Oklahoma State football collapses vs UCF to derail best chance at Big 12 win
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ORLANDO — Doug Meacham and Clint Bowen sensed it in the halftime locker room and knew it could be the fissure that caused the Oklahoma State downfall.
“It’s not a time to think you won the game,” said Meacham, the Cowboys’ interim head coach. “It’s a time to say it’s 0-0. You lock it back down, walk out that tunnel and approach it that way. Win the second half.”
The celebratory response to a two-touchdown advantage at halftime wasn’t the primary reason the Cowboys lost 17-14 to UCF on Saturday night at the Acrisure Bounce House.
No, it was the disappearance of offensive efficiency and the exhaustion of the defensive attack that spelled doom for the Pokes (1-10, 0-8 Big 12) for the 18th straight time against a conference opponent, 728 days since their last such win.
“I didn't love our attitude at halftime, to be honest,” said Bowen, the interim defensive coordinator. “It felt like we were a little too happy.”
From there, this Cowboy squad played like one that has seen little tangible success over the last three months.
Because it hasn’t.
Even the wakeup call didn’t help.
On the first snap of the second half, UCF tight end Dylan Wade slipped out and down the boundary, wide-open for a toss from quarterback Tayven Jackson that went for an 83-yard touchdown.
OSU made the Knights work for the final 10 points in the fourth quarter, but never really showed any sign of reclaiming momentum.
“It was a well-designed play by Central Florida,” Bowen said. “But we're at a spot now where we're not quite mentally able to, when something goes bad, to just immediately get rid of it and move on.
“I feel like when that play hit, instead of just truly rallying, you kind of have a little bit of taking the wind out of us, out of our sails. We never created another play to really get things going again the rest of the game.”
The OSU offense had 201 yards and two touchdowns in the first half, 27 yards and two first downs in the second half.
“We just couldn't muster anything on offense, for whatever reason,” Meacham said. “It didn't look to me like they were doing anything crazy or different. That's kind of been what's happened to us. We'll fight you, and then, second half, we kind of fade — and I'm talking about offense, primarily.
“Defense played good enough, offense did not.”
The most painful part was the 14-point lead. The genuine momentum toward a victory. Knowing this might be the last best shot at one.
Only to see it disappear with a field goal in the final minute.
“They made a couple defensive adjustments, but at the end of the day, we gotta come out and execute,” said quarterback Zane Flores, who finished 13 of 28 for 124 yards with one touchdown and one interception. “It shouldn’t matter what they play, we gotta execute our plays and we didn’t.”
The offense held the ball for 19:36 in the first half, only 8:56 in the second.
And with four straight three-and-outs in the third quarter, the Cowboy offense put its defense back on the field quickly.
By the fourth quarter, the defense had little left in the tank, allowing UCF to punch in the tying touchdown and drive for the winning field goal.
“We got some stops, but we never quite got that one true big play to get momentum swinging back to our side,” Bowen said. “Our kids played hard. They were tired, but they continued to fight.”
That’s all they can do at this point.
The season ends a week from now with a home game against Iowa State. And once again, the Cowboys will be predicted to lose by multiple touchdowns.
Staring a 1-10 season in the face, Meacham still has belief in his players’ desire to finish strong.
“We’ve got some kids that earned the right to have a win,” Meacham said. “But in sports and in life, it is not fair.
“It feels like it’s catastrophic when you’re young. You’re gonna have way worse problems than this in life and my message is hopefully this’ll help you prepare yourself mentally to help yourself deal with things on down the road. I just hate it. Everybody’s working so hard to get one.”
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 X at @ScottWrightOK. Sign up for the Oklahoma State Cowboys newsletter to access more OSU coverage. Support Scott’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com or by using the link at the top of this page.
OSU vs. Iowa State
KICKOFF: 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 29, at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater (ESPNU)
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OSU football collapses vs UCF to derail best chance at Big 12 win
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