Better to win ugly than lose beautiful, and that was certainly the case Oklahoma State on Saturday.
When the number 16 cowboys were defeated Arkansas Razorbacks39-31, it took a second-half comeback and two overtimes to avoid the upset.
The Razorbacks came out of the gate quickly, going up 14-0 in the first quarter. The first points of the day for the Cowboys came on a 73-yard pick-six by Kale Smith.
The first offensive points for Oklahoma State didn’t come until they had less than nine minutes left in the third quarter when kicker Logan Ward kicked a 45-yard field goal to make it a 21-10 game.
The Cowboys got the break they needed with about 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter. Down 21-13 and with the offense still sputtering, Razorbacks punt returner Isaiah Sategna fumbled the punt and the Cowboys recovered at the Arkansas 25-yard line.
Two plays later, quarterback Alan Bowman found wide receiver Brennan Pressley for a seven-yard touchdown. Bowman then hit De’Zaun Stribling for the two-point conversion to tie the game at 21-21.
After getting stops defensively, the Cowboys turned to trick plays to jump-start the offense. On a flea-flicker, Bowman found a wide-open Jake Schultz for 63 yards to the red zone.
A few plays later, the Cowboys got creative by using Presley on a jet sweep out of the backfield for a three-yard touchdown, giving the Cowboys a 28–21 lead.
The Razorbacks quickly responded with a three-play, 75-yard drive, capped by Luke Hayes’ 43-yard touchdown reception from Talen Green to tie the game 28–28 with just over four minutes remaining.
Bowman led the Cowboys 55 yards to the Arkansas 20-yard line in three minutes, setting up Ward for a 38-year-old field goal to put the Cowboys up 31–28.
With no timeouts and 55 seconds left on the clock, Green went to work.
The Razorbacks quarterback, after going down for a narrow gain, took a shot and connected with Andrew Armstrong for 33 yards, bringing the offense to the Oklahoma State 27-yard line.
Arkansas kicker Kyle Ramsey attempted a 45-yard field goal just inside the right sideline, tying the game at 31–31 as time expired and sending the game into overtime.
The Razorbacks started with the first possession but fell behind in overtime after a decisive 12-yard loss on Green’s third-down sack by Obi Ezigbo, pinning Arkansas to the 28-yard line.
Ramsey was good from 45 yards but not 46 yards in overtime to send the game into overtime, pulling his kick wide and giving Oklahoma State’s offense a chance to win.
However, Oklahoma State’s offense was no better than Arkansas’ offense in overtime.
They gained a total of one yard to settle for Ward’s 41-yard field goal chance to win the game.
He missed a huge right.
Both teams missed their kicks and the score was tied at 31-31 going into double overtime.
The Razorbacks were held Heisman candidate Ollie Gordon II Quiet for most of the game. But the star running back found the end zone in double overtime on a 10-yard rush and then caught a two-point conversion to put the Cowboys up 39-31.
The Razorbacks’ offense drove the ball to the Cowboys’ six-yard line but was stuffed on 4th-and-1, leaving their chance for an upset short.
The Cowboys survived to improve to 2-0 and would advance 11th ranked Utah Next on September 21.
Arkansas starts to bounce back against Auburn On 21 September.
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