Oklahoma State gets picked off by Texas

Oklahoma State Cowboys 2009 ... Head Coach: Mike Gundy

2009 Schedule
CFN Prediction: 10-2
2009 Record: 6-1

9/5 Georgia W 24-10
9/12 Houston L 45-35
9/19 Rice W 41-24
9/26 Grambling St W 56-6
10/3 OPEN DATE
10/10 at Texas A&M W 36-21
10/17 Missouri W 33-17
10/24 at Baylor W 34-7
10/31 Texas
11/7 at Iowa State
11/14 Texas Tech
11/19 Colorado
11/28 at Oklahoma

2008 Schedule
CFN Prediction: 7-5
2008 Record: 9-4

8/30 Wash. St W 39-13
9/6 Houston W 56-37
9/13 Missouri State W 57-13
9/20 OPEN DATE
9/27 Troy W 55-24
10/4 Texas A&M W 56-28
10/11 at Missouri W 28-23
10/18 Baylor W 34-6
10/25 at Texas L 28-24
11/1 Iowa State W 59-17
11/8 at Texas Tech L 56-20
11/15 at Colorado W 30-17
11/22 OPEN DATE
11/29 Oklahoma L 61-41
Holiday Bowl
12/30 Oregon L 42-31

Oklahoma State Cowboys

Oct. 31
Texas 41 … at Oklahoma State 14
Texas came up with a dominant performance getting out to a 17-0 first half lead helped by a 77-yard interception return for a touchdown from Curtis Brown. The defense kept the pressure on in the third with a 31-yard interception return for a score from Earl Thomas, while the offense also got into the act with two short touchdown runs from Cody Johnson and an 11-yard touchdown catch from Malcolm Williams. Oklahoma State scored in the second on a one-yard Beau Johnson run, but was never in the game thanks to five turnovers.
Player of the Game: Texas LB Roddrick Muckelroy made nine tackles with two tackles for loss.
Oklahoma State: Passing: Zac Robinson, 15-28, 143 yds, 1 TD, 4 INT
Rushing: Keith Toston, 19-70, Receiving: Hubert Anyiam, 5-62
Texas: Passing: Colt McCoy, 16-21, 171 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Colt McCoy, 11-34, Receiving: Jordan Shipley, 6-64 
What It All Means: The offense seemed a bit desperate early on, evidenced by a fourth down conversion early on, and Zac Robinson pressed too much throwing four picks as part of rough day against a dominant defense. The OSU D wasn’t bad, but the offense was in too much of a hole to get out. The return of Kendall Hunter didn’t matter too much; he only gained a yard on one carry. As bad as the loss was, there’s still time to end up being the second best team in the Big 12 by rolling over the last month. If OSU plays up to its capability, the only scare left is at Oklahoma to end the regular season.

Oct. 24
Oklahoma State 34 … at Baylor 7
Oklahoma State and QB Zac Robinson were nearly perfect on the way to a 34-0 lead with a 22-yard touchdown catch from Wilson Youman, a 16-yarder from Dameron Fooks, and a 19-yarder from Cooper Bassett. Keith Toston ended the Cowboy scoring with a one-yard touchdown run to put the game well out of reach. Baylor finally got on the board midway through the fourth quarter on a 17-yard David Gettis touchdown catch. Baylor managed just 284 yards.
Player of the Game: Oklahoma State QB Zac Robinson completed 23-of-27 passes for 250 yards and three touchdowns
Baylor: Passing: Nick Florence, 21-35, 235 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Jay Finley, 10-31, Receiving: Justin Akers, 5-62
Oklahoma State: Passing: Zac Robinson, 23-27, 250 yds, 3 TD
Rushing: Keith Toston, 15-109, 1 TD, Receiving: Hubert Anyiam, 9-83 
What It All Means: Zac Robinson is coming into his own as a major-league playmaker. Without Dez Bryant to throw to or Kendall Hunter to hand off to, he’s becoming more efficient and more effective, completed 23-of-27 passes for 250 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions against the Bears. He’s doing exactly what the team desperately needs him to do, and now he has to take his game to another level. OSU has to assume that Texas is going to stuff the running game next week, and Robinson will have to keep the mistakes to a minimum and he has to make every right read.

Oct. 17
at Oklahoma State 33 … Missouri 17
Missouri’s offense was hot early with Derrick Washington scoring from one-yard out and Danario Alexander scoring on a 48-yard catch for a 17-14 lead, and then it was all Oklahoma State. The Cowboys got four Dan Bailey field goals and with two seconds left in the first half, an eight-yard Hubert Anyiam touchdown catch. The OSU defense forced four turnovers with Lucien Antoine returning an interception 26 yards for a touchdown. Mizzou outgained OSU 393 yards to 351.
Player of the Game: Oklahoma State WR Hubert Anyiam caught ten passes for 119 yards and a score
Missouri: Passing: Blaine Gabbert, 22-4, 325 yds, 1 TD, 3 INT
Rushing: De’Vion Moore, 7-42, Receiving: Derrick Washington, 7-32
Oklahoma State: Passing: Zac Robinson, 22-35 227 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Keith Toston, 24-87, 1 TD, Receiving: Hubert Anyiam, 10-119, 1 TD
What It All Means: The offense might not be working as well as expected, but Zac Robinson was mistake-free against Missouri and Hubert Anyiam did a great job of picking up the slack without Dez Bryant. Considering all the problems and all the big personnel losses, OSU is still 5-1 and on a four-game winning streak. All of a sudden, if the Cowboys can beat Baylor, the Halloween date against Texas could be for the Big 12 South title. After the game against the Bears, three of the following four games are at home, and by then, the offense should be more consistent. The defense clamped down on the Tigers in the second half, but the secondary needs to be tighter.

Oct. 10
Oklahoma State 36 … at Texas A&M 31
Oklahoma State overcame the loss of Dez Bryant and Kendall Hunter with two touchdown passes and a touchdown run from Zac Robinson and two one-yard scores from Beau Johnson to pull out a shootout. Texas A&M got two second quarter touchdown passes from Jerrod Johnson, and a third scoring pass with 3:35 to play, but OSU was able to hold on. A&M held a 15-7 lead before Robinson connected on a 27-yard touchdown pass to Hubert Anyiam and a 51-yarder to Tracy Moore, and then the two teams traded scores the rest of the way.
Player of the Game: Oklahoma State RB Keith Toston ran 26 times for 130 yards and caught two passes for 74 yards.
Texas A&M: Passing: Jerrod Johnson, 22-42, 273 yds, 3 TD
Rushing: Cyrus Gray, 16-49, Receiving: Uzoma Nwachukwu, 8-141, 1 TD
Oklahoma State: Passing: Zac Robinson, 14-25, 279 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Keith Toston, 26-130, Receiving: Hubert Anyiam, 3-58, 1 TD
What It All Means: The Cowboys did a nice job getting production from several players with Dez Bryant and Keith Toston out, but to beat the better teams ahead, there can’t be so many mistakes. Texas A&M only committed four penalties, while OSU was nailed for 11. However, the offensive line did a terrific job in pass protection and the offense was excellent at grinding it out late to keep the Aggies off the field.  With Missouri up next, the offense will have to keep up the offensive production coming from several sources.

Sept. 26
at Oklahoma State 56 … Grambling 6
Keith Toston ran for three touchdowns and Zac Robinson threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Dameron Fooks and ran for a four-yard score in the blowout win. The Cowboys rolled up 587 yards and coasted without Dez Bryant and Kendall Hunter, and Brandon Weeden stepped in for Robinson and threw for two scores. Grambling only managed 260 yards and got two Ari Johnson field goals.
Player of the Game: Oklahoma State RB Jeremy Smith ran 15 times for 160 yards and a score.
Grambling: Passing: Greg Dillon, 8-17, 75 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Frank Warren, 19-78, Receiving: Dante Cheek, 4-40
Oklahoma State: Passing: Zac Robinson, 13-16, 189 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Jeremy Smith, 15-160, 1 TD, Receiving: Dameron Fooks, 4-81, 2 TD
What It All Means: The Cowboys have started to get rolling again, but don’t let a game against Grambling fool you. The offense needs to have all the parts back, with Kendall Hunter and Dez Bryant needing to be back in the mix so everything can work again against Texas A&M. The loss to Houston was a few weeks ago, and the Big 12 season kicks in next week and OSU can still reach all its goals. Is the team jelling? It remains to be seen against someone with a pulse.

Sept. 19
at Oklahoma State 41 … Rice 24
Dez Bryant caught scoring passes from 23 and ten yards out in the first half, and Donald Booker returned a fumble 51 yards for a touchdown on the way to a 21-3 lead in the first half. But Rice wouldn’t go away as Charles Ross ran for two short scores in the third quarter and a third in the fourth. But The Cowboys were able to put the game away on two Dan Bailey field goals.
Player of the Game: Oklahoma State WR Dez Bryant caught nine passes for 161 yards and two touchdowns
Rice: Passing: Nick Fanuzzi, 16-28, 182 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Jeremy Goodson, 12-55, Receiving: Toren Dixon, 9-120
Oklahoma State: Passing: Zac Robinson, 14-20, 227 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Keith Toston, 18-75, Receiving: Dez Bryant. 9-161, 2 TD
What It All Means: Uh oh. It’s time to officially panic. Oklahoma State only gained 351 yards against a miserable Rice defense and needed to work far too hard to get the win. Zac Robinson was fine, but he continues to be underwhelming while Dez Bryant, even though he has been maligned by his coaching staff, has all but carried the tremendously disappointing attack. The defense should’ve been better and allowed Rice to bomb its way back into a game that should’ve been a far easier win. Is this a case of the team not being focused and waiting for the Big 12 season to kick in? The Cowboys had better be able to turn it on in a hurry. 

Sept. 12
Houston 45 ... at Oklahoma State 35
Houston's Case Keenum threw three touchdown passes and a scored on a 16-yard run, but it was the defense that came through when needed. Down 38-35, Oklahoma State had the ball with plenty of time, but Jamal Robinson picked off a pass for a 26-yard score to seal the win. The Cowboys got a nine-yard Kendall Hunter touchdown run, before he left with an injury, and got a scintillating 82-yard punt return from Dez Bryant for a score, but the Cougars scored 21 fourth quarter points with Bryce Beall scoring from one-yard out and catching a deflected pass for a six-yard score
Player of the Game: Houston QB Case Keenum completed 32-of-46 passes for 366 yards and three touchdowns with an interception. He also ran for a score.
Houston: Passing: Case Keenum, 32-46, 366 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Bryce Beall, 18-78, 1 TD, Receiving: Tyron Carrier, 7-111, 1 TD
Oklahoma State: Passing: Zac Robinson, 18-31, 240 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Beau Johnson, 9-82, 1 TD, Receiving: Dez Bryant, 5-85
What It All Means: The defense that did such a great job the week before in the win over Georgia with plenty of pressure, lots of big plays, and an aggressiveness that didn't let the Dawg offense get much of anything going failed to bother Case Keenum. There weren't any sacks and there wasn't nearly enough pressure. However, the Cowboys were in a spot to win. Four turnovers and nine penalties were a problem, while two mistakes in the red zone and a second straight spotty game from QB Zac Robinson all but handed Houston the win. Now, with star RB Kendall Hunter hurt and the team's psyche wounded, there are three weeks off to get healthy with Rice, Grambling State, and a bye week before dealing with Texas A&M.

Sept. 5
at Oklahoma State 24 … Georgia 10
Zac Robinson ran for a one-yard score and connected with Dez Bryant from 46 and 12 yards out as Oklahoma State came up with the statement win it’s been looking for over the last few years. Georgia started out the scoring with a four-yard Michael Moore catch, but was only able to manage a 53-yard Blair Walsh field goal over the final 50 minutes.
Player of the Game: Oklahoma State WR Dez Bryant caught three passes for 77 yards and two touchdowns, and returned two punts for 29 yards.
Georgia: Passing: Joe Cox, 15-30, 162 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Richard Samuel, 20-87, Receiving: A.J. Green, 4-52
Oklahoma State: Passing: Zac Robinson, 11-22, 135 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Kendall Hunter, 4-23, Receiving: Dez Bryant, 3-77, 2 TD
What It All Means: Good teams are often able to win even with things aren’t going well. The running game was stuffed, Dez Bryant, two touchdown grabs and all, was thrown off his game by the physical Georgia defenders, and Zac Robinson had some awful stretches, but the defense was phenomenal, allowing just 257 yards. The D was popping, with the secondary coming up with big shot time and again, and Georgia was never able to get into a rhythm. Going forward, OSU has to cut down on the penalties, committing 15 for 106 yards, and it has to be a bit more patient on offense. If the defense is going to play like this, the O won’t have to crank out 50 points a game.