Oklahoma State football report card vs Arkansas: How Cowboys graded out against Razorbacks

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Oklahoma State football report card vs Arkansas: How Cowboys graded out against Razorbacks​

Joe Mussatto
The Oklahoman

STILLWATER — Give Oklahoma State football and Arkansas an “A+” for entertainment factor.

It wasn’t the cleanest game, not the most well-played, but OSU’s 39-31 double-overtime win Saturday sure was fun to watch.

Let’s get to the grades.

Flea flicker execution: A+​

A reverse flea flicker at that!

Alan Bowman handed off to Ollie Gordon II, who pitched the ball to Brennan Presley on a reverse, who tossed the ball back to Bowman, who found a wide open Jake Schultz streaking down the sideline.

Schultz, a fullback, was finally caught at the 8-yard line after a 63-yard gain.

“We’ve had that for a long time,” OSU coach Mike Gundy said of the play. “We’ve run it before. I don’t remember who it was, but we’ve run that play before.”

Presley remembered.

“I messed it up a couple years ago,” he said.

It was against TCU in 2022.

Presley didn’t mess it up this time.

“Jake is really fast,” Presley said. “He almost out-ran the angle from the safety. I was just more happy for him in that moment.”

Added Schultz: “I tried to hit the burners, but obviously he caught me.”

The play is called “Frisbee,” Bowman revealed. “I don’t know if I can tell you that, but it’s called Frisbee.”

He said the Lions ran it in the NFC Championship Game.

“It’s so wide open, just try not to overthrow him,” Bowman said, “just try not to miss him.”

For Schultz, who was penalized earlier for a block below the waist which negated a Cowboy touchdown, it was sweet redemption.

OSU running game: D​

OSU’s ground game wasn’t great against South Dakota State. It was downright awful against Arkansas.

The Razorbacks limited Gordon to 49 yards on 17 carries — less than 3 yards per rush. Second-team back Sesi Vailahi had three carries for zero yards.

Gordon’s longest run of the game was 12 yards (on the game-winning touchdown).

The Cowboys have an experienced offensive line and a superstar running back, but something isn’t clicking.

OSU run defense: D​

Ja’Quinden Jackson and the Hogs gashed OSU. Jackson tallied three touchdowns and had 149 of Arkansas’ 232 rushing yards.

Arkansas quarterback Taylen Green scrambled for 61 yards.

“Honestly, I didn’t know he was that fast,” OSU linebacker Kendal Daniels said.

It didn’t look like Arkansas was doing anything special. The Razorbacks ran right up the gut, creating big hole after big hole.

Credit Daniels for shooting the gap and stuffing Arkansas on a fourth-and-1 run to end the game.

Stripe the Stadium: A-​

The orange-and white-striped stadium was a neat look. The pattern was only interrupted by a couple of red Razorback sections on the East side ends of the stadium.

Arkansas fans traveled well.

Forcing turnovers: A​

From Kale Smith’s pick six to Shea Freibaum’s fumble recovery on a muffed punt, OSU capitalized on Arkansas’ miscues.

The Cowboys turned it over just once, when Arkansas cornerback Jaheim Singletary made a terrific leaping catch to intercept Bowman. It was Bowman’s first interception of the season.

OSU receiver Brennan Presley: A​

Gundy likened the 5-foot-8, 175-pound receiver to a bouncy ball.

“He just bounces off everybody and I keep knocking on wood that he just stays healthy,” Gundy said. “We try to get him out of the game and he won’t come out of the game. We tell him, ‘We’ve got to get you off return team,’ he doesn’t want to come out of the game.

“So we just leave him in there and let him play.”

Presley led OSU with nine catches for 91 yards and a touchdown.

“We only targeted him 19 times,” Gundy said, which was not an exaggeration.

Trey Rucker, tackling machine: A+​

It wasn’t a good day for OSU’s defense, but Cowboy safety Trey Rucker had a spectacular statline with 17 tackles.

That’s now 32 tackles for Rucker through two games.

Linebacker Nick Martin had 16 tackles (4.5 tackles for a loss) and three quarterback hurries.