The Good, the Bad, the Ugly (and the Unclear) from Oklahoma State’s 45-27 Loss to Baylor

Oklahoma State is 0-1 in the post-Mike Gundy era, but the Cowboys at least showed some life after a seismic shift just four days prior.

The Cowboys fell to Baylor 45-27 in their Big 12 opener, falling to 1-3 on the season and putting increasing the chances of starting a new bowl streak (the kind that makes you realize you took the other kind for granted). But it was not all bad in Stillwater on Saturday. Let’s take a look at the Good, Bad and Ugly from the Pokes’ third loss of the season — and what’s unclear.

The Good: Sam Jackson’s Skillset

The Cowboys came out firing, well at least after a gaffed kickoff pinned them deep.

Starting with their second drive, Doug Meacham grabbed the offensive playbook by its ankles and shook all its loose change out onto the turf of Lewis Field. There were double passes, backward passes and they might have found a dude in QB-turned-WR Sam Jackson V.

The trick plays weren’t really as effective in the second half, but what should be taken from this is that OSU has a weapon in Jackson. He’s the actual Swiss Army knife, not Zane Flores. I’m not saying he should be in the running for QB1, but I think we will see Meacham and Co. continue to look for reasons to make use of his skillset and that’s a good idea.

The Bad: The Third Quarter

The Cowboys and Bears may have tied the third quarter 7-7, but that’s when OSU lost it.

The Cowboys put together a field-goal drive late in the second and then got a stop to stay within 28-20 at halftime. Then all of that momentum went kaputt during the break. Likely, Dave Aranda got with his staff and players and they figured out how to shield against OSU’s kitchen-sink approach on offense.

Either way, after turning in the most yards in a first half since 2021 (349), OSU was outgained 233-55 in the third quarter, had just two first downs and turned in three-straight three-and-outs. The momentum was gone, and the Bears were able to create the type of distance that OSU is apparently not equipped to make up.

The Ugly: Zane Flores Down the Stretch

I’m not going to pile on the third-year freshman, but the numbers are what they are. After an encouraging first half, Flores looked disjointed and out of sync for most of the second. Here are his splits:

1st half: 15/25 for 154 yards
2nd half: 8/16 for 78 yards

If you take out the last drive, when things were out of hand, he went just 3/10. And beyond the numbers, he was timid and short on a lot of those throws, especially the deep balls down the field.

Again, he’s a freshman and showed some good things early — and I think he has the skillset to progress nicely — but gotta call it like I saw it.

The Unclear: What Was That First Half?

Was that spark we saw in the first half a shimmer of hope or fool’s gold? That remains to be seen, but it was fun for a bit.

The Cowboys and their coaches have been through a lot over the last week (and then some), but it’s never certain how a team will respond, especially one that is still so new to the program.

If Meacham and his staff can tap into that energy and use the first half (and some of the defensive success in the second) as a building block like he said postgame, then there might be a path forward. Or they might fall off a cliff like the offense did in the third quarter. Whatever happens, it’s a different ball game now.

We have what could be essentially a lame-duck coaching staff and (thanks to the NIL and transfer portal) a lame-duck roster, neither of which could resemble OSU football moving forward. But regardless of their motivation, it will be intriguing to see how these players and coaches can respond and whether we get more of the first-half Pokes or the second-half Pokes as the season plays out.