Big Trouble in the Little Apple: K-State Romps Pokes in Manhattan

   Kansas State head coach, Bill Snyder, stared at the scoreboard following the Oklahoma State Cowboys opening drive that resulted in a touchdown, and the look upon his face depicted a man who was wondering if the tone was set for the entire game on that single drive. As the Pokes kicked off after the score, relief was the emotion that came over Coach Snyder as he watched one of his cornerbacks, Morgan Burns, return the kickoff 86 yards to answer right back. From then on, it was all Kansas State, all the time. The Wildcats rolled over the Pokes, 48-14, and were in control after the first 3 minutes and 12 seconds of the game.
   OSU quarterback, Daxx Garman, had another anemic performance that consisted of him throwing 2 interceptions, no touchdowns, and left his passing yard total under 200 yards...again. Speaking of repetition, once more, the Cowboy defense was on the field a bunch, and freshman corner, Ramon Richards, returned a pick for a touchdown in the final moments of the game to boost whatever moral OSU had remaining a that point. Other than that, the defense didn't play well at all, and gave up 421 total yards to the purple-touted destroyers from K-State.

Oklahoma State mascot, Pistol Pete, hides his face in shame
as the Kanas State Wildcats made a 59-yard field goal to
make the final score 48-14 in their favor. OSU is now 3-3
in the Big 12 after the loss in Manhattan.

  As Oklahoma State drops to 5-4, and their 3-game losing streak seems to grow as the weeks press on, a 6-6 season seems like the most likely scenario for the Pokes. The rebuilding year for the Cowboys was not supposed to look like this, and the fans know it. No one expected J.W. Walsh to play a hell of a game against Florida State in the season opener and then fall to an injury in the following week, and no one thought that Daxx Garman would have such trouble with throwing the ball to the incorrect team. In Daxx's defense, the guys he's throwing to are open, but they just aren't wearing any type of black or orange. For the OSU fans that are sick of the disgusting passing game, team speedster, Tyreke Hill, finally got the carries that Mike Gundy promised media members in the preseason, and was very productive. Hill ran the ball 18 times for 102 yards and was responsible for the offense's only touchdown.
  Moving ahead on Oklahoma State's schedule, the pressure gets turned up a couple notches as they host Texas after having a bye week this coming Saturday. Texas has been on the cusp of winning some big games, but they haven't been able to pull out a victory over any team in the Big 12 that is above .500 in the conference. They have beat Iowa State, Kansas, and Texas Tech. That's a coincidence, because OSU has conference victories over the same teams, and hasn't beaten anyone else but them, either! This game will pretty much decide who will take 6th place in the Big 12, and if OSU can beat the Longhorns, they will have some momentum heading into their showdown in Waco against the Baylor Bears. But momentum isn't everything, and the Pokes haven't been able to score the ball very well, so keeping up with a high-scoring team, like Baylor, could be a disaster. After Baylor, the Cowboys have to travel to Norman to face OU, and that will be no cake walk for them at all. Last time OSU went to Norman, it took overtime to decide who would win Bedlam, and the Sooners came out on top. I'm not saying to expect another overtime shootout with both teams scoring over 48 points, but I am saying that anything can happen in rivalry games. It's just too bad that OSU can't seem to find the end zone on offense, and when you can't move the ball, it's hard to beat teams that are far better than you.
  Wrapping it up, the Cowboys are having their first season with under 7 wins since 2005 when they went 4-7 and 1-7 within the Big 12. The season looks to be one to forget for the fans of the so-called, "Orange Power," and the future holds a lot of questions for this program. In the end, sure, OSU could pull off a miracle and win 3 straight games to go 8-4 overall, but that's fantasy. 7-5? You're probably dreaming. 6-6 is where it's gonna be at for the Pokes, and if 5-7 happens, you bet there will be some uproar in Stillwater. Just something to think about, as the Cowboys have an off week to prepare for Texas on November 15.