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Week four of the college football season was yet another exciting on as we saw a couple different ranked vs. ranked games, but there were good games involving ranked teams all over the country as well. A lot of them took care of business, and others… not so much. One of the biggest games of the weekend was a top-25 matchup in the Big 12 between the Oklahoma State football team and Utah. The Utes were without starting quarterback Cam Rising, but they still found a way to go on the road and pick up the big win. The Cowboys let an opportunity slip away.
This past week of college football was a good one, and this game between the Oklahoma State football team and Utah was one of the best and most important matchups of the weekend. There were a lot of crucial games over the weekend as well.
Things got started on Friday this weekend with a big top-25 matchup between Illinois and Nebraska. The Fighting Illini went on the road into a tough night atmosphere and picked up one of the biggest wins that the program has seen in a very long time.
On Saturday, there were a couple other big top-25 matchups as well. Michigan picked up a huge win at home against USC to begin conference play, and Tennessee took down Oklahoma on the road to prove that they are one of the best teams in the SEC.
In the Big 12, #13 Kansas State suffered a surprising blowout loss against BYU. The Wildcats were favored going into the game and it was shocking to see the final result of that contest. With a loss from Kansas State, the Utes look like the clear favorite to win the conference. If the Wildcats want a chance in the conference, they need to play a lot better than they did on Saturday night.
Week four is now over, and it's hard to believe that we are already 1/3 of the way through the college football regular season. A lot of teams have now played 4/12 games.
The Oklahoma State football team has now played four games, and they are 3-1 and ranked #20 in the country. The Cowboys have wins against South Dakota State, Arkansas and Tulsa, and they have their one loss against Utah. Oklahoma State was ranked #14 going into this weekend's matchup, but they dropped down to #20. Utah was ranked #12 before the big win, and they moved up to #10 in the new polls.
Oklahoma State lost this one 22-19, but the final score makes this game look a lot closer than it actually was. The Utes really dominated this game for the most part, but the Cowboys were able to make things a little bit closer near the end.
The Cowboys did end up striking first in this one as they kicked a field goal in the first quarter to go up 3-0, but they wouldn't score another point until late in the fourth quarter.
Utah had a good second quarter as they ended up scoring a touchdown and a field goal. The Utes were without starting QB Cam Rising, so they had to ride with backup Isaac Wilson. Wilson made a couple mistakes in this game, but he did enough to get Utah the win.
The Utes slowly pulled away in the second half as their defense was completely smothering, and they found a way to get more and more points on the board. The dagger was a 45-yard touchdown pass from Isaac Wilson that put Utah up 22-3 with a little over six minutes remaining in the game.
At that point, the Oklahoma State football team was down by three scores and they hadn't had any prior success moving the football. Still, they didn't give up, and that's a positive sign. The Cowboys were able to find the end zone twice in the late stages of the game, and they added a two-point conversion each time. Unfortunately, there just wasn't enough time left in the game for them to be able to make a full comeback. Utah won the game 22-19.
With Cam Rising out and Oklahoma State being the home team, this was a golden opportunity for the Cowboys to pick up a win against one of the best teams in the Big 12. A win would've set this team up nicely going forward, but they couldn't it done. After a game like this, the blame always starts at the top with the head coach.
Mike Gundy didn't have a good enough plan
This loss isn't on one person specifically, but the head coach always takes the majority of the blame. They get paid the big bucks to get their guys ready for these contests, and the Cowboys didn't look very ready on Saturday. They were at home and they were going up against a backup QB. They had a lot going for them, but they really got dominated for the majority of the game. That falls on coaching.
Turnovers need to be cleaned up
One big issue in this game for the Oklahoma State football team were the turnovers. Quarterback Alan Bowman ended up throwing two interceptions, and those kinds of mistakes end up hurting you badly in big games like this one. If the Cowboys want to succeed in the Big 12 and bounce back from this, they have to clean up those mistakes.
Where was Ollie Gordon?
Running back Ollie Gordon is supposed to be the best player on this Oklahoma State football team, and he is supposed to be one of the best players in the country. He didn't have a great game on Saturday as he carried the ball 11 times for 42 yards, and he did not find the end zone. If Oklahoma State wants to be successful, they need to get their star going. The offensive line needs to create push for him, and Gordon has to find the holes.
Oklahoma State has another big one this weekend and they will be hoping to bounce back from this difficult loss. The Cowboys will be taking on #23 Kansas State on Saturday. The two teams will kickoff at noon ET/11 CT from Bill Snyder Family Stadium in Manhattan, Kansas, and the game will be airing on ESPN. The Wildcats are currently favored by six points.
