It certainly wasn’t how they drew it up, but despite the odds, Oklahoma State came out on top with a 39-31 victory in double-overtime over Arkansas on Saturday afternoon in Stillwater.
The Cowboys trailed 21-7 at the half and couldn’t get anything going on offense, but the second half was all about the Pokes, as they outscored the Razorbacks 24-7 in the second half to force overtime and ultimately eke out the win.
Oklahoma State moves to 2-0 on the year with the win and will now move on to a matchup with Tulsa next week. Here are three thoughts on their Week 2 win.
Arkansas’s Gifts Games to the Pokes
The first half of this game was all about Arkansas, as the Razorbacks built a 14-0 lead early on and stymied anything that Oklahoma State tried to put together on offense, with Ollie Gordon being virtually non-existent in regulation (14 carries, 34 yards). In fact, the Pokes’ offense had nothing to show for its efforts in the first half, with 77 yards and no points. However, Arkansas QB Taylen Green didn’t let OSU go into the half completely empty-handed. While under pressure midway through the second quarter, Green threw a ball right to Oklahoma State DB Kale Smith, and he returned it 73 yards for a pick-six and Oklahoma State’s first points of the game.
The second half continued those gifts for the Pokes, as two fumbles from Arkansas running backs gave the Pokes several extra chances to cut into the Arkansas lead. That, coupled with several questionable play-calling decisions from the Razorbacks, allowed Oklahoma State to claw its way back into the game and force overtime.
Ollie Shows Up in Double Overtime
As noted above, Arkansas held Ollie Gordon in check through the first four quarters of this game, limiting him to 34 yards on 14 carries (2.4 ypc) in regulation. Gordon wasn’t much of a factor in the passing game either, with two receptions for 20 yards. After forcing a missed field goal from Arkansas in the first overtime, Gordon was given two carries, from which he mustered just three yards. Logan Ward would then follow Arkansas’ lead with a missed field goal to send the game in to a second overtime. It was later than they’d hoped, but that’s when Gordon showed up for the Pokes.
Getting the ball first, Oklahoma State’s offense got yet another gift from Arkansas — this time a personal foul — that set up the Pokes with a 1st-and-10 on the Arkansas 12. That’s when Gordon broke through and put the Pokes up with a 12-yard touchdown run behind excellent perimeter blocking from the wide receivers. He followed that up with an impressive catch give OSU a 39-31 lead, which it would ultimately hold onto.
Major Concerns Despite the Victory
Oklahoma State got the win, and at the end of the day, that’s all that will matter from today’s matchup. However, there were some trends in this game that the Cowboys will need to address if they hope to get back to Arlington for a chance at a Big 12 Championship.
First and foremost, the Oklahoma State offensive line was dominated by Arkansas’ defensive front for the majority of this game. While it was supposed to be a strength of this team, the Pokes lacked physicality up front and was able to muster just 2.3 yards per carry with 59 yards on 26 carries.
On the other side of the ball, Arkansas feasted on the Pokes’ defense most of the day, racking up 648 total yards and — after adjusting for sack yardage — ran for 260 yards (5.9 ypc) on the day. Arkansas was 11-for-19 on third-down conversions and possessed the ball for over 36 minutes in this game. All in all, it’s really a miracle that Oklahoma State was able to win this game, as you can see from the stat sheet.
- Total Yds – Arkansas 648, Oklahoma State 385
- Rush Yds – Arkansas 232, Oklahoma State 59
- T.O.P. – Arkansas 36:14, Oklahoma State 23:46
Perhaps the biggest concern coming out of the game is the availability of Cowboys’ star LB Collin Oliver, who left the game in the first half with an apparent leg injury. If the preseason All-Big 12 defender is to miss any time, it could be a serious detriment to a team that needs to figure some things out defensively as it is.
