Winning One for Wile E.

    Oklahoma State didn’t expect to have much of a fight put up against them when the Roadrunners of the University of Texas-San Antonio (UTSA) came strolling into the house that Pickens built. UTSA, who was without their starting quarterback, was going up against an OSU team that was also missing their starter under center. J.W. Walsh is out for possibly another game, but that is yet to be determined. After Daxx Garman put up an impressive performance against Missouri State, he took off right where he left, and threw for 315 yards, 2 touchdowns, and threw not a single interception. This stat line led the Pokes to an easy 43-13 victory that left the OSU fan base singing the praises of Garman. Heck, the way the Cowboys beat up on the Roadrunners, it was enough to even bring a smile to the face of Wiley Coyote! But with that being said, has the quarterback controversy in Stillwater ended?

   The simple answer to that question is: NO.  Though Garman has been spectacular with his efficiency and care of the ball when he possesses it, (see Florida State game where Walsh fumbled away an OSU chance at victory) who is to say that J.W. wouldn’t have put up the same numbers, or better, against a team with such low offensive production? Wait, what does the UTSA offense have to do with the OSU offense? Well, if the offense is so terrible, that means there are a lot of 3-and-outs for the Roadrunners, and that means more time of ball possession for the Pokes unless UTSA decided to run the ball a bunch. So what did UTSA decide to do with no starting quarterback and knowing their opponent was far superior? They ran the ball 6 more times than they threw it, and ended up with just over a 1 minute more than the Cowboys when it came to time of possession. Even with that being said, there is still no solid evidence supporting the statements made by local media, that Garman is the foreseeable starter for the Cowboys heading into their conference opener against Texas Tech. With the week off, this gives time for Walsh to heal, and that’s only going to fuel the fire to the controversy.

   All in all, the Cowboys did what they were supposed to do when it came to the thrashing of UTSA, and most people believed OSU would be 2-1 heading into the Texas Tech game. The Red Raiders, who proved that they can’t stop the run at all when they got demolished by the Arkansas Razorbacks this past week, 49-28, look like they are in for another tough matchup. The Cowboys finally got their starting running back, Desmond Roland, back into the lineup against a UTSA defense that is ranked 68^th in the country (OSU is at 61^st) and had 2 touchdowns to go along with 95 yards rushing. Roland will look to be a key asset in OSU’s offensive attack when they face the Red Raiders. Expect the Cowboys to run the ball a lot, and rely on Garman or Walsh to convert some critical 3^rd downs.  Until we find out what OSU coach, Mike Gundy, is going to decide when it comes to the quarterback position, it’s just another thing to think about as the Pokes look forward to their conference opener on September 25^th against Texas Tech.

DAXX ATTACK: Garman leads Pokes to a 40-23 win

OSU backup quarterback, Daxx Garman, took an
injured J.W. Walsh's place in the first quarter
Saturday.

The first quarter ended in Boone Pickens Stadium with quarterback, J.W. Walsh, in the locker room with an apparent ankle injury. That’s all Oklahoma State fans knew on Saturday as backup QB, Daxx Garman, took the center stage for the rest of the foreseeable game. With having played a mediocre first quarter, OSU was getting more fight out of the Missouri State Bears than they bargained for, but as the second quarter unfolded, so did the arm strength of Garman. He whizzed passes into the arms of several receivers, and even had a pass across is body to wide receiver, Brandon Shepard, for an 87-yard touchdown.

Garman wasn’t through after that, though, and finished with 244 passing yards and another touchdown pass that gave in 2 on the afternoon. Walsh played valiantly in the first quarter, but only amassed 30 yards through the air that was coupled with 42 rushing yards. With that being said, we don’t really know how J.W. would’ve progressed throughout the rest of the game, but initial analysis would indicate that he would’ve faired about the same against the Bears defense. Missouri State is no power house when it comes to playing in the FCS (notch below D-I), but they sacked Garman twice, and got presser on Walsh a few times as well. The offensive line, which had 0 penalties against Florida State the week before, wasn’t as efficient, but got the job done, nonetheless. Down inside the 5-yard line, though, the offense struggled to punch it in for 6 points before the half, and that is a little concerning.

               But now that Garman played so well and his arm looked so impressive, Mike Gundy and his coaching staff will have another quarterback controversy on their hands. Out of the 10 years Gundy has overseen the program, he has had only 2 years where there wasn’t a legitimate quarterback controversy, and that was when Brandon Weeden was at the helm. Gundy did state that Daxx would get some snaps against Florida State, but that never happened since J.W. had the Cowboys on the verge of upsetting the nation’s top team all throughout the second half.  So now that Walsh is on the bench with this ankle sprain, or whatever they are calling it, Garman will most likely start against Texas-San Antonio (UTSA) this upcoming Saturday. This gives Walsh 2 weeks to heal before the Pokes conference opener against Texas Tech., and with the way the offense got outscored in the second half against Missouri State (17-13), having the leader of that offense back on the field should be something that needs to take place as soon as possible.

            Another thing that needs to happen fast is improvement on the special teams side of the ball. Kicking the ball, the Cowboys kicker, Ben Grogan, Missed is first 2 attempts from 51 and 46 yards out, before connecting with his next 2 tries that came inside of 40 yards. Kip Smith, the Cowboys punter, had a kick go off the side of his foot in the 4^th quarter that traveled a mere 18 yards, and that put MSU (Missouri State) into great field position. Definitely some things wrong with the offensive side of special teams, but on the defensive side, it was nothing short of a spectacular performance. OSU blocked 3 kicks the entire game (a new school record) that included 1 blocked field goal, 1 blocked extra point, and Jordan Sterns, the safety who had an article written about him the day before in The Daily Oklahoman, blocked and recovered a punt for the Pokes. A very impressive performance from the defense when it came time for them to thwart the Bears of any special teams points throughout the game.

             In the end, the Cowboys got their first win of the season, and have not lost a home opener since 1995. Also, the streak of scoring at least 20 points in a game has extended itself to 54 in a row for the Pokes. They are only 9 games away from tying the record of 63 games in a row with at least 20 that was set by the University of Southern California (USC). Just something to think about, as OSU takes on UTSA Saturday at 6 PM CT, and looks to extend their winning streak to 2 games in a row.