Cincinnati took control in the fourth quarter, finishing off a 49-17 win over Oklahoma State on Saturday night, but day didn’t feel like a total loss.
STILLWATER — The energy was sucked out of Boone Pickens Stadium when Cincinnati’s Matthew McDoom returned an interception the length of the field with six minutes left in the game.
But for an Oklahoma State team that hasn’t won since the last weekend of August, the feeling was welcomed.
Cincinnati took control in the fourth quarter, finishing off a 49-17 win over the Cowboys on Saturday night, but thanks to a wild crowd, Rodney Fields Jr.’s career day and an all-around inspired Cowboy performance, the day didn’t feel like a total loss.
Here are four more takeaways from the game:
Two plays killed OSU’s momentum
The Cowboys came out of the halftime locker room with plenty of juice and briefly took control of the game.
The OSU defense forced its first punt of the game on a three-and-out to start the half, and the offense responded with a touchdown drive capped by a 20-yard run from Fields.
OSU forced another punt, and had moved the ball back into Cincy territory, facing third-and-1. But the shotgun snap slipped through the hands of quarterback Sam Jackson V. He recovered it for a loss of 12, which led to a punt.
On the ensuing drive, the OSU defense got the Bearcats into a third-and-16. But Cincinnati quarterback Brendan Sorsby threaded a pass between multiple orange-clad defenders for a 38-yard gain.
The Bearcats went on to score on the drive, which started the fourth-quarter flood that put the game away.
Sorsby finished 20 of 29 for 270 yards and three touchdowns. Receiver Cyrus Allen had just five touches, but turned three of them into touchdowns (two receiving, one rushing).
Rodney Fields Jr. has best showing of career
Any running back who comes along at OSU and achieves something Ollie Gordon II never did will be highly regarded.
WIth 110 of his 163 rushing yards in the first half, that’s exactly what Fields did. He was the first Cowboy since Jaylen Warren at Boise State in 2021 to surpass 100 rushing yards in the first half.
Fields’ previous career best rushing performance had been 113 yards against Tulsa in September.
He churned out the 163 yards on 21 carries for an average of 7.8 yards per attempt, and added 23 more yards on three receptions.
Fields has now surpassed 100 scrimmage yards four times in the last five games.
With Fields as the spark, OSU had 377 total yards in the game, with 228 on the ground. Jackson threw for 149 on 11 of 19 passing. He also rushed for a touchdown.
Logan Ward continues consistent season
Oklahoma State placekicker Logan Ward had his share of struggles over the second half of last season, but he held onto the starting job in preseason camp.
And his offseason work is showing up on the field.
Ward made his only field goal attempt of the night, a 33-yarder in the first quarter, which made him 11 of 13 on the year. One of his misses was beyond 40 yards and the other was beyond 50.
Pair of in-state products make first career starts
A couple of injuries during last week’s game, and another suffered during practice, altered the OSU starting lineup.
Veteran cornerback Kale Smith appeared on the injury report Friday and did not play. WIth Jaylin Davies also out at cornerback, redshirt freshman LaDainian Fields made his first career start.
Fields is the cousin of Rodney Fields Jr. Both graduated from Del City.
On offense, right guard Noah McKinney went in the transfer portal earlier this week but will remain with the team and continue to play. However, he was out this week because of an injury suffered late in last week’s game.
Redshirt sophomore JaKobe Sanders started in his place, the first career start for the Stillwater product.
Another in-state product, redshirt junior defensive end DeSean Brown of Choctaw, made his return from an injury suffered in Week 1 of the season and had a crucial sack in the third quarter when OSU had gained some momentum.
Scott Wright covers Oklahoma State athletics for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Scott? He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter at @ScottWrightOK. Support Scott’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State football unable to slow down Cincinnati late in loss
Category: General Sports
