Superlatives from Oklahoma State’s 20-18 Win over Kansas State

It was nerve-racking and far from pretty, but the Cowboys escaped Manhattan with the W. Before we head into a much-needed bye week, let’s review OSU’s 20-18 win over Kansas State and hand out some rewards.

Play of the Game: Jason Taylor II’s Defensive Score

We’ll give due credit to Israel Antwine for dislodging the ball, but Taylor — helping fill in for a sidelined Kolby Harvell-Peel — was in the right place at the right time, and then he had the wheels to pay it off with this 85-yard TD, the fourth-longest in school history.

The Here We Go Again Moment: Josh Sills’ Soft Hands

On the opening drive of the game, K-State DE Wyatt Hubert made short order of a block and strip-sacked Spencer Sanders before you can say “musical chairs.”

While Sills — who was moved from guard to tackle — was the one that got beat by Hubert, he had the wherewithal (and hands) to snatch the ball from the air and keep an ugly play from turning into a ??? play.

It’s been a rough couple of weeks for OSU’s offensive line with injuries necessitating a never-ending game of musical chairs. Hopefully a week off will help.

Game Ball (Offense): LD Brown

Behind a beat-up offensive line and a limping Chuba Hubbard, LD Brown had the biggest game of his career.

The redshirt senior was the running game, amassing 110 of the Cowboys’ 148 rushing yards, tying a career milestone. Brown racked up 110 and a score in a route of Missouri State in 2018, but this was in a conference road game in November with huge Big 12 implications.

While most of the offense limped along, Brown kept drives alive, picking up four of OSU’s 10 first downs in the second half. And even though he came up hobbling a time or two himself, Brown provided the Pokes with three of the sparse chunk plays with runs of 11, 23 and 50 yards.

Game Ball (Defense): Amen Ogbongbemiga

I was tempted to give it to Tre Sterling for his game-sealing interception, and I’m sure few would have complained. But let’s recognize the dirty work and consistent effort from one of OSU’s defensive leaders.

He’s been jockeying with Sterling for OSU’s leading tackler and is now in the lead with 43 on the year. Amen led all tacklers with eight and 1.5 tackles for loss against Kansas State, consistently plugging holes at the line of scrimmage.

Biggest Question for the Bye Week

Who can get healthy?

The Cowboys were short several key players heading into the K-State game and several more were dinged up in Manhattan. They will need to spend plenty of time at the trainer’s table and the rest of the week off in bubble wrap before a Bedlam with both teams fighting for a trip to Arlington.