Connect with us

Football

10 Thoughts On Oklahoma State’s 45-44 Win Over Texas Tech

Published

7 years ago

on

BOX SCORE

I feel 31 going on 51 this year. Oklahoma State won a wild one (copy/paste from last week) with Texas Tech on Saturday 45-44 in the house that Boone built on Senior Day. Mason Rudolph threw for nearly four bills, Justice Hill and Chris Carson had another big day and The President showed out on election week.

Texas Tech missed an extra point with just under two minutes left, and Oklahoma State (successfully!) milked the final 100 seconds off the clock to grab its sixth straight Big 12 win (more on what that means shortly). Let’s get to my 10 Thoughts on OSU’s eighth straight W over the Red Raiders.

1. Facing bad teams late in year is hard

Texas Tech ran two onside kicks, a fake punt inside its own 40, went for three fourth downs (and got them all) and probably should have tried a two-point conversion at the end of the game. In short: Texas Tech is playing like a team that has nothing to lose (because it has nothing to lose).

On the other side of the field, Oklahoma State can’t afford to play like a team that has nothing to lose because it is currently one of only two teams in the Big 12 that controls its own destiny in Big 12 play. It is difficult to play teams like Texas Tech at the end of the season when they are just letting it all hang out. Mike Gundy and Co. stayed under control, didn’t try to match Tech’s brazen style and somehow walked away with another victory.

I know it doesn’t always feel like OSU is a dominant team (and it is not for the most part), but the reality is that the Cowboys controlled the majority of that game and never trailed. Would I rather see a 50-17 rout this time of season? Sure, but 8-2* is 8-2* and corralling an rabid animal like Tech in mid-November is a big deal.

2. Chris Lacy might be the best WR5 in the nation

I would just like to point out that Chris Lacy is, when all of Oklahoma State’s receivers are healthy, the fifth or sixth-best receiver on this team. He had four catches for 100 yards (a career high by 24 yards) on Saturday and was terrific in downfield blocking (per the usual).

Oklahoma State is not dependent on Chris Lacy having huge games, but it sure does make them more lethal when he’s playing like he did on Saturday. If he’s not the best WR5 in the Big 12 then I have no idea who is.

3. Vincent Taylor and Justin Phillips were studs

Big Vince had a fumble recovery in the fourth quarter that flipped the momentum back to Oklahoma State after Mr. Fortune Favors The Bold nabbed an onside kick. Phillips, reincarnating his 2014 Bedlam self in Chad Whitener’s stead, had 14 tackles, a huge sack and the forced fumble that Taylor eventually grabbed. He was spectacular all night but especially so in the fourth quarter.

4. We expect a lot from Mason Rudolph

QB1 threw for 395 yards on just 28 (!) attempts to go with two TDs and a rushing score, and the whole thing felt pretty … ho-hum. That’s how the great ones make you feel, though. Other than the nuclear missile to The President in the third quarter that went 55 yards and hit No. 28 in the hands in stride, Rudolph’s numbers were quiet. I can assure you that these 20-yard and 25-yard outs are not what normal Big 12 QBs are made of.

Passes like this are not what average QBs are made of.

Speaking of Rudolph. He ends his junior year with these home stats. Pretty insane through two seasons’ worth of home games.

5. I feel bad for the  missed extra point

I watched the end of the game with Mrs. Pistols, and she was apoplectic over the Texas Tech kicker missing the extra point to lose. I have to admit I felt bad for him as well. So did Mike Gundy. It’s a brutal way to lose a game (OSU knows this well), but the kicker (no pun intended) is that it wasn’t even really his fault.

Watch the holder let go of it before the kicker touches it.

Also, with the over/under at 89.5, how angry were those who had the over between this and Chris Carson refusing to score a touchdown at the very end of the game? This is why you never gamble, friends.

6. Both offenses were immense

Think about this: Between Baker Mayfield, Mason Rudolph and Patrick Mahomes, one of those dudes is going to be the honorable mention All-Big 12 QB. Honorable mention! Mahomes is obviously a gamer of the J.W. Walsh variety, and the entire show was on display in Stillwater. He’s fun to watch, and he makes an average team more dangerous than Mark Mangino at a Jason’s Deli salad bar.

OSU notched 3.75 points per drive on Saturday which is even more than Tech normally gives up (3.33). This team has not gotten enough credit for being consistently great on offense since the Baylor game. Tech scored 3.38 points per drive which is slightly over its yearly average.

I thought the defense was actually not that bad for Oklahoma State. Glenn Spencer did two smart things to try and suppress the Tech O.

First, he rotated dudes in and out for the entire first half. I mean, he was rolling homies out who barely made the media guide. He knew OSU was going to face 90+ plays (it faced 96), and he was ready with a plan to let his depth and talent take over late (it’s debatable whether it ever actually did).

Second, he let Tech run the football (which it did 44 times) and banked on the fact that his deep defensive line would come up with stops when it needed to. This is what he did last week against Kansas State as well (except that’s what Kansas State wanted him to do). Tech only averaged 3.6 yards per carry on the ground so I think it worked to the extent that anything works against Tech’s offense.

I wrote down at the beginning of the second half that whichever team grabbed a turnover in the second half would win. OSU did. Texas Tech didn’t. OSU won. Same old story for the Pokes.

7. Mike Gundy nailed the end of the game

I’m not sure if Gundy knew how he did it, but the Cowboys played the very end of the game perfectly. What you didn’t want to do is score quickly and give Tech the ball back only down eight. Gundy had Chris Carson slide a couple of times then get a first down and take a knee. It was perfect, and it doubled as the coolest way to end a game ever.

Truck stick.

Take a knee.

Eight straight.

8. Oklahoma State can actually run the ball

It’s a revelation. I need not explain this to as you can see it with your own eyes, but it’s the one reason I feel like Oklahoma State could actually win the Big 12 title this year despite getting torched by Baylor and OU at the end of last year. Its running backs averaged 7.5 yards per carry on Saturday, and they ran for 5+ yards a pop for the third time in four games. They only did it once all of last season (against UTSA!)

9. The helmets were not good

Is this a safe space to admit that? I thought they looked like a 74-year-old superfan asked for a custom-printed bowling ball for his Tuesday night bowling league, and that’s what came out. They did look better at night than during the day, but there was far too much going on.

screen-shot-2016-11-12-at-8-38-38-pm

10. The Big 12 title is still in play

How about that. Beat TCU next week, and you’re playing OU in Norman for the Big 12 Championship no matter what they do against West Virginia. Pitt beat Clemson today so that win is getting better by the week as well.

I already went over how OSU is technically still alive for the CFB Playoff although I think OU would have a much better shot if it won out (hashtag brand names). But still, it’s crazy to think that after all that has happened, after all the close games and CMU madness and consternation over whether Mason Rudolph is a great QB and whether Glenn Spencer should retain his job, the Big 12 title game is 60 minutes away.

Next week won’t be easy — playing on the road never is. But this team is feeling it right now. They think they can roll with anybody. They think they’ll win every game. That matters this time of year. So as we say goodbye to another season at Boone Pickens Stadium, we look ahead to what could be three weeks of complete madness to close out 2016.

Bring it on.

Related Topics:

Most Read

Copyright © 2011- 2023 White Maple Media