Three Stars: Oklahoma State at Texas Tech

The biggest question I have to ask myself in starting to write this three stars column on Oklahoma State’s 45-35 loss at Texas Tech: were there three performances worthy of awarding stars for?

The answer is probably yes. We might have to squint real hard, but we can do it. The biggest problem is the offensive line didn’t have a great day and neither did Spencer Sanders. In the case of the latter, that had an affect on the overall performances of OSU’s wide receivers.

The defense struggled at times but also looked encouraging. There were a few individual players on that side of the ball that stood out.

Chuba Hubbard obviously deserves stars, but he’s received stars every week but one. He deserves stars every week, so this week I’m going to switch it up a little. My stars this week are going to three guys who aren’t typically thought of for #thisherepost. With that said, let’s get to it.

Three Stars — Jordan McCray, Dillon Stoner

Yes, neither of these guys had as many catches or yards as Tylan Wallace, who could easily be slotted here. But they’re both reliable. Both would have better stats with a more experienced quarterback. Not to knock Sanders, but sometimes he tries to force the ball to Wallace because he’s Wallace. And Wallace can do just about anything he wants on a football field.

McCray’s 73-yard touchdown in the third quarter gave OSU some life. Sanders under-threw the ball a little bit and McCray made a nice contested catch before racing past Tech’s safety to the end zone. McCray might be OSU’s most dependable wide receiver not named Wallace, who may very well be the best wide receiver in college football.

As for Stoner, he’s always there. Every game he shows up and catches four or five balls for between 70-100 yards and maybe a touchdown or two. That’s what happened Saturday: Five catches for 76 yards.

Two Stars: Amen Ogbongbemiga

This one is a little overdue. Or maybe overshadowed by outstanding performances from Hubbard and Wallace all year and the offensive line and defense as a whole in spots. In the past when Ogbongbemiga stood out, the defense did too, and I highlighted the group as a whole. This time, it’s his time to shine.

Ogbongbemiga finished with five total tackles, tied with Tre Sterling and Tanner McCalister and trailing three other Cowboy defenders. Ogbongbemiga’s 47 tackles this season are two behind Malcolm Rodriguez for the team, and he’s one of four Cowboys with more than 30 total tackles. Ogbongbemiga also leads the team with 3.5 sacks.

While these are season-long stats that aren’t necessarily indicative of Saturday’s game, I wanted to highlight players who have been good this season and Saturday that haven’t been mentioned enough in this weekly review.

This isn’t updated for Saturday’s game, but seems good to me!

Also I’m all the way here for #CastBrothers.

One Star — Trace Ford

Ford is unquestionably the most productive freshman this season. He lost some playing time due to Israel Antwine being cleared to play in Week 4 at Texas, but Ford started the season strong and played well against Tech.

Ford finished with three tackles and batted down one pass against the Red Raiders. He has three passes defended, 11 tackles and is second on the team in sacks with two this season.

This play was the living definition of a realcooltime. Ford is going to be really good for a long time and it’s going to be fun to watch.

I know this was a little bit of an unconventional way to hand out this weeks’ star performances but in a game that frustrating, you do what you can. I also don’t think anyone wants to hear me talk about Hubbard every single week because he’s carried this team on his back this season and has been deserving of the “three stars” performance in nearly every game.