The Oklahoma State Cowboys entered their matchup with the Texas Tech Red Raiders in Lubbock as a massive underdog, and the ending of the game felt like a foregone conclusion. The opening kickoff seemingly removed any doubt as J’Koby Williams received the ball on the Texas Tech 1-yard line before scampering 99 yards for a touchdown just a few seconds into the game. For the Cowboys, it was all downhill from there.
The offense couldn’t get anything going, and the defense managed to make at least a few key plays, but when the offense can’t convert, does it really matter? In the end, the Red Raiders proved why they’re a legitimate contender, not just for the Big 12 Championship, but for a College Football Playoff appearance, as they handily defeated Oklahoma State 42-0.
The Offense (Probably) Can’t Get Any Worse
The Cowboys have had a handful of ugly possessions every single game, and they’ve had some games where it seemed like they could only move up from there, but the output against Texas Tech was a new low. Sam Jackson V and Noah Walters split time at quarterback, but neither had any success, completing less than half their passes each and combining for just 87 yards through the air.
The run game wasn’t much better, accounting for 95 yards on 32 rushes. The real low point was Sesi Vailahi had the ball taken from him on a run up the middle that was then returned 69 yards for a touchdown.
On the bright side, the Cowboys have Kansas up next weekend, and their defense is towards the bottom of the conference. Maybe Oklahoma State can get some things figured out and build some momentum towards the end of the season.
The Defense Tried
Despite the final score, it’s hard to blame the defense too much. Sure, they gave up a handful of big gains, as has been the case all season, but they also did their job more than a few times. Taje McCoy forced and recovered a fumble, Ike Esoonwune recovered another one, and Wendell Gregory tackled Mitch Griffis for a 3-yard loss on a 4th and 1 to force a turnover on downs. That was about as good as it got for that side of the ball, though, as the Cowboys allowed 370 yards of total offense, mostly through the air.
Let’s be real: Texas Tech has one of the most potent offenses in college football, and a defense that hasn’t been good all season long simply could not slow it down. Heck, the Red Raiders played two quarterbacks, and both of them performed better than Sam Jackson V or Noah Walters. The defense did a good enough job at slowing down Tech’s ground game, allowing just 88 rushing yards on 40 attempts with only a couple of runs going for more than 10 yards.
The secondary has been a major weak point for a few seasons now, and the Red Raiders had 8 passing plays of at least 17 yards, two of which were touchdowns. Looking ahead, the best remaining offense is UCF at 5th in the conference in total yardage per game, but all 4 remaining games feature passing offenses in the top half. It’s going to be difficult to get better all of a sudden, but perhaps the defense will rise to the challenge down the stretch.
Special Teams Shouldn’t Be This Hard
A kickoff returned for a touchdown, followed by a blocked punt on the very next drive, set the tone for an ugly game. Give punter Wes Pahl some credit for his punting, though. He did a lot of it, and with a long of 62 yards and an average of just a tick over 50 yards per punt, he definitely did his job. But the mistakes early set Texas Tech up for success from the get-go, and the Cowboys were never able to recover.
Headed to Lawrence
Next up for the Cowboys is a trip to Lawrence, Kansas, to take on the Kansas Jayhawks. The Jayhawks are coming off a 42-17 home loss to Kansas State, and at 4-4 on the season, they have had a very up-and-down season. Kansas doesn’t have any hopes of competing for a Big 12 Championship, but after 5-7 last season, they have hopes of returning to a bowl game.
Kansas will surely be favored by double digits against the Cowboys, and ESPN’s matchup predictor gives Oklahoma State just a 4.3% of winning the game. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 PM, and the game will be televised on ESPN+.