Oklahoma State Beats Arkansas in Double OT Thriller
The Oklahoma State Cowboys and Arkansas Razorbacks officially renew a long-standing rivalry on Saturday.
The No. 16-ranked Cowboys have been projected to win, but beating the SEC’s Razorbacks won’t be easy. Follow along for live updates:
Score: Oklahoma State 39, Arkansas 31
2OT:
The Hogs had the Pokes dead to rights early in double-overtime, but an unnecessary roughness set up Gordon’s first touchdown of the day, this time on the ground. Gordon then caught the throw from Bowman for crucial two-point conversion.
Arkansas pieced a few plays together, but was eventually stifled on fourth and one to end the game.
OT:
Arkansas saw a hot-and-cold first possession of overtime, seeing an incompletion before a big run play and two subsequent sacks that were pivotal to their efforts. Ramsay then missed the 46-yard field goal to give the Pokes a chance.
Oklahoma State was fine to give their kicker a shot to end the game, but his luck finally ran out, with his kick going wide right as well.
4Q:
The road team again found offensive rhythm early in their drive in the fourth, with Green making plays on the run. The team was careless with the ball, though, losing it a few times and recovering. Ultimately, they were slightly too sloppy, sputtering out for a field goal try that went wide right.
After stopping the Cowboys initial drive, the Razorbacks muffed the punt, making the turnover battle 3-1 in OSU's favor and setting up a Brennan Presley touchdown. Following the touchdown, Bowman cashed in on a 2-point conversion to De’Zhaun Stribling to tie the game up.
On their next drive, the Hogs got back to the power run, seeing Jackson rip off a long run before a crucial fourth down and five. Green scrambled on the play, but the Cowboys forced a turnover on downs to set up the offense with six minutes and change.
The Cowboys kicked off their second fourth-quarter drive with a nine-yard run from Ollie Gordon, who’s had a quiet game. The next play was not so quiet: a reverse flea flicker that resulted in 64 yards and a first and goal. Josh Ford nearly housed the next Bowman pass, but stepped out just short.
On the go-ahead score, Presley took a jet sweep to the corner for his second touchdown of the game.
The Razorbacks saw a massive response, though, seeing a three-play, 75-yard touchdown drive ending in a 43-yard Luke Hasz receiving touchdown to again level the game.
Oklahoma State pieced together play after play late, eventually finding the star of the day in Presley on a 36 yard pass to set the Cowboys up in the red zone. The end of the series was drama-filled, with penalties and clock errors galore. Eventually, Logan Ward knocked through his third field goal of the day at 38 yards to put the Cowboys up, 31-28.
Arkansas finally saw a break in the second half, seeing a 33-yard chunk play to Andrew Armstrong that eventually led to Kyle Ramsay’s first made field goal of the game to send to game to overtime.
3Q:
Oklahoma State finally saw an inkling of momentum early in the third quarter, boasting a defensive stop and a 15-play, 62-yard drive ending in a field goal. Bowman finally found some rhythm, but penalties ended the Cowboys drive early.
Arkansas continued to struggle offensively in the third quarter, finally seeing some yardage but eventually fumbling the ball back to OSU.
The Cowboys saw a mirror image of their previous drive, finding tempo and rhythm early before a penalty derailed their efforts late, leading to another field goal to make it a one-score game.
2Q:
Green continued his dominance on the Razorbacks’ next drive, pushing his stat-line to 8-for-12 with 94 yards before a critical mistake. With the pocket collapsing, Green forced a throw over the middle, which landed in the hands of OSU’s Kale Smith, who took it 73 yards to the house for a massive swing in the game.
Arkansas regained momentum midway through the second quarter. After a near-fumble that was overturned, the Razorbacks pieced together another impressive drive, again culminating in Jackson touchdown. With five minutes left in the half, the senior back has 91 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
The teams traded offensive possessions before Bowman through his first interception of the season on a long bomb.
Arkansas attempted to mount a last-second drive, but was ultimately fine to head to the break with a 14-point lead.
1Q:
Both defenses held strong on the opening drives, bending but not breaking, each coming up with huge third down sacks to stifle their opponent’s drives.
The Razorbacks pinned Oklahoma State deep for their second offensive drive, and a quick three-and-out featuring two overthrows from OSU quarterback Alan Bowman left Arkansas with great field position.
From there, Arkansas chunked a few plays together before Ja’Quinden Jackson found the end zone on a five-yard rush to put his team up 7-0 with around five minutes remaining in the opening frame.
OSU then saw another three-and-out, again using a pass-heavy scheme.
With time churning, Taylen Green, the Razorback's fourth-year transfer from Boise State, put together a surgical drive that featured plenty of plays with his legs. Again, Jackson was able to punch in the touchdown on the ground to make it a two-score game.
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DEREK PARKER
Derek is co-founder of All Pokes and publisher for Draft Digest and Inside The Thunder for Fan Nation, powered by Sports Illustrated. He has been a sports writer in the Oklahoma market for five years now covering a variety of sports over the course of his career.