Oklahoma State-Texas A&M: Porter’s 2019 Texas Bowl Notebook

HOUSTON, Texas — Oklahoma State got beat in the Texas Bowl on Friday evening as the 2019 season came to a close. I emptied my 10 thoughts here but wanted to clear out the notebook before the dawn of a new year and a new season (hoops, that is).

Let’s jump right in.

• I got to the game late (because I’m such a professional) so here were my first two thoughts.

• Thought No. 1: Holy crap, Texas A&M has a lot of fans, no wonder TexAgs.com is so successful. Related: NRG Stadium is on a slightly different level than the Liberty Bowl. Like, pro vs. high school level.

• Thought No. 2: Holy crap, that 97-yard TD drive against a legit SEC defense just made OSU look like the best offense in the country.

• It feels like A&M wants to be more Wisconsin than they do LSU or the DMC Arkansas teams. They run a lot of extracurricular stuff, but what they’re really trying to do is ram it up the middle every single time.

• Dru Brown overthrew Braydon Johnson, which I legitimately did not know was possible to do.

• Can we trade Tom Hutton back for Mason Cox and cash or no?

• OSU had 163 yards in the first quarter, and 10 minutes into the second had exactly 0. Not ideal and killing all the SEC fodder I have in the chamber.

• This, while probably innocuous, is not the greatest look in the world from KHP.

So Oklahoma State is just blatantly giving guys money for scoring touchdowns? #TexasBowl pic.twitter.com/Gv3A0JnSRS

— Tyler Vesely (@TylerVesely) December 28, 2019

• The field goal at the end of the first half was silly. It’s the Texas Bowl. Chuba just hit 2K. It’s 4th and short from distance. Just go for it.

• The A&M marching band is never not awesome. Maybe what I’ve missed most about them not being in the Big 12. Other than that auto-W every year.

• How wild would it be if Chuba had gone back down under 2,000 yards? Would they put it in the media guide with an Ames-sized asterisk? We’d have to un-print the shirts. Would be tough.

• Ref looked a little like fake Tom Hanks.

• There was an in-game obstacle course in which the ending was three tackle dummies you could roll over onto a mat. Both of the participants sort of dove into them and onto the puffy mat. You can bet our December ad money I would have been diving from about 5 yards out and barely getting there.

• Would you rather have Kellen Mond or Dru Brown?

• Jason Taylor II had a great game had VIII tackles in KHP’s absence. It felt like he was all over the field, and the stats confirm it. Redshirt freshman.

• What would you do if you had Amen rolling downhill at you? Play dead or play dead?

• Laughed at this note from AlecM in The Chamber during the game. Pulled from the broadcast: “If you know anything about Mike Gundy you’ll know he loves those high school wrestlers.” That’s sounds … creepy.

• I wonder if OSU’s season has ever started and ended on a Friday night. This is what you think about when games are 14-14 at the end of the third quarter and OSU can’t get past the 200-yard mark.

• At one point in the middle of the game, Amen put his pointer finger and pinkie in the air. Still trying to determine whether he was taunting the A&M sideline or just a proponent of Horns up for Peace and a supporter of Eddie Rado.

• A&M side sang the school song going into the 4th quarter, and it was swaying a little bit. A reminder that when College Station is thumping — which ain’t often! — there’s not many better places in CFB. I’ve been there a few times when it’s good, and when it’s good it’s good.

• There was a fan singing I Got Friends in Low Places in the stadium in a Tulsa pullover jacket. Big Shea Seals guy probably. Also saw a guy in a UH pullover. Sort of the A&M version of Tulsa I guess.

• What happened to the over-the-middle stuff that was working early? Felt like they went completely away from even trying it and either tried to go as deep as Brown can throw it or with those little quick outs that only work when Justin Blackmon is suiting up. Update: They did try one to McCray in the 4th. It didn’t go great. Another update: They started doing it again on the drive with 2 minutes left and it worked.

• Chief!

• LSU might beat an all-star team of both of these teams by 3 TDs.

• I love the double hashes on NFL fields. So good.

• The 4th-down play where OSU brought Sanders in and lined up like they were Navy was not their greatest moment. A&M is begging for you to play the game up the middle like that, and they happily obliged.

• Ainias Smith can move a little bit. Impressive runner.

• Great point by @Maarek in The Chamber: Missing Peel really bad right now.

• Here’s a thing.

Here’s a PETA protestor getting dragged off the field at the Texas Bowl… pic.twitter.com/olfWwamQ4P

— Steve Helwick (@s_helwick) December 28, 2019

• This made my knees jelly.