Oklahoma State vs. Texas football: Five takeaways from Cowboys' win against Longhorns
Scott WrightOklahoman
AUSTIN, Texas — It was a Tanner Day for Oklahoma State.
OSU defensive back Tanner McCalister made a leaping interception that sealed the 12th-ranked Cowboys’ 32-24 win over Texas on Saturday at Darrell K Royal — Texas Memorial Stadium.
That pick came less than three game minutes after kicker Tanner Brown gave OSU its first lead of the day with a 29-yard field goal.
McCalister’s interception was the second of the day for OSU off Texas quarterback Casey Thompson as the Cowboy defense slammed the door shut on the Longhorns. Texas scored only seven points after halftime while the OSU offense came to life for a 19-point fourth quarter.
Here are four more takeaways from OSU’s victory to stay undefeated:
Tanner Brown hits four field goals, game-deciding kick
Three weeks ago, senior kicker Tanner Brown was a kickoff specialist playing out his final season of college football at OSU after transferring from UNLV in the offseason.Two weeks ago, he replaced Alex Hale as the placekicker.
On Saturday, Brown made four field goals, including the 29-yarder that gave OSU a 25-24 lead with 4:37 to play. He added three extra-points, finishing perfect on the day.
Two-point conversion gets stopped
With 10:16 left in the game, Oklahoma State scored a touchdown and went for a two-point conversion to try to tie the game.OSU quarterback Spencer Sanders threw a flat pass to running back Jaylen Warren, who was tackled for a loss on the play, preserving Texas’ 24-22 lead at the time.
It appeared to be a crucial game-changing play, but the OSU defense turned the tide and got the ball back for the offense, which had scoring drives for a field goal and a touchdown before running out the clock.
Stopping Bijan Robinson a problem
Like every defense that has faced him this season, the Cowboys had trouble containing Texas running back Bijan Robinson.The powerful sophomore had a 38-yard TD run — his third score of the day — on his way to 135 yards on 21 carries. He also had three receptions for 38 yards.
On the other side, Warren had another 100-yard effort for OSU, his fourth in as many games since taking over as the lead back.
The senior transfer from Utah State carried 33 times for 193 yards.
Jason Taylor, playmaker
Oklahoma State has scored six non-offensive touchdowns since the start of the 2020 season, and three of them belong to Oklahoma State safety Jason Taylor II.On Saturday, Texas was driving with a chance to take a three-score lead in the second quarter when Taylor picked off Texas quarterback Casey Thompson. He returned the pick 85 yards for a touchdown — the Pokes only TD through the first three quarters.
Last season, Taylor had a fumble return for a touchdown against Kansas State, and took an onside kickoff attempt back for a score against Texas Tech.
