Instant Analysis: Oklahoma State-Missouri

The fine folks inside Faurot Field had to think that Chase Daniel would get the job done, as the Heisman Trophy contender led Missouri downfield in the final minutes against Oklahoma State. But instead of bowing to a special quarterback, the cool-customer Cowboys decided to grow up before the watchful eyes of a spellbound nation.

College football experts and aficionados have seen Chase Daniel work his magic over the past few years. The young lad with the accurate arm and the uncanny pocket presence possesses a feel for football that is exceeded only, perhaps, by Colt McCoy of Texas. After 58 minutes of a bruising Big 12 brawl, the Tigers—down by only five points—had their tremendous triggerman in charge, with the ball at the Cowboy 41. The odds suggested that Daniel would do the deed, and keep Missouri undefeated in time for a tilt with McCoy and Texas the following weekend.

Oklahoma State’s defense, though, had other plans.

In a portrait of uncommon poise and phenomenal fortitude, the Cowboys had one more big play in their arsenal, as Patrick Levine snared an interception with 1:41 left that sealed the upset and left OSU tied with Texas atop the Big 12 South. It was just the latest display of determination from a group of gladiators who maxed out against Missouri and its mighty field general. To understand how good this performance was, one needs to appreciate the full measure of Daniel’s accuracy, which emerged in the game’s first three quarters.

For most of the night, Missouri’s worst enemy was… Missouri, as Tiger receivers Danario Alexander and Tommy Saunders dropped open passes that sabotaged drives. Alexander’s drop turned into an interception around the OSU 20, while Saunders’ slip-up came on the OSU 1 and was followed by a blocked field goal. Missouri miscues not belonging to Daniel prevented the Tigers from gaining early leverage in this contest, a matchup of two Big 12 unbeatens. If Daniel’s stat line suggested that he struggled for the majority of the evening, the stats lied. OSU’s defense pummeled and pressured Daniel for much of the evening, while shutting down Mizzou’s ground game and causing a number of three-and-outs against coach Gary Pinkel’s dynamic attack. But Daniel himself was not the result of the struggles faced by his offense. Not in the first three quarters of play.

As the scene then shifted to the fourth and final stanza, one of the questions that had to exist on the lips of every engrossed observer was this: “Could Oklahoma State’s defense continue to spill the tank with success, rushing after Daniel and delivering hard hits with the same level of ferocity and firmness?” Since Missouri, not OSU, entered this game as the big-name program with the top-five ranking and the bulls-eye on its back, it stood to reason that Daniel—given more opportunities to give his team the lead after a difficult uphill battle—would come through under fire. But for once, Daniel ran into a lion’s den wearing white jerseys with orange trim. Mike Gundy’s guys wouldn’t back down, and that’s what signified the emergence of a new player in the Big 12 South.

Before Levine’s game-sealing interception in the final minutes, it’s worth pointing out that safety Andre Sexton picked off Daniel with 8:03 left in the fourth quarter. The huge play set up a 31-yard touchdown pass from OSU quarterback Zac Robinson to receiver Damian Davis with just over 6:30 left in regulation. The reliable pitch-and-catch combination of Robinson and Davis, which teamed up to deliver another go-ahead score late in the third quarter, struck paydirt once again to give the Cowboys the points that would turn out to prove decisive. That final touchdown from the OSU arsenal, as impressive as it was, followed the essential interception from Sexton. The Cowboys’ offense scored enough to prevail, but defense set the tone for Oklahoma State throughout this intense affair.

The accomplishments of Oklahoma State’s defense—particularly in the fourth quarter—can’t possibly be overstated. A unit that hadn’t faced an imposing opponent all season long suddenly had to contend with one of the very best quarterbacks in the United States. After playing hard—but still needing some fortuitous turns of events—to keep Missouri at bay through the first three quarters, this defensive unit had to play even harder when all the chips sat on the table in a crunch-time crucible. Amazingly yet admirably, the studs from Stillwater stood tall. They turned back Daniel decisively, forcing not one, but two interceptions from the supreme signal caller who became shaky in the game’s most important moments. Daniel dazzled for most of this evening, and his receivers are ultimately to blame for most of Mizzou’s mistakes. But when the outcome of this contest hung in the balance, it was Daniel who blinked. Oklahoma State’s defense—with poise, power and pass-rush pressure—rose up to rattle a man who hasn’t buckled many times in his storied Missouri career.

Oklahoma State’s defense, up and down the line, shook an unshakable quarterback in a moment of truth. That, in a nutshell, explains why Mike Gundy’s crew has a chance to do big things in the second half of this season.