Slumping Cowboys face No. 6 Texas
Oklahoma State has hit rock bottom, or at least the Cowboys better hope so.
A humiliating 31-12 loss on Oct. 13 at Kansas State leaves the Cowboys 4-3 overall and 1-3 in the Big 12 as they enter the meat of their conference schedule. The defeat ended a seven-game road winning streak for Oklahoma State and was the first time in 19 games the Cowboys fell after leading at halftime.
“I guess we could sit here and debate which losses are different than others but I don’t worry about that,” Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said. “And I look at their effort, and part of that’s being a young man and growing up and part of that’s being a mature man, as we are as coaches and handling it the right way.”
The Cowboys handled little of anything well in losing to the Wildcats who were winless in the Big 12 and had lost three games to ranked opponents by an average of 28-10. Oklahoma State had just dropped out of the polls. Instead of making a push to get back in, the Cowboys could be in jeopardy of claiming a 14th consecutive bowl bid.
OK, that might be looking a bit far ahead, though the schedule stiffens, beginning with a home game against No. 6 and Big 12 leader Texas (6-1, 4-0) on Saturday.
Oklahoma State developed the reputation of a pass-happy program after producing NFL quarterbacks such as Brandon Weeden and Mason Rudolph and NFL receivers such as Dez Bryant, Justin Blackman and James Washington.
Throughout most of his 14-year tenure as head coach, however, Gundy has stressed the importance of a balanced offense. This year in particular, that has been true as the Cowboys broke in Taylor Cornelius, a fifth-year senior starting at quarterback for the first time.
Balance relies on many aspects, some of which must complement the arm of Cornelius and the legs of running back Justice Hill, last year’s Big 12 rushing leader.
“One week we don’t block well to run the ball, the next week we don’t block well to throw the ball,” Gundy said. “One week we throw the ball well, one week we don’t throw the ball well.
“Defensively, we had a couple weeks where we didn’t defend the throw down the field, then the last game (at Kansas State) we defended the ball well down the field and got worn down a little bit in the running game. We’ve got a lot of things to work on, and we’ve tried to address that.”
Consistency is obviously needed both ways. The Cowboys could never get into a rhythm against Kansas State, converting just 5-of-15 third downs. Defensively, they were flattened, allowing 291 yards on the ground and allowing Kansas State to control the clock.
Either deficiency could be devastating against Texas, which is ranked higher than at any time since 2010 and is one of just three teams (Notre Dame, LSU) with three wins against Top 25 opponents.
Oklahoma State was among those ranked teams at one point, climbing to No. 15 after a nonconference victory against Boise State. But the Cowboys, who were 10-game winners each of the past three seasons, now find themselves in a position where nothing is guaranteed, not even bowl eligibility.
“When it comes to a loss you are always going to be frustrated. I’m not used to losing, so whenever we do lose it hits home,” defensive tackle Enoch Smith said.
“I’m not that social after a loss, but I have to remember that you can’t harp over one game. We live to play another game. We have five more games to play this season, we have to do what we need to do to become bowl-eligible and show everyone else that we’re still here.”
Maybe a trip in time will help the Cowboys against Texas. They will wear throwback jerseys from 1988 to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Barry Sanders’ Heisman Trophy season.