1. Game Links:
Game Recap
Stats
Notes
Highlights
2. Grades.
| B+ | PASS OFFENSE |
| The numbers didn’t jump off the page and Castellanos on 3rd down wasn’t great (more on that later), but 12 of 23 for 263 with 4 TD’s and no picks is the key here. Putting the ball in the end zone and the offensive line was pretty good at protection. | |
| A | RUN OFFENSE |
| J’Koby Williams can go for a 1 yard gain and then jump one for 20. He did that to a tune of 124 yards. The big play potential is insane and collectively on paper, Castellanos had just 38 yards rushing, but it was really 50 or so as he lost 12 on 2 sacks. | |
| B+ | PASS DEFENSE |
| Mestemaker was hurting pretty much from the get-go and that’s a credit to the defense getting after him. He was uncomfortable for a good chunk of the game and it definitely affected him. Mestemaker had not thrown 2 picks since the Oregon game. | |
| B | RUN DEFENSE |
| The final numbers don’t look great as the Cowboys ran 38 times for 168 yards, but Oklahoma State struggled for a good chunk of the game to run the ball and the offense was really stagnant. It also helps that in garbage time the back-up QB had a 37 yard run, remove that and OSU goes from a 4.4 yard per rush to 3.5 and just 131 yards. | |
| A | COACHING |
| The coordinators continue to shine, the offense looks like a completely different animal and the defense really played well. It’s tough to complain here. | |
3. Momentum Isn’t Real. It is real in physics (it is Newton’s Second Law of Motion and also the Law of Conservation of Momentum), but it’s not real in terms of sports. I remember the color guy saying that at the end of the half that Oklahoma State had momentum because they had rattled off 20 straight points and the half ends. Oklahoma State would start with the ball and they proceeded to gain a 1st down and then turned it over on towns when they tried to rush the 4th down play and was stopped in their tracks (I also think that Hawkins got banged up on the previous 2nd down play). The very next play Castellanos throws 45 yards to Malcolm Simmons for a touchdown. The very next drive, Oklahoma State gets 2 1st downs and they are facing a 4th and 3 with Mestemaker scrambling and losing 2 yards. Yes, Oklahoma State definitely scored some points and played well in the 2nd quarter, but Texas Tech was clearly the better team and the Texas Tech defense that showed up last night was more reminiscent to the Texas Tech defense that we saw last year.
4. That 2nd Quarter. Speaking of that 2nd quarter, OSU definitely won that. The Texas Tech offense was just not doing much of anything, gave OSU a short field and it seemed as if the Cowboy defense decided that they were going to force Castellanos to win the game with his arm. That was pretty effective, but Texas Tech then did the same thing to the Pokes in the 3rd quarter. Oklahoma State had just 19 yards rushing for the entire quarter and Oklahoma State had 4 possessions and turned the ball over on downs twice and also punted twice. Texas Tech only managed that Simmons TD, but Oklahoma State didn’t get close to scoring. Texas Tech then poured it on in the 4th quarter, 17 points and a meaningless touchdown from Oklahoma State late. And Texas Tech started the 4th quarter with a perfect TD to Johnson, then OSU turned the ball over on downs resulting in a Harrington 54-yard field goal. Mestemaker throws a pick to Roberts on the very next play after the kickoff, J’Koby runs for 28 to the OSU 2-yard line, and Dickey scores easily. Game over.
5. Big Plays. The big play offense for Texas Tech was on full display, 6 passing plays of 15+ yards, 232 total, which is about 39 yards for each big play, then 7 rushing big plays for 148 yards for about 21 yards a play. The ability of this offense to strike and make create a more potent offense as a result of Castellanos able to throw open receivers, something this offense was missing for the 1st half of the season, is making a significant difference in how good this team actually is.
6. Defense Steps Up. It’s tough to write about when Oklahoma State technically had more yards, but Mestemaker had 277 yards on 42 attempts, that’s just 6.6 yards an attempt, where Mestemaker was nearly at 10 yards an attempt before this game. Throw in the 2 interceptions and he had a QB rating of 118, his lowest output since the Cowboys lost the season opener to Tulsa where he had just 4.9 yards an attempt and a 99 rating. Credit the defense for 6 quarterback hurries and 3 sacks and 7 tackles for a loss along with 7 pass break-ups. The improved defensive play was across the board, from the line to the defensive backs.
7. Advanced Stats.
- Oklahoma State struggled on 3rd downs, just 26% and they had a ton, 5 of 19 and needed 6.4 yards each time.
- Texas Tech wasn’t much better, just 5 of 13 for 39%, and averaged 8.3 yards on 3rd down, but I think the big plays negated that.
- Texas Tech had 6, yes 6, 1st down touchdowns. That’s the big play I’m talking about.
- Oklahoma State ran just 31% of their plays in Texas Tech territory, while Texas Tech had 48% in OSU’s side of the field.
- Sack adjusted yards per pass attempt was 9.8 for Texas Tech and 5.4 for Oklahoma State.
8. Idle Thoughts.
- Starting off the game with a kickoff return for a touchdown was certainly terrific. Malcolm Simmons is electric and why he wasn’t on the field more earlier in the year is a mystery.
- Micah Hudson’s 80 yard touchdown was terrific and I think this is the 1st game that he led the team in receiving yards, 2 for 89.
- There were only 12 completions so not a lot to go around, but Kenny Johnson’s 3 for 75 and a TD and Terrance Carter had 3 for 24 and a touchdown to go along with Hudson’s isn’t a bad day.
- This was probably Ben Roberts’ best game of the year, 13 tackles, 1 interception, 1.5 TFL and half a sack.
- A.J. Holmes is unstoppable, 5 tackles including 1.5 TFL and 0.5 sacks and is credited with 1 QB hurry.
- Brice Pollock rebounded with a good game, 3 tackles and 2 PBU’s.
- LaDamion Guyton and Trey White each had a sack.
- Stone Harrington made the only field goal he attempted, 54 yards.
- Will Karoll had 7 punts for 37, but he pinned 4 inside the Oklahoma State 20-yard line.
9. Coach Comments.
10. Tortilla Tossin’ Players of the Game.
Malcolm Simmons with a 97-yard kickoff return and then a 45-yard touchdown. It’s difficult not to give him a tortilla.
Thomas Castellanos going 12 for 23 for 263 yards and 4 TD’s and 38 rushing yards while backfield mate J’Koby Williams goes 19 for 124 yards and 1 TD is tough to beat.
I thought that this was maybe Peyton Morgan and Brendan Jordan’s best game, they each had 5 tackles and a PBU, so they’ll have to split these 3 tortillas along with Roberts and Holmes. They can figure it out.