10 Thoughts on Oklahoma State’s 42-0 Loss at Texas Tech

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Lightning strikes delayed this game, and a lightning strike of an opening kick return pretty much ended it.

Oklahoma State fell to Texas Tech 42-0 on Saturday in Lubbock. The Pokes are 1-7 after the loss. Here are 10 thoughts on the game.

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1. There Are Bad Starts, Then There’s Whatever That Was

This game was over about two minutes into the game.

After a delayed start thanks to lightning in the area, Tech returned the opening kickoff. The Red Raiders then forced a three-and-out, blocked the ensuing punt and scored a touchdown on their first play from scrimmage.

Tech had ran one play and was already up 13-0.

I was expecting Tech to be better than OSU on offense and defense, but I guess I didn’t realize how wide the gap was on special teams, as well.

2. No Flores, But Walters Gets Some Run

The Cowboys have had quarterback questions just about every game this season, and that was no different Saturday.

Although there have been questions, there haven’t been a ton of answers.

Zane Flores was off the injury report this week but didn’t play Saturday. Sam Jackson V made his third start, going 9-for-19 with 48 yards.

Noah Walters, who was at North Alabama before spending a year as a regular student at UCF, came in at the end of the first half and played much of the second. He went 5-for-12 for 39 yards.

It’s a ridiculously unenviable spot to be in having a guy who started the year at WR and another who wasn’t even on the team when the season started playing quarterback. It almost doesn’t sound real. But, going 14-for-31 with 87 passing yards (the third time this year OSU has failed to throw for 100 yards) isn’t going to win a ton of college football games.

3. Moral Victory: The Defense Actually Played Alright

A 42-0 score line isn’t all that flattering, but the OSU defense didn’t play all that bad.

Tech finished with 370 yards of total offense, the Red Raiders’ lowest offensive output in a win this season. Tech ran for 88 yards, the first time this season the Red Raiders were held under 100.

OSU had six tackles for loss (two more than Tech had) and three sacks (two more than Tech had).

Then when you look at the score, the 99-yard kick return to start the game isn’t on the D. The 69-yard fumble return isn’t on the D. Then that first drive started on OSU’s own 26-yard line. Sure, the D gave up a score in one play, but the Red Raiders were basically guaranteed at least three points when that drive started.

This comes with the caveat that Tech third-string quarterback Mitch Griffis played a lot of Saturday’s game, but the injury/portal department hasn’t been kind to the Cowboys. So, the point stands.

4. But the Offense Really Stunk

OSU finished with 182 total yards, marking the second time this season (Arizona) the Cowboys have failed to get to 200.

OSU averaged just 2.9 yards per play, joining Arizona as the second time the Cowboy offense has failed to average at least three.

We already discussed the struggles in the passing game.

Big plays? OSU had one pass of at least 15 yards and one run of at least 10 yards.

Again, wide receiver playing quarterback, yada, yada, but man, it makes for a tough watch.

5. Who Is OSU’s Best Receiver?

I asked myself that question during this game.

The passing game has been so bad that I feel like I know nothing of the OSU receiving corps. It’s somewhat understandable that the OSU passing game is in the state that it’s in, given the quarterback situation, but I don’t have the slightest of clues about OSU’s receivers.

Receiver was a spot the Cowboys reloaded heavily at via the transfer portal, bringing in six portal pass-catchers. Those six (Shamar Rigby, Sam Jackson, Jaylen Lloyd, Cameron Abshire, Christian Fitzpatrick and Terrill Davis) have combined this season for 45 catches and 556 receiving yards.

Who is OSU’s best receiver? Gavin Freeman, I think? After catching six passes for 47 yards Saturday, he’s up to 280 receiving yards this season — the most on the team.

6. Give Trent Howland the Rock

Although I might not know who OSU’s best receiver is, I think I’m getting a strong idea on who RB2 should be: Trent Howland.

Rodney Fields Jr. was absent from Saturday’s game after being listed as questionable all week. Dave Hunziker said on the pregame show that he has dealt with a toe injury.

In his place, OSU used Sesi Vailahi, and the milk cartons must’ve worked because Howland got his biggest work load since running for 84 yards on 16 carries against Baylor at the end of September.

I’m a Vailahi believer, but there’s no denying it was a rough day for the redshirt sophomore. He carried six times for 16 yards (2.7 yards per carry) and lost a pair of fumbles, one of which was ripped out of his hands and ran 69 yards back the other way for a Tech touchdown.

Howland had just six combined carries in OSU’s past three games after that outing against Baylor. But he took 13 handoffs Saturday and rumbled for 58 yards (4.5 yards a carry).

Giving Howland the rock usually results in a positive gain. For a team that struggles this much offensively, maybe they should keep handing it to him.

7. Taje McCoy Deserves a Shoutout

Colorado transfer Taje McCoy made his second sack as a Cowboy on Saturday, and he was in or around a lot of things that the Cowboys’ defense did well.

He finished with four tackles, including that sack. It was a solid performance for the redshirt sophomore from Putnam City in an otherwise dull game.

8. The Portal Is Closed, At Least

No longer do we have to wonder who is even going to be on the OSU roster week to week.

The 30-day portal window that opened when Mike Gundy was fired closed this week. Here’s who OSU lost over the past 30 days:

Shea Freibaum (LS)
Dylan Smith (S)
DeAndre Boykins (S)
David Kabongo (S)
Michael Riles (DE)
Darius Thomas (LB)
Josh Ford (TE)
Cameron Epps (S)
Noah McKinney (OL)
Gabe Panikowski (K)
Jaylen Lloyd (WR)

All things considered, it could’ve been worse. There are some big hitters in there like Dylan Smith, David Kabongo, Josh Ford and Noah McKinney, but it wasn’t the mass exodus that could’ve happened given how the Cowboys’ season has gone.

This means that should OSU hire a coach before the transfer portal opens on Jan. 2, that coach will have the first opportunity at recruiting the remaining guys on the roster with eligibility.

9. The No Bowl Streak Officially Grows to Two Seasons

After Game 2 (a 69-3 loss to Oregon) it was probably safe to assume these Cowboys wouldn’t make a bowl game this year. For those who still held out hope, Game 3 (OSU’s 19-12 loss to Tulsa) probably stomped that out. But now it’s official, for the second consecutive season, the Cowboys won’t play in a bowl game.

Matchcbox Twenty’s song “Push” says, “I wanna take you for granted.” That’s how I feel about OSU’s bowl streak.

It was once just a given that every year, the Cowboys’ floor was six wins. But when that streak ended, it wasn’t like things slipped to a 5-7 season or a 4-8. OSU torpedoed into last year’s 3-9 finish, going winless in Big 12 play. Now the Pokes are at 1-7 with another win looking unlikely.

It takes a lot longer to build a building (says me with no construction experience whatsoever) than it does to tear it down.

10. Well, It Wasn’t 66-6

Let’s look back at better times for the Cowboys as to no longer dwell on this dreadful season.

Back in 2011, OSU went to Lubbock and rolled to a 66-6 win against Tech, spawning one of the better memes in the Big 12, if you ask me.

It goes to show just how dominant that 2011 Cowboy team was that even on a day where OSU started a wide receiver at quarterback it didn’t get as ugly as that 2011 game.

For fun (or torture) let’s look back at some of the stats from that game:

OSU had 637 yards of total offense (OSU had 182 total yards Saturday).

Brandon Weeden threw for 423 yards and five touchdowns (OSU threw for 87 yards and no touchdowns Saturday).

Two OSU receivers, Josh Cooper and Justin Blackmon, finished with 100 receiving yards and another, Josh Stewart, had 93 (see Thought No. 5).

The reset button has been pressed. Maybe OSU will get back to those days soon.