Stillwater, Oklahoma - It came a week later than anticipated, but our Oklahoma State Cowboys opened up their 2020 campaign on Saturday by welcoming the Tulsa Golden Hurricane to Boone Pickens Stadium. The contest had originally been scheduled for the previous Saturday but had been forced to be postponed to due to positive coronavirus tests and subsequent quarantine procedures in the Tulsa locker room. Nevertheless, on September 19 both teams were ready to play football.
Entering the contest 11th in country, the Pokes had reason to be confident - the least of which was last year's 40-21 stomping of Tulsa in Week 3 of 2019 in which All-American running back Chuba Hubbard rushed 256 yards and three touchdowns.
However, things didn't go as planned right out of the gate on Saturday. After the Cowboys converted an Austin Hale field goal field goal to go up 3-0 in first quarter, Oklahoma State would not score until the beginning of the fourth quarter. The main reason: quarterback Spencer Sanders was ruled out of the game midway through the first quarter with an ankle injury. Head coach Mike Gundy then turned to redshirt junior Ethan Bullock who's atrocious play did not endear himself to 55,509 fans at BPS.
By halftime, Bullock was 2/4 passing and had amassed a whopping three yards while the Tulsa defense sacked racked up five sacks prior to the intermission. The running game wasn't much better as Hubbard only managed 35 yards on 13 carries in the opening half. Meanwhile, Tulsa took advantage of the subpar quarterback play taking a 7-3 lead to the locker room on a sixteen-yard touchdown pass from Zach Smith to Josh Johnson. Smith finished the half with 106 passing yards and that score.
The second half began in the same moribund fashion the first half progressed in as Oklahoma State punted on its first two possessions, mustering only 33 yards. Gundy's patience with Bullock ran dry after the Orlando native was picked off by Tulsa corner Allie Green IV to end OSU's most promising drive since its opening possession, opting to throw in true freshman quarterback Shane Illingworth into action in the season opener.
Illingworth's first pass attempt was a completion to standout receiver Tylan Wallace for twenty-four yards, the first reception of the game for the Cowboys' top receiver. The new vertical threat of Illingworth's passing loosened up the Golden Hurricane's defense, opening up space--albeit limited--for Hubbard as the back would score OSU's first touchdown of the season with 14:56 left in the game.
Meanwhile on the other side of the ball, the Cowboy defense surrendered only 31 yards in the third quarter, keeping the game within one possession until the offense broke through with the Hubbard score. Two more Austin Hale field goals were added and the defense ended the game on an interception by safety Kolby Harvell-Peel, securing the 16-3 opening weekend win. Hubbard's streak of consecutive 100-yard performances (11, which was the longest active streak in the FBS) was stopped as the back finished with 93 yards and a score. Wallace was the lone bright spot in the passing game as he hauled in four passes for 94 yards, including a 36-yarder that set up Hubbard's score.
The 11th-ranked Cowboys entered the game third in the Big-12 behind 3 Oklahoma and 10 Texas. Following the game, Oklahoma State expectantly dropped in the rankings, to 15th, following the lackluster showing on Saturday.
As the season progresses, and as we look ahead to Saturday's clash with West Virginia, the Cowboys will need to figure out how to score more than 16 points in a game if they want to have a chance to win the conference. If College Football Playoffs is the goal, who's chances took a major hit on Saturday, it is imperative that the Pokes piece together dominant wins against lesser conference opponents and manage to defeat both Texas on Halloween and Oklahoma (in Norman) on November 21.
