INSTANT REACTION: Oklahoma State 37, Iowa State 20

Iowa State and weird games are just a thing for OSU.

So it was no surprise, after a horrible performance in the first half by the Cowboys' offense, and some awful play calling and clock management after a huge Cyclone miscue, that OSU would suddenly lead a game going into halftime that up to that point had the entire Cowboy Nation in knots.

Add a "Tyreek Streak" to start the 2nd half, and suddenly the Pokes were in charge of a game that none of us were so sure about with only 40 seconds to go in the first half.

PLAY #1...OSU went for the "pooch" kick to avoid a long return with not much time remaining in the first half, and Iowa State managed to do this...

Awesome. Short field with a timeout. Plenty of time for a score.

Or so we thought.

After a couple of runs, OSU had a first down inside the 2 yd line. Iowa State took their last time out, which was awesome, giving the Cowboys time to draw up exactly what they wanted.

So on 1st and Goal, we got this...

I absolutely torched Yurcich from this point forward, and while I'm not totally retracting that, in this instance Garman was responsible for the whiff.

He should have thrown the ball away the minute the pass play wasn't there.

That would've stopped the clock, allowing OSU to keep the timeout, meaning they could have run the ball on one of the next two plays without risking the clock. Unfortunately they had to burn it, so now a pass play HAD to be called, and Garman threw a horrible fade to Ateman.

Then came PLAY #2....

Third down, no timeouts, and OSU decides to RUN IT....

The call on the field was not a TD. This was the best view.

Everyone on TV said no. Big 12 replay refs flipped a coin and called it for the Cowboys, and suddenly a game that OSU had trailed up until less than a minute prior was headed to halftime with the Pokes leading 13-6.

OSU would receive the kickoff to start the 2nd half, and our dreams came true...

That was it.

Iowa State would score to pull back within a TD, but OSU was now awake, and Garman began throwing the ball down the field. A follow up TD from Garman to Seales would make the Cyclones one dimensional, and the slow route was on.

TOP was basically split. The OSU D would limit Iowa State to 322 yards of offense despite no turnovers (4.5 ypp). They were the beneficiary of a few drops and miscues, but overall the youngsters in the back 7 played well. Emmanuel Ogbah was his usual self, knocking down a couple of passes and generally clogging things up. Bibbs for Iowa State was a really tough cover, coming up with 2 TD's on great catches.

The offense was anemic in the first half, going punt, int, punt, int, before scoring on their next 6 drives (I'm not counting the gimme at the end of the 1st half.

Garman looked shaky to start, but the play calling also completely took away any semblance of down field throws until late in the half. Shocking that once they started airing it out a bit, things began to turn around. Daxx would end the day 26-41 for 271 yards (10.4 ypc / 6.6 ypa), 1 TD and 2 INTs. Of course his TD pass was a perfect 40 yard strike to Seales.

Des Roland would have some success, coming close to notching the first 100 yd rushing game of the season with 19 carries for 95 yards (5.0 ypc). Yurcich, however, continues to struggle getting Tyreek Hill the ball in space. They attempted a half back pass at one point, but the Cyclones had the play covered and Hill wisely tucked it and took a short loss.

Injuries were a concern in the beginning, with DE Jimmy Bean and OL Zach Crabtree getting banged up, but it looks like they both will be ok. Stephens, Lampkin, and Seaton were all out for today's game.

Robert Allen reported some type of discussion about the communication between the press box (Yurcich) and the sideline, but not sure what that was all about.

Be that as it may, any win is a good win, and it was obvious that once OSU got things rolling, they were comfortably in charge of this game.

Stay tuned for the full recap coming tomorrow morning. Not sure if it will involve stats or a rant.

GO POKES!!!