Oklahoma State Throttled by UCF in Embarrassing Loss
Oklahoma State came out flat and never recovered in an embarrassing loss.
OSU fell to UCF 45-3 on Saturday in the teams’ first-ever meeting. After winning five straight, including a Bedlam win last week, OSU looked unprepared to play in Orlando.
Early in the third quarter, after OSU scored its first points, the defense forced a fumble and recovered it to try and kickstart a comeback. But two plays later, Alan Bowman threw an interception, his third of the afternoon, that may have ended OSU’s comeback hopes.
RJ Harvey ran 92 yards for a touchdown on the next play, one of his six runs of 10+ yards. The UCF running back went for 206 yards and three touchdowns.
Harvey went for 139 yards in the third quarter as the Knights extended their lead. While Harvey’s big Space Game was always possible, another running back was expected to have that output.
After climbing into the Heisman race and leading OSU on a five-game winning streak, Ollie Gordon struggled mightily against UCF. Gordon finished with only 25 yards on 12 carries, his worst output since the South Alabama game.
Gordon’s first-quarter fumble was the first of four turnovers for OSU. Bowman helped OSU put together some drives but could not finish them with points as he had three interceptions.
Bowman ended with 225 yards passing and completed 19 of his 36 passes.
John Rhys Plumlee threw a 37-yard pass to Xavier Townsend on the first play of the game. That would be emblematic of the next 59 minutes of action.
Plumlee and the Knights poured it on the Cowboys early. Plumlee had 207 yards and two touchdowns on just seven completions in the first half.
Big plays were a concern for OSU coming into the game, and that came to light in Orlando. OSU gave up 320 yards of total offense to UCF in the first half alone.
A 75-yard catch by Kobe Hudson near the end of the second quarter gave Hudson his second touchdown and UCF a 24-0 lead at the half. Hudson finished with three catches, all touchdowns, on his way to 96 yards against OSU.
Javon Baker also hurt the Cowboys in the receiving game. Baker finished as the Knights’ leading receiver with 112 yards on just four catches.
The Cowboys' Big 12 Championship hopes are still intact, but the road is not as clear as it was before kickoff.
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Ivan is a sports media student at Oklahoma State University. He has covered OSU athletics since 2022 and also covers the OKC Thunder for Inside The Thunder and Thunderous Intentions.