Baylor Coach Matt Rhule on Oklahoma State’s Dominance: ‘We Have To Be Honest With Ourselves’

I remember 2015. It wasn’t that long ago. Oklahoma State came into the Baylor game in Stillwater 10-0, poised for the unlikeliest of trips to the College Football Playoff. It got torched that night by a third-string QB who would eventually transfer. I wrote many, many articles thereafter about how the Cowboys didn’t have the horses to ride late in the season to keep up with Baylor and OU.

Two short years (and a couple of scandals) later, not only does OSU have horses, Baylor does not. This became clear at some point during Oklahoma State’s five-drive stretch in the first and second quarters when it put up TD after TD after TD.

Baylor coach Matt Rhule, who is still looking for his first win in Waco (or elsewhere with the Bears), acknowledged this after the game, too.

“I thought they played an outstanding game,” Rhule said of Gundy’s squad. “At the end of the day, Oklahoma State was just better than us. We have to be honest with ourselves. In a lot of games, we we’re able to hang in there. Today we weren’t able to hang in there. We have to get better and we recognize that.

“I thought our kids sat there and composed themselves with class. They played hard, and we just have to get better and that’s what we’ll work on doing. I don’t want to minimize anything Oklahoma State was doing. You can see why they’re the No. 2 offense in the country. They were clicking on all cylinders.”

It’s a bitter reality when you roll a team out on the field, and you know you just don’t have the guys to keep up. All the game planning and scheming in the world cannot keep what’s about to happen from happening.

Gundy added that he saw what he wanted to see on Saturday, other than turnovers and penalties, from the Pokes after the bye week. And Rhule confirmed what Gundy said, although he saw some things he didn’t particularly want to see.

“They were able to do it in a multitude of ways,” said Rhule. “We played zone. We played man. We played quarters. We did everything we could do. We blitzed. They just made great plays in the passing game. They made some great personal efforts to make plays at the crucial time. You can tell they’re a put-together group. The quarterback was in control.”

That’s what the No. 1 offense in the country can do to you.

Baylor QB Zach Smith, of all people, summed it up most succinctly and probably best after the 59-16 beating — 30 points clear of Baylor’s worst loss of the season, by the way.

“They are a pretty good team and they outplayed us today,” said Smith.