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Cowboys roll up yardage
Sophomores shine; OSU explodes for 699 yards.

OSU running back Kendall Hunter scores a touchdown against Houston Saturday in Stillwater. Hunter finished with more than 200 yards rushing for OSU. STEPHEN HOLMAN/Tulsa World

 
By BILL HAISTEN World Sports Writer
Published: 9/7/2008  2:18 AM
Last Modified: 8/20/2009  10:03 AM

Sophomores shine; OSU explodes for 699 yards.



STILLWATER — It was a momentous Saturday night for a pair of Oklahoma State sophomores.

For the first time in school history, the Cowboys had a 200-yard receiver (Dez Bryant) and a 200-yard rusher (Kendall Hunter).

Playing before a crowd of 45,001 at newly expanded Boone Pickens Stadium (now a 60,000-seat venue), OSU had 699 total yards in a 56-37 victory over the University of Houston.

Hunter rushed for a career-best total of 210 yards. He scored on dashes of 58 and 10 yards.

Bryant's performance was sensational — 236 receiving yards and three TD receptions, along with a 71-yard punt-return touchdown in the fourth quarter. His touchdown catches covered 39, 29 and 74 yards.

With nine receptions, Bryant was the only OSU wide receiver who caught a pass.

Two years ago, Adarius Bowman had a school-record total of 300 receiving yards against Kansas. Bryant's 236-yard total ranks No. 2 on that list.

Cowboy coach Mike Gundy's assessment of Bryant's play: "Obviously, he's got some skills. I hope it keeps getting better. He could run up some pretty big numbers."

The Cowboy offensive breakdown — 379 rushing yards, 320 passing yards. Quarterback Zac Robinson netted 320 passing yards on only 14 completions.

OSU's 699-yard explosion was the second-greatest yardage total in school history. In 1988, the Cowboys had 717 yards against Kansas.

The Cowboys improved to 2-0 in advance of next week's home meeting with Division I-AA Missouri State.

OSU was on its home turf for the first time since the stadium's seating capacity was increased from 44,700 to 60,000. The majority of the 15,000 new west-end seats were filled, and the crowd was OSU's largest since the 2005 Texas game.

"To see all that orange in the west end zone — wow," Gundy said. "I'm really proud of what Oklahoma State has done. Just tremendous."

Cowboy fans may have departed with a concern for the status of the Cowboy defense.

The defense looked mostly solid in the season-opening triumph over Washington State, but on Saturday OSU fell far shy of impressive. Houston quarterback Case Keenum passed for 387 yards and four touchdowns, and the Cougars finished with 483 total yards.

Cowboy backup safety Lucien Antoine sustained a first-half knee injury. Following the game, Gundy announced that Antoine had sustained a torn anterior cruciate ligament and will be sidelined for the rest of the season.

While Oklahoma State's offense functioned at a high level during the second half, the Cowboys committed three first-half turnovers. The Cougars capitalized with points following each of those turnovers. Robinson was intercepted twice, and OSU lost a fumble when Robinson and Hunter mishandled a handoff.

The Cowboys struck first, driving 80 yards on only three plays.OSU threatened to take a two-touchdown lead, driving from its own 7-yard line to the Cougar 26, but the possession ended when a Robinson pass was intercepted in the end zone.

Houston capitalized with an 80-yard, 10-play drive, tying the score on a 2-yard run by Bryce Beall.

Ben Bell's 27-yard field goal gave Houston a 10-7 advantage. Houston made it a 16-7 difference when Keenum threw a 6-yard TD pass to Mark Hafner.

The Cowboys then drove 80 yards, capped by Bryant's 39-yard touchdown reception.



Bill Haisten 581-8397
bill.haisten@tulsaworld.com



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By BILL HAISTEN World Sports Writer

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OSUArthur, Fayetteville (9/7/2008 2:41:56 PM)
I don't think Dez was the only Cowboy receiver to catch a pass. ESPN has Brandon Pettigrew catching four passes and Spud catching 1. I was there and I know Pettigrew caught at least 2 that I distinctly remember.
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driftwood, tulsa (9/7/2008 3:48:13 PM)
but they still can't play defense.
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OSUArthur, Fayetteville (9/7/2008 5:13:04 PM)
It's not like 26 points by UNT or Cincy, depending on which other team you follow, is that much better. Also, at least 10 of the first half 16 points were only caused by short fields given to Houston by turnovers. That's not really something the defense can control. On top of that, unlike UNT, Houston actually has a decent offense. I'm not saying OSU's defense is good by any stretch of the imagination but none of the other defenses in this state at this point can claim a huge advantage.
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theed, Fort Bragg (9/8/2008 11:17:37 AM)
The D will be good enough this year. Thats all they need.
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Bill Haisten, Tulsa World, (9/8/2008 4:50:02 PM)
Dez Bryant was the only OSU wide receiver who caught a pass in the Houston game. Tight end Brandon Pettigrew had four catches and running back Kendall Hunter had one.
 

 
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