Stillwater, Okla. – The Cougars went into halftime with a 16-14 lead, but that lead quickly disintegrated as the Cowboys exploded to score 28 points in the third quarter. The Cougars (1-1) and Cowboys (2-0) both added 14 points in the fourth quarter, allowing Oklahoma State to retain the lead and win the game 56-37.
"We just didn’t show up to play," sophomore quarterback Case Keenum said.
The Cougar offense that looked so dominating against Southern in Houston’s home-opener was nowhere to be found. With receivers who couldn’t get open, Keenum was forced to rely almost as much on his legs as he was on his arm. He led the team in rushing with 81 yards on nine carries, averaging 9 yards a rush.
Freshman running back Bryce Beall, the Cougars’ second-best rusher of the night, had just 28 yards on four carries. Houston’s rushers accounted for just 96 of the Cougars’ 483 total yards, compared to the 615 they had against Southern.
Keenum went 35-of-61 for 387 yards on the night and threw four touchdown passes – one to senior tight end Mark Hafner in the first quarter, two to freshman wide receiver Tyron Carrier and one to sophomore wide receiver L.J. Castile in the fourth.
The Houston defense could not find an answer to the Cowboys’ offensive attack. The defensive line forced OSU to punt just once in the night, while the Cougars turned the ball over on downs five times.
Oklahoma State sophomore wide receiver Dez Bryant led the onslaught. He caught three touchdown passes from junior quarterback Zac Robinson and finished the night with 236 yards on nine catches. He also returned a punt for 71 yards in the fourth quarter.
Robinson finished with 320 of the Cowboys’ 699 total yards on 12-of-21 passing on the night.
The Cougars return to Houston to face Air Force at Robertson Stadium on Saturday.
