OSU's Magnificent 7, Jaylen Warren, leads Cowboys' fourth-quarter conquest of Texas
Berry TramelOklahoman
AUSTIN, Texas — OSU's marching band sat high in the Texas sky Saturday, in Royal-Memorial Stadium’s upper-deck corner. The band had to leave their seats at dawn just to walk the 11 stories down to reach the field.No wonder it’s called a marching band. But the trip was well worth it. The Cowboys musicians played a Western-movie theme, leading with “The Magnificent Seven.”
Talented folks. Artists and prophets.
No. 7 indeed was magnificent. Tailback Jaylen Warren, who before this season played in front of Mountain West Conference crowds, took over the fourth quarter as OSU stunned Texas 32-24 and stamped itself as a legitimate contender for the Big 12 championship and a College Football Playoff berth.
Warren ran for 193 yards on 33 carries, upstaging Longhorn star tailback Bijan Robinson; 118 of Warren’s yards came in the fourth quarter.
“The man does everything,” said OSU guard Josh Sills. “Anything and everything, he does it.”
Warren, who in January transferred from Utah State, had gains of at least 20 yards on all three of OSU’s fourth-quarter scoring drives, as the Cowboys turned a 24-16 deficit into a commanding victory.
An announced crowd of 99,916 sat mostly stunned as the 12th-ranked Cowboys stayed unbeaten, even though Texas controlled most of the game.
“Biggest environment I’ve played in,” Warren said. “But honestly, I didn’t care about none of that during the game.”
Apparently not. In 15 Utah State games, Warren never rushed for more than 141 yards. Yet in the last month, Warren has rushed for 218 yards against Boise State and now 193 against Texas, with 123 yards (Kansas State) and 125 yards (Baylor) in between.
Suddenly, these 6-0 Cowboys have an identity. A big-time defense and a tailback capable of wearing down an opponent.
“We’re able to close it, again,” said OSU offensive coordinator Kasey Dunn. “So for us, even though it’s not a rolling ball of butcher knives, when the ball’s in our court, we found a way to close it.”
Just like their musical classmates, the Cowboys had to trudge through some rough times before their serenade. But what a symphony was that second half.
The Cowboys won this game going away, with dominance that was team-wide.
The Longhorns didn’t so much as make a first down after taking a 24-13 lead 3½ minutes into the second half. Texas had 12 total yards in those final six possessions.
But strong defense has been the OSU calling card this season. A dominant offense has been missing. Until that fourth quarter.
“Looked to me like we kind of wore them down,” said Dunn, who was willing to stick with the running game, even when it wasn’t productive. “The pursuit wasn’t necessarily there from them in the second half.”
Warren ignited the fourth-quarter surge with a 27-yard, against-the-grain run that put OSU in Texas territory. Soon enough, Spencer Sanders hit flanker Brennan Presley with a seven-yard touchdown pass, and OSU was within 24-22.
Next possession, Warren bolted 20 yards with a double-cutback run that got OSU to the Texas 26-yard line, setting up Tanner Brown’s go-ahead field goal.
Finally, another Warren cutback produced a 29-yard run, and quarterback Spencer Sanders scored from 10 yards out on the next play, and OSU had a 32-24 lead with 2:18 left.
Even after the defense made its final stop — safety Tanner McCalister’s interception with 1:57 — the Cowboys needed one more Warren run. On third-and-6 from the Texas 28-yard line, Warren snuffed out all ‘Horn hope, with an eight-yard blast.“He pushes it,” Dunn said. “He finds a seam. He’s a marble. He rolls through there. It’s hard to find any part of him to tackle, and when he hits you, he hurts you.”
Texas in the fourth quarter couldn’t seem to find any part of Warren to tackle, and now the Cowboys are 6-0 and top-10 bound. Magnificent indeed.
