Instant Recap: Oklahoma State Falls at Kansas 38-21

BOXSCORE

The Cowboys actually fielded a functional offense for parts of the game, but missed opportunities — and actual misses — kept them from capitalizing on it.

Oklahoma State fell to Kansas 38-21 on the road. It felt like a step forward for the Cowboys, but the result remains the same.

What will unfortunately be overshadowed by the scoreboard, Zane Flores turned in the best game of his career on his return from injury.

Showing little signs of rust after missing the last three games with injury, Flores hit the field slinging it. He went 3-for-4 on the first drive of the game, leading OSU to just its third opening-drive touchdown all season. It was his first touchdown pass in college, and his first of two on the day.

But following that score, OSU’s next two possessions ended with missed kicks which allowed the homecoming Hawks to take control of the game.

Logan Ward missed a 44-yard field goal on one drive and then had a 19-yard kick blocked on the next. Kansas was able to split those two possessions with its first touchdown to take a 10-7 lead in halftime.

After the two teams combined for just five total possessions in the first half, things sped up early in the second half — to the Cowboys’ detriment.

It started with another head-scratcher for OSU’s special teams unit. Gavin Freeman fumbled a kickoff return but was able to fall on it for a short loss which started OSU’s drive on the 13. A tackle for loss and then a sack of Flores resulted in the Cowboys’ first punt, a three-and-out. What’s worse, that drive split a pair of Kansas touchdown drives to start the third quarter. Midway through the third quarter, OSU’s three-point deficit exploded to 17.

The Cowboys weren’t quite dead. Zane Flores led the Pokes on a momentum-swinging touchdown drive to pull within 24-14 late in the third. But it immediately swung back to the home team with yet another special teams oops.

Immediately following that touchdown, KU’s Emmanuel Henderson Jr. returned the kickoff 56 yards to set up a short field. The Jayhawks scored in just four plays to go up 31-14. Leshon Williams scored Kansas’ third rushing score to make it 38-14 with six minutes to go. Sesi Vailahi found the end zone in garbage time to soften the final score a bit, but the game was pretty much over after the last rushing touchdown by Kansas.

In his return, Zane Flores went 22-of-28 (79%) for 235 yards and two touchdowns, career-highs in all three categories.

The Jayhawks were able to take advantage of OSU miscues, especially on special teams, and then kept the Cowboys at bay with a 232-yard rushing performance. Kansas had three rushing scores and averaged 5.9 yards per carry.

Running back Rodney Fields Jr. rushed 15 times for OSU, racking up 56 yards in his return after missing the Texas Tech game due to injury. Gavin Freeman was a game leader in catches (seven) and yards (78). He logged his third touchdown catch of the season. Receiver Terrill Davis matched him in yards, with 78 on five receptions.

With the loss, the Cowboys fall to 1-8 and are 0-6 in Big 12 play. They head into a much-needed bye week before returning to Stillwater for their penultimate home game of the season against Kansas State on Nov. 15. Kick time still to be announced.