Oklahoma State football suffers worst heartbreaking loss yet at UCF | 5 takeaways
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ORLANDO — One defender got a hand on the ball. Another caught it.
And with that, the Oklahoma State football team’s best chance at a victory came and went like a rain storm on an Orlando afternoon.
The Oklahoma State losing streak continued on with a 17-14 defeat to UCF on Saturday at Acrisure Bounce House.
The Cowboys led 14-0 at the half, but couldn’t do much of anything right after the break on their way to a ninth straight loss this season and 18th straight against Big 12 opponents.
Here are five takeaways from the loss:
Field goal, interception slams door on Cowboys’ hopes
UCF didn’t do much offensively outside of a couple big plays, but it turned into two touchdowns and the final-minute field goal that sealed the Cowboys’ fate.
Then with 57 seconds to traverse the field, OSU got only one play off.
Zane Flores’ pass toward Shamar Rigby was tipped by Jayden Bellamy in front of Rigby then intercepted by Braeden Marshall to close the door on any Cowboy hopes.
Flores finished the day 13 of 24 for 124 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
Dominant first half wasted
OSU was strong on both sides of the ball throughout the first half.
The offense gained 201 total yards and the defense had two interceptions as the Cowboys took a 14-0 lead just before halftime.
Flores was accurate and the run game was productive throughout the half.
At the break, Flores had completed 11 of 19 passes for 105 yards, while Rodney Fields Jr. churned out 76 yards on 14 rushing attempts.
But the second half was a different story.
Cowboys hit third-quarter wall
OSU’s offense had been efficient throughout the first half, with three drives covering a total of 197 yards and helping OSU possess the ball for 19:36 of the first 30 minutes.
However, the first downs dried up after halftime.
The Pokes went three-and-out on all four possessions of the third quarter, finally moving the chains on the first drive of the fourth quarter.
OSU had just 5 total yards in the third quarter while UCF gobbled up all the momentum.
Quick strike for Knights
The UCF offense had only 131 total yards in the first half, but they designed the perfect play to start the third quarter.
Tight end Dylan Wade slipped out to the boundary and sprinted upfield wide-open, pulling in a pass from Tayven Jackson for an 83-yard touchdown.
Of the Knights’ first 10 possessions, the one-play TD drive was their only possession that covered more than 45 yards.
Injury report: Malik Charles helped off again
A week ago, OSU defensive end Malik Charles was taken off the field after a scary injury that resulted in the cart being brought out to assist him.
The injury turned out to not be as significant as initially feared, and he returned to action Saturday.
But on the final play of the third quarter, Charles chased down Jackson and had to be checked out by athletic trainers for what appeared to be an injury to his midsection.
Charles ultimately walked off the field on his own power.
Additionally, offensive lineman Austin Kawecki was replaced by Kasen Carpenter because of a minor injury in the second half. Special teams regular Gunnar Wilson left the game and did not return, and Iman Oates limped to the locker room in the fourth quarter as well.
The Cowboys had three players listed as out on the pregame injury report: QB Hauss Hejny, CB Kale Smith and TE Quinton Stewart.
Scott Wright covers Oklahoma State athletics for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Scott? He can be reached at swright@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at @ScottWrightOK. Support Scott’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State football suffers worst heartbreaking loss yet at UCF
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