Not a great Holiday for the Big 12
Notes on a scorecard from Oklahoma State’s 42-31 loss to Oregon in the Holiday Bowl:
1. Suddenly, the Big 12′s reputation isn’t so great. Two bowl games, 1-1 record. An unimpressive victory and a discouraging loss. Kansas is up next, in the Insight Bowl against Minnesota.
In both games, the Big 12 got pushed around a little bit. Oregon obviously was more physical than OSU. The Ducks ran for 307 yards, OSU for 119. Missouri couldn’t run against Northwestern, either.
Is the spread-it-out Big 12 a little on the soft side? It’s worth considering.
2. In retrospect, the question might not be how did OSU lose, but how did OSU play so close? Oregon had plays of 76, 41, 40, 29, 50, 31 and 47 yards, plus TD runs of 20 and 17 yards, plus another 19-yard gain. That’s 370 yards on 10 snaps. That will get you beat every time.
OSU’s defense actually stood its ground much of the night, notably the goal-line stand in the fourth quarter that at least gave the Cowboys a chance. But you can’t give up cross-country plays.
3. Injuries hurt OSU big-time, but injuries had nothing to do with the Cowboys’ failures on two chances that would have tilted the game the other way.
In the first half, with a 17-7 lead, Zac Robinson underthrew Dez Bryant in the end zone. Dez came back and made a great try on the catch and had it, but the ball came loose as he hit the ground. Make a slightly better throw, or hold onto that catch, and OSU is up 24-7 early in the second quarter. Instead, Dan Bailey missed a field goal.
Then in the third quarter, OSU up 17-14, the Cowboys reach the Oregon 12-yard line. OSU runs a nice throwback play, with Brandon Pettigrew wide open, but Robinson misses him for what almost surely would have been a touchdown. The next snap, interception. Uh-oh. To me, that was the turning point of the game.
4. Does anyone else think Dez reminds them of Randy Moss? Big and fast and able to catch the ball in all kinds of traffic. I’m not saying anything about Dez’s behavior, just his ballplaying ability.
With that said, I thought all season the Cowboys zoned in on Dez too much. When he went down, the Cowboys seemed lost.
State already was short-handed at receiver, with the dismissal of Jeremy Broadway. But spreading the wealth wouldn’t be a bad plan next season. Damian Davis has shown he can be very effective, and frankly, wide receiver is the easiest position to find in college football.
5. Another game, another kick return switches all momentum. Missouri got to overtime against Northwestern thanks in large part to Jeremy Maclin’s punt return for a touchdown. Oregon wiped out a 17-7 halftime lead quickly thanks to Walter Thurmond’s 91-yard kickoff return to start the second half.
6. I know Robinson’s shoulder was hurt, and he gamely played on. And we’ve already talked up about misfires that could have changed the game.
But here was a huge sequence. OSU led 24-21 midway through the third quarter, which had to be the longest 15 minutes in college football history — each team had SIX possessions in the third period.
Anyway, Oregon reached midfield, then quarterback Jeremiah Masoli threw a lateral that Jeff Maehl dropped, and Ricky Price recovered at the Oregon 49-yard line. Officials ruled it a fumble, and the Cowboys were half a field away from a 10-point lead.
But OSU’s ensuing possession was awful. A sideways pass to Dez that lost a yard. Kendall Hunter, who never got free all night, popped for a three-yard loss. Then Zac was sacked. And a punt.
Terrible offensive possession when the Cowboys were ready to commandeer the game.
7. Is there a Ray Guy Award jinx? Matt Fodge was not very good, averaging 35.6 yards on five punts, almost 10 yards below his season average.
-------------Berry Tramel can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including AM-640 and FM-98.1. You can e-mail him here and follow him on Twitter @BerryTramel. Visit Berry's website here.
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Comments
I am an OSU fan. HOwever, in the second half it was men against boys!! The Ducks ran all over us and knocked us silly. 31 points should be enough to win, OSU gave it up on defense. I think we will find out that Zac is hurt more than we now know. Also, the play calling in the second half stunk. Gundy sitting back there with his book?? Next year get an offense coach!!
there were some bright spots to the play calling- like the throwback to Robinson when Dez went out the second time, but man was Zac off. It’s a young team and hopefully you guys can be more consistent next season. Good season, though. Now bring on Florida 
Boomer Sooner
The turning point of the game was when Masoli ran for the 41 yd TD, then the defense panicked and started playing on their heels. I also thought that the Pokes got away from the running game too early, and tried to force the ball to Bryant way too much. All that aside, excellent year and with that added experience the Pokes should make some major noise next year.
C’mon Berry, tell the WHOLE story. The first two games matched the #5 Big XII team against the #4 Big Ten team. Victory goes to the Big XII. Second game matches #4 Big XII team against #2 Pac 10 team. OSU was in the game most of the night. Oregon would finish 4-5th in the Big XII. Kansas looks like they will win. So far, it’s really not a bad start for the Big XII.
Tim -> You need to put down the pipe for a minute. 1-1 is “really not a bad start” for the supposed most awesome conference ever? Remember that the strength of the B12 was the reason you got into the NC game. Now suddenly 1-1 is pretty good??
If Oregon was in the B12 they’d be champs 3 out of every 4 years.
“each team had SIX possessions in the third period.”
12 total in the 3rd?