now face a question they haven't encountered this
season: how will they respond to a loss?
Asked about Sanders in particular, OSU offensive coordinator Kasey Dunn wasn't worried about his offensive leader — who, to be fair, played one of his better games. Sanders was 15-of-24 for 225 yards and three touchdowns, plus another 29 yards rushing.
“I think everybody's gotta hurt right now,” Dunn said. “It's been a long time since we've had this conversation, and it sucks, man. But for him, he'll work through it himself, like we all will.”
Several plays could have changed the game, but it ultimately came down to a fourth-and-2 from the Iowa State 42yard line with just over a minute to play. OSU receiver Brennan Presley was tackled inches short of the first down marker.
After the game, Dunn and head coach Mike Gundy were confident the play call was the right one, tossing the ball quickly to Presley at the line of scrimmage and counting on him to get upfield for the first down.
“I liked the call,” Gundy said. “There was a lot of ways to look at it. Once the game's over, you start thinking about four or five different calls. We liked the call. It was close. Came up a little short. “Sometimes you come up short.
That's the way it is. Fifty percent of the teams that play on Saturdays lose. It doesn't mean you're a failure. It just means you came up a little short.”
Added Dunn: “I felt like we could get three yards out of that play. That's what I thought. And we were inches short.”
The Cowboys can't let Saturday's failures fester. Ahead is a matchup with a one-win Kansas team in Stillwater on OSU's homecoming weekend. Kansas proved on Saturday against OU that it isn't to be rolled over, so that should provide OSU some motivation, along with the positive energy of being back home after two tough road games.
The goal of making the Big 12 title game is still on the table, though the Cowboys likely can't afford another slipup.
But most importantly, the Pokes have a slew of veterans to fall back on for a lift.
“I'm not concerned about ‘em,” Gundy said. “We also have a number of guys that have been in this situation before. The locker room is exactly the way that it should be.
“They hurt. That's the feeling you get in college football, right? You put a lot into it. When you come up a little short, you should feel that way. If you don't, then we have other issues. I told them the same thing I told them every Saturday. Whether it's a celebration or a tough loss like this, we have to come to work tomorrow and we have to start preparing for the next game.”