Down but not out OSU moving on after loss to Texas Monday, November 2, 2020
Chris Becker An undefeated Cowboys season is no longer in the picture after the crushing loss to Texas last night, but there is still plenty for Cowboy fans to look forward to as the season pushes on. Despite turning over the ball twice, with an interception and a fumble, Spencer Sanders showed leadership and promise during and after the game. “Was it my fault? I’ll stand up and I’ll take it,” Sanders said. “If you want to bash me you can bash me it doesn’t matter. I made too many mistakes and I can’t do that, just can’t.” Sanders also threw for 400 yards and four touchdowns, so he still put up numbers despite the turnovers. Leadership takes a lot of work and at the end of the game, Sanders remained the leader of the team when he shouldered the blame, despite plenty to throw around to different
Brett Rojo Oct 31, 2020; Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys quarterback Spencer Sanders (3) runs the ball against the Texas Longhorns during the second quarter at Boone Pickens Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Rojo-USA TODAY Sports
units. Sanders played better than most, especially with the game being only his second full contest this season. Sanders was able to find receivers despite Texas’ defense creating small windows. Sanders also showed his ability to hit touch passes in
between a defender play under and another playing over his receivers. On the other side of the ball, the Cowboys defense continued to show that if the offense can clean the little things up, it will continue to give them chances. Once again allowing under 300 total yards, the defense was as strong as usual, de-
spite being put in tough situations throughout the game. OSU’s defense gave up only two long drives resulting in points, one of 75 yards late in the first quarter and one of 68 yards following a fumble. “It’s not what you want, but when it happens it happens,” safety Tre Sterling said. “Coach (Jim) Knowles
always says, ‘Give us an inch and we’ll defend it.’ So it doesn’t matter what scenario, where the ball is, if there’s a play of defense going we still need to be able to stop them. We need to get better in that aspect and we will.” Despite the loss, OSU’s season is not in shambles, but it makes the team’s goals harder. Nothing is out of the window yet. “We just got to win out,” Sanders said. “We go to practice the next day. It’s just a next day mentality. We just got to keep going and stay focused and we can still win this thing out. We just got to give it the best that we’ve got. It’s sad to lose this, but you can’t hang your heads. We’re men, so we’re just gonna keep pushing. What’s going to define us is how we respond to this, so we’re just gonna gather the guys and just got to keep going and doing what we’ve been doing.”
sports.ed@ocolly.com
Column: Throwing seat cushions was embarrassing look for OSU fans following upset loss to Texas Ryan Novozinsky The Texas Longhorns probably weren’t expecting confetti to fall when they upset Oklahoma State 41-34 in overtime. But in the most malicious way possible, confetti did fall –– really big, vengeance-filled confetti. Immediately following the loss, hundreds of OSU fans threw bright orange seat cushions at Texas players because of their frustration with the end result and how it came about. A large portion of fans on Twitter were quick to blame either the refs or Texas being “dirty,” but seemingly didn’t ask themselves
two simple questions: what if this loss was OSU’s fault? And is me throwing a cushion going to change anything? To address the first question, nearly half of OSU’s drives ended in error-filled fashion. Of the 17 total offensive drives for the Cowboys, three of them ended in three-and-outs and four ended with either a fumble or interception. OSU had 11 penalties, which accounted for 102 yards for Texas. OSU allowed a kickoff return for a touchdown. Still don’t think it was a discipline issue? Just ask coach Mike Gundy...
See Seat Cushions on page 6
Brett Rojo Oct 31, 2020; Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys cornerback Thomas Harper (13) tackles Texas Longhorns quarterback Sam Ehlinger (11) during the second quarter at Boone Pickens Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Rojo-USA TODAY Sports