JUMP STARTED: Pokes struggle early, Tyreke Hill sparks OSU run in second half

    As the afternoon crept on in the city of Stillwater, the OSU Cowboys had commanding 37-13 lead over Iowa State in Boone Pickens Stadium. The morning never gave any indication, early on, that the Pokes would be handling the Cyclones the way they were, even after a pointless touchdown by Iowa State cut the Cowboy lead to 17 and make the score 37-20. OSU started out slow, and didn't score their first touchdown until the final seconds of the second quarter were gone. Running back, Desomnd Roland, scored a controversial touchdown that would lead to a $25,000 fine for Iowa State's athletic director the following day, and put the Cowboys ahead for the first time in the game to make the score 13-6.

Chris Lacy #15 of theOklahoma State
Cowboys celebrates a
touchdown against the
Iowa State Cyclones 

  After a halftime that was probably used to try and spark some inspiration into the young Cowboys, OSU put their kickoff return team out on the field, and awaited the initiation of the third quarter. Back for the Pokes, was speedster, Tyreke Hill, ready to try and make something happen...and he did. The return team set up a wedge for Hill, and he sprung loose to return the kickoff 97 yards for a score. Dave Hunziker the voice of OSU radio, calls Hill "The Cheetah". The ex-olympic runner sparked the Cowboys moral, and the Cyclones never recovered. After the game, Mike Gundy addressed the media and expressed his disapproval of the Cowboys start to the game, and stated that the play was just flat-out, "Bad."
  Some would agree with the 10-year coach about that opinion, and I'm not one to sit here and disagree with Gundy. The play was awful by the offense in the opening half, and Daxx Garman looked more like a newcomer than ever. Mike Yurcich, the offensive coordinator for OSU, called a terrible game, due to the fact he never attempted to even put Tyreke Hill in the slot receiver position like he did against Texas Tech. We all saw how Hill streaked pass the Tech defenders on his 50-yard touchdown reception last week, so why not give the man a chance to break another big one? If Yurcich had tried to even put Hill out there, and it didn't work, that's one thing. But when you don't even attempt to put him in that position, how do you know it wouldn't have worked like it did last time? Further more, why change your game plan (if that was even the reason for not running some successful plays that worked previously) against Iowa State? The Cylcones are not a very good team, and most Big 12 teams will roll right over them. Their quarterback is sub-par, their defense is alright, and the team as a whole will probably only win 6 to 7 games. But why are people and the media complaining about the play calling and performance of the Cowboys if they're still winning ballgames?
   The reason behind such scrutiny is that besides Florida State, the Pokes haven't really played a team that will ever be considered formidable by anybody when the season is all said and done. UTSA? Missouri State? Texas Tech? Sure, maybe the Red Raiders can pull off a miracle and become the 4th best team in the Big 12, but don't bet anything on that! Iowa State is not even as good as Texas Tech, so when OSU finally plays someone good like TCU, Baylor, Kansas State, and OU, the slow starts just can't happen if the Cowboys want to win.
  In the end, the Cowboys are 4-1 and are ranked No. 16 in the country. This is something that many people did not see coming. I, for one, told you at the beginning of the year that the Cowboys could go 10-2. They are not playing well enough to beat a TCU, or even a Texas, at this point, and they will need to correct some things this weekend when they play Kansas. OSU is the 3rd best team in the Big 12 right now (due to their 2-0 record) and will be 3-0 in conference games by the end of Saturday. Expect them to rise in the national rankings due to many top-tier teams playing each other this weekend. You could be looking at an OSU squad that is ranked 11th in the land by Sunday evening. Just something to think about, as the Pokes prepare for their meeting with Kansas, In Lawrence, at 3 CT on Fox Sports 1.