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Pokes Embarrassed at Home by Longhorns by Justin Waganer Senior Sports Writer October 14, 2001
Losing at home to Missouri is disappointing, losing on your home field by four touchdowns after owning a 10 point lead is embarrassing. Amassing a measly 162 yards of total offense and giving up a bundle (479) of yards the Cowboys appeared to have no defensive backs or linemen, Oklahoma State was rolled time after time in a 45-17 rout. Now the question is, can the Pokes win another game?
"Our theme this year is to win. We're going to do whatever it takes to win. That didn't happen for us, but everybody could see that we were trying. We gave 100 percent," said Cowboy wide receiver Rashaun Woods after his 8 reception 81 yard day with one touchdown.
Oklahoma State jumped out to a 10-0 lead after an opening 65 yard touchdown drive ending in Aso Pogi's 9-yard pass to Woods. Texas then fumbled their first possession away, but OSU couldn't move the ball and Luke Phillips hit a 48-yard field goal to take that 10-0 lead. The Cowboys then forced a Texas punt, but the next OSU possession ended in a Pogi interception by Longhorn freshman Nathan Vasher.
Cory Redding said that was a big play, "That was real big, they could have scored another touchdown by making some plays, instead it put our offense back on the field and allowed them to go to work." Even bigger after Vasher made the bonehead decision to field a punt at the three yard line against Oklahoma last week.
When Texas got the ball after the Pogi interception Cedric Benson began his best day yet in a Longhorn uniform. Benson had 10 carries on that drive alone and finished with 31 carries for 131 yards. However, his day paled in comparison to that of Chris Simms and his 18-30, 235 yard, 6 touchdown (5 pass, 1 rush) day. Apparently Oklahoma State was "on the list."
Simms exclaimed, "Of course it feels great, but I just have to take it in stride through the good and the bad. I'm very happy of my performance and the way our offense performed, but I'm not going to get too excited and be content."
Oklahoma State turned the ball over four times and had the ball for only 23 minutes in the loss, which was way too much for Les Miles to handle. "I lost count after five turnovers. You cannot spot even a poor team five more opportunities at the ball than you have. It's been a reoccurring theme since day one. Our team has to find a way to control the football when it's in our possession. It's just that simple."
Aso Pogi agrees, "It is really frustrating. We can't turn the ball over. That decides a lot of football games. In our case, it has been a huge part of what the turnout is going to be. We had too many turnovers on offense and one on special teams. I think pretty much every one was a reflection of what they did on offense. We can't do things like that. "
They can't, but they do. Can OSU win again? The quest begins again next week at Iowa State, a game tentatively set for 1 p.m. next Saturday. The Longhorns play at home against Colorado in a game that has yet to determine a time.
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