The Good, the Bad and the Ugly from Oklahoma State’s Road Loss to UCF

The Cowboys were in the driver’s seat for two whole quarters in Orlando. Then their offense checked out and their defense wore down. It started good and ended ugly. Let’s look at the superlatives from OSU’s loss at UCF.

The Good: OSU’s Defense Is Improving

Yes, I know. The Cowboys gave up 17 unanswered points in the second half and found a way to give up three too many chunk plays.

But Oklahoma State’s defense has steadily improved since Clint Bowen took over as interim DC, and I think he’s earned himself a few interviews this offseason. Per Doug Meacham, one of those should be in Stillwater.

This was true at halftime.

After his first bye week as #okstate‘s defensive coordinator, Clint Bowen has allowed 14 points across six quarters.

— Marshall Scott (@MarshallScottOK) November 22, 2025

And this is still true: OSU’s defense was good enough for the Cowboys to win at least the last two games. That statement would have been laughable a month ago.

The Bad: Zane Flores Just Didn’t Have It

I’m not going to pile on here. But after leaning over a bit backward to justify some of his four turnovers against Kansas State, I need to address some poor decision-making and bad throws by Flores in Orlando.

After an 8-for-11 start in the first quarter, it’s like he left his focus on the other end of the field. Flores finished the game completing just five of his last 17 attempts plus that interception that essentially ended the game.

I have no idea who will be playing quarterback for OSU next season — and this outing doesn’t preclude Flores from success either at Stillwater or elsewhere, but the guy didn’t have it.

The Ugly: The Offense Fell Off a Cliff

Well, maybe a molehill.

An opening drive touchdown gave Cowboy fans hope, but — aside from another TD late in the second quarter — the Cowboys’ offense was a no show for much of the first half and virtually all of the second.

Those two scoring drives bookended a pair of three-and-outs and then the Cowboys had two (TWO!!) first downs in the second half. OSU had six three-and-outs on the game. Sadly, that was the fourth time they’d done that. OSU had eight against Oregon.

After almost doubling UCF in time of possession in the first half (19:36-10:24), OSU held the ball for only 8:56 of the 30 minutes in the second half. What’s worse, it didn’t look like they were doing anything to try to shake things up.

I don’t know that anyone was expecting 30 points from the Pokes, but when your defense (again) puts you in the position to get your first Big 12 win in two years you have to do something. Where were the trick plays? Where were the direct snaps? At some point, after the fourth-straight three-and-out, don’t you need to go find that kitchen sink?