STILLWATER, Okla. — For 58 consecutive games, Oklahoma State produced 20-plus points. For the past two games, however, the Cowboys offense couldn’t get unholstered.
After TCU held the Cowboys to nine points last week, West Virginia’s defense nearly matched that in a 34-10 blowout Saturday.
Mike Gundy clearly has quarterback issues with Daxx Garman unable to move the team like the injured JW Walsh once did. The mobile Walsh led the Cowboys to 31 points in a season-opening loss to Florida State.
Yet Oklahoma State’s coach knows that youth along the offensive line is only making the situation worse.
At halftime, Gundy saw his team operation with balance and amassing 299 yards. It trailed only 14-10, a deficit that could have been lighter if not for Ben Grogan missing a 36-yard kick.
After the half, Gundy’s team couldn’t run the ball effectively, and Garman finished the game on a 7-of-18 passing slump. Oklahoma State netted only 137 yards and seven first downs in the second half.
“I thought we lost up front with their front against ours,” Gundy said. “We became one-dimensional and when we’re one-dimensional, we’re an average football team. If we aren’t running the ball for 3 or 4 yards a carry, then it becomes difficult for us to throw passes.
“Everything offensively, to me, is alarming. Look at where we’re at: We have a quarterback that’s inexperienced and we have an offensive line that’s young and inexperienced.”
Garman’s two interceptions gave him nine in five Big 12 games, compared to only seven touchdowns. He threw a second-quarter touchdown to fullback Teddy Johnson, but didn’t have much time to throw in the second half.
“When we got to third downs, they brought a lot of pressure,” Johnson said. “We weren’t able to get the ball to the receivers in the way we wanted to.”