STILLWATER — Pyrotechnics finally came to Boone Pickens Stadium on Saturday night. Made people ooh and aah and feel good on cold night.
Too bad they weren’t on the field.
On a night when Oklahoma State had a chance to break a three-game funk and cross the bowl-eligibility threshold against a seemingly equal foe, the fireworks came during the halftime show. On the gridiron? The Cowboys were as listless and lifeless as we’ve seen them.
Texas 28, OSU 7.
Despite their comments to the contrary, it sure looks like the players have checked out. Ditto for the coaches.
This was Mike Gundy’s first season bad.
This was Bob Simmons’ last season bad.
And as bad Saturday was, it may get much, much worse. Road games against Baylor and Oklahoma remain.
“We know what we’re up against,” Cowboy fullback Teddy Johnson said. “We’ve seen them play against everybody else.”
But ...
“There’s really no more concern than it being any other teams,” Johnson said. “There’s lots of upsets in the Big 12 right now.”
Say this much for the Cowboys — they keep saying all the right things. If these guys are screaming at each other in the locker room or crying themselves to sleep, they sure aren’t letting on about it.
“Everybody has to come through frustration at some point, but this is my family,” defensive tackle James Castleman said. “You can get frustrated with your brothers here and there, but it’s something you live with. You love them.
“Even though I might be frustrated with the person next to me doesn’t mean I’m going to stop fighting for them. We might get frustrated here and there, but that doesn’t mean we’re going to give up on each other.”
Morale, it seems, isn’t a problem.
Now, if the Cowboys could just fix that offensive line.
That has become the refrain of this season, but it was as evident as ever Saturday night. The Cowboys managed just 34 yards rushing. Thirty-four. There was no push up front. There was no space for any of the tailbacks. There was little time for Daxx Garman.
And that totally stymied the offense.
“We had concerns about that coming into the game,” Cowboy coach Mike Gundy admitted. “(Texas is) a physical defense, and we’re not ready for that right now.
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