Can Oklahoma State Learn Anything From Loss to Houston?
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Oklahoma State has been one of the worst teams in the FBS this season, and finding ways to improve can feel nearly impossible.
On Saturday, OSU lost to Houston 39-17 to fall to 1-5 this year and remain winless in conference play. With another blowout loss in the books for the Cowboys, getting back on track seems nearly impossible this season.
After a solid first quarter and start to the second, the Cowboys began to lose any control, if any, they had in the game. By halftime, a few costly mistakes and breakdowns had resulted in a two-touchdown lead for the Cougars.
When it comes to OSU’s issues, there isn’t much Doug Meacham and company can really do to fix them. With so many key players either injured or in the portal, there’s only so much schematically the Cowboys can do to try and get things moving in the right direction.
Overall, it seems like OSU is doing what it’s supposed to on that front, it just doesn’t have the personnel to make it happen. In Saturday’s matchup against Houston, the Cowboys had a few massive mistakes that Meacham pointed out postgame that kept them from building on any of the early momentum.
As much as coaches want their players to avoid those mistakes, OSU’s lacking talent compared to its opponents can make it impossible for players to avoid them. Trying to make up for that talent deficit with big plays and effort can turn into bad plays and breakdowns quickly, which OSU has gotten quite familiar with this season.
Simply put, even if OSU did find some key things this weekend and feels it can take away some valuable lessons from the game, it might not matter. The Cowboys are in the Big 12 and have no business playing against Power Four competition in any capacity right now.
Even the roster from the season opener likely wouldn’t be able to win a conference game, and the crew OSU puts onto the field now is significantly worse. Of course, that doesn’t mean OSU should stop trying to implement new things and applying the lessons it learns every weekend.
While the Cowboys might not have the talent or the athletes to create consistent positive results, if the coaches aren’t even trying to get their players in the right situations, there won’t be any chance for those positive results in the first place. There are some areas where OSU is improving, but it likely isn’t improving enough to change any outcomes this season.
Still, it’s at least encouraging to see OSU still pouring its heart onto the field every week despite an obviously difficult circumstance.
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.