The Good, the Bad and the Ugly from Oklahoma State’s 42-0 Loss at Texas Tech

The Cowboys got shut out in Lubbock 42-0 against the No. 14Red Raiders’ second- and then third-string quarterbacks. Despite what the box score might indicate, the defense wasn’t horrible. In accordance with what the box score says, the offense was.

It’s getting harder and harder to populate this first point, but we will push onward. Here is the Good, the Bad and the Ugly from OSU’s loss at Texas Tech.

The Good: Defensive Effort

I won’t go as far as to state that there was much good on defense when you lose by six touchdowns, but it makes it at least better if three of those weren’t really the defense’s fault and two more were essentially in garbage time. All the caveats, I know.

But the effort was good, and the Cowboys did maintain it.

There was a play in the third quarter that acted as a microcosm for OSU’s defense on Saturday. LaDainian Fields made a nice play on the sideline on a ball thrown to Tech receiver Reggie Virgil. Fields came back to the ball, tipped it up and then picked it off and ran it back 44 yards. But it was an obvious free play after Landyn Cleveland was flagged offsides. Fields, winded, went to the sideline. On the very next play, Mitch Griffis found Caleb Douglas for a 42-yard TD in almost the exact spot on the field.

Lots of effort. Not much impact on the end result.

The Bad: The QB Situation

This is nothing new, obviously. But it is interesting that Zane Flores did not see the field despite dropping off the injury report his week.

There has been some improvement over the last three weeks, even if incremental, but the Cowboys ran into a buzzsaw.  Could Zane Flores have made a difference? Maybe not. Maybe that abject pressure that Tech’s defensive front can create was enough to have Meacham and Co. slow roll Flores out for another week.

But the way this offense is constructed, it does not appear that OSU has a quarterback that can consistently move the ball down the field. Maybe that changes if Flores is 100%. Maybe it changes if Hauss Hejny is 80%. But until they can move the ball and protect, they need an absolute baller taking snaps and they don’t have one available.

The Ugly: Another Bowl-less Year

This is no shock to anyone and maybe I’m belaboring the point. But Oklahoma State missing the postseason for the second straight year is not a streak I would have expected three years ago.

The Cowboys are in the midst of a reset, so there’s reason for hope. But there’s also a real possibility that that streak extends to three years. What does that look like?

I think there is plenty of reason for optimism for the future of the program, but this is also an ugly reminder as we take a postmortem of the glory days of Cowboy football.