It wasnt the tidy, amazing start many were anticipating from No. 11 Oklahoma State, but the Cowboys endured a tough opening video game versus Tulsa in a 16-7 rock battle early Saturday afternoon in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Practically whatever that might have failed in this video game did– for both sides.
It began when the Cowboys lost starting quarterback Spencer Sanders to what was formally called a “lower extremity injury” that sidelined him for the rest of the game. Sanders, who was coming off an injury-shortened season in 2019, didnt even make it out of the very first quarter when he appeared to hurt his ankle on a botched handoff with star running back Chuba Hubbard..
What followed were almost two quarters of unwatchable offense from Oklahoma State. Hubbard, the countrys leading rusher in 2019, had 93 backyards rushing– but many of those came in the fourth quarter and general he balanced simply 3.4 per rush. That is going to be a concern to keep an eye on moving forward.
Oklahoma State discovered its stimulate by switching to freshman quarterback Shane Illingworth late in the third quarter. A couple of big-time connections to star large receiver Tylan Wallace assisted give the Cowboys some confidence and chemistry before scoring their only goal of the day– a 3-yard Hubbard run..
What followed were almost two quarters of unwatchable offense from Oklahoma State. Tulsa, for all its hard work, wasnt much better. The one prospective third-down conversion, a touchdown that would have offered Tulsa a 13-10 lead, was called back due to a prohibited shift charge. On the next play, it missed a chip-shot field goal that would have connected the video game. It last won in Stillwater in 1951, and Oklahoma State has actually now won 22 straight games against the Golden Hurricane on their home field.
The precise diagnosis of Sanders injury isnt known, so its not clear for how long he could be out. If hes sidelined for any prolonged amount of time, its tough to see coach Mike Gundy not going with Illingworth as QB1. The freshmans stat line wasnt jump-off-the-page excellent, however nobody will complain about 4 of 5 passing for 74 yards from a guy who led 3 scoring drives. Its certainly better than what Bullock offered..
The rap on Illingworth is that he didnt actually practice much over the previous week. The inexperience of being a frosh in a pandemic-shortened offseason appeared from time to time, most notably with Illingworths apprehension to toss some passes. Still, he fits more of Gundys standard quarterback mold and led 3 scoring drives. Cant be disappointed by that..
Tulsa, for all its difficult work, wasnt far better. The Golden Hurricane were an uncomfortable 0 for 12 on third down and 1 for 3 on 4th. The one potential third-down conversion, a goal that would have offered Tulsa a 13-10 lead, was called back due to an illegal shift penalty. On the next play, it missed a chip-shot field goal that would have connected the game. On its next to last belongings of the game, the Golden Hurricane offense dedicated three charges, and a second-and-7 quickly became a fourth-and-24..
On that note, the Hurricane committed a whopping 15 penalties for 120 lawns. They also had numerous problems with clock management both before and after timeouts. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused all kinds of disruptions that impact practice flow, however the number of miscommunications was unacceptable for a group attempting to manage an upset..
Tulsa needs to be ill at a lost chance for an upset. It last won in Stillwater in 1951, and Oklahoma State has now won 22 straight video games against the Golden Hurricane on their home field. Oklahoma State has also won its last eight games versus Tulsa going back to 1999..
