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Oklahoma State At Texas First Half Recap and Thoughts

Well, that was... different.

By Gerald Tracy III
Brendan Maloney-USA TODAY Sports

The first half is one of the many times you could say that there are still two quarters left.

Oklahoma State started out strong, scoring a touchdown after forcing Texas to punt on its first drive. The Cowboys drove the length of the field through their passing game while the running game suffered. Mason Rudolph shined on the drive before evading just about every Texas defender possible and connecting with Shepard in the endzone for an "easy" touchdown.

The Cowboys allowed a field goal on the next drive, but would strike back to make it 14-3 with a J.W. Walsh rushing touchdown where it looked like he was waiting for someone to try to hit him. Instead, he took the easy touchdown. When the first quarter ended with a score of 14-6, the honeymoon phase of the game ended for Cowboy fans.

On the first drive of the second quarter, OSU was driving. Then Rudolph just dropped the ball. Yes, you read that right. He literally just dropped it.

The fumble resulted in a touchdown, making it a 14-13 game, something that no one expected after the first few Oklahoma State drive. The next drive was probably the weirdest of the season as Rudolph threw an interception on third down, but when a Texas defender literally tapped Rudolph after the throw, Oklahoma State got a free first down.

The free first down would turn into three points to extend the Oklahoma State lead to 17-13. It wouldn't last. Texas went nearly the full length of the field to score, running the ball the whole time, to make it 20-17.

Oklahoma State sort of got back to its normal self on its final drive of the second quarter before stalling thanks to an intentional grounding penalty on Mason Rudolph and what would be a third and 21, where Yurcich had his boys run a screen pass.

Because that's how you pick up 21 yards. The Pokes ended up punting and the quarter ended 20-17.

Thoughts

  • Craziest second quarter ever. Might have been the worst one we've played all season.
  • Oklahoma State prided itself on its defensive line and rush defense all year and offseason. The second quarter showed there was a lot of work to do.
  • We may lose three or four games this year.
  • Mason Rudolph definitely let the pressure of losing get to him.
  • The running game has to be successful to get anything going.
  • The secondary has actually looked good. But it's also only had to defend like four passes.
  • I'm not entirely sure how hard it is to stop an offense with three plays (run, run, quarterback run).

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