Oklahoma State Suffers Rough Homecoming Loss vs. No. 24 Cincinnati
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Oklahoma State suffered another tough loss to cap Homecoming weekend.
OSU lost 49-17 to No. 24 Cincinnati on Saturday night in Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater. After keeping the game tight for most of the night, the Cowboys couldn’t put it all together.
Facing an uphill battle down 18 midway through the fourth quarter, the Cowboys were desperate for a fourth-down conversion. Just inside the red zone, Sam Jackson V rolled out and found Terrill Davis for a conversion, but a penalty wiped the conversion off before a defensive pass interference bailed out the Pokes on the next play.
However, any hopes for OSU still remaining after getting a first down were soon wiped away, as Jackson threw an interception to Matthew McDoom, who took it 100 yards to the house for the Cincinnati dagger.
While it seemed like OSU had dug too deep a hole to climb out of, Rodney Fields Jr. added to
his career day with a 20-yard touchdown run to cut the deficit back to 11 after the Cowboy defense secured a stop to begin the third quarter. With that touchdown being one of the highlights of his career day, it was far from the only one, as Fields finished the night with 163 rushing yards on 21 carries.
Playing with some fire with the Homecoming crowd behind them, the Cowboys were looking to cut into the Cincinnati lead again in the second quarter. After Sam Jackson V’s electric throw to Shamar Rigby for 48 yards to ignite the drive, OSU continued driving deep into Bearcat territory, including a Fields fourth-and-1 rush to extend the drive a few plays later.
With the Cowboys hoping to keep their momentum going, Sesi Vailahi got a direct snap on fourth-and-1 at the Cincinnati 6-yard line. Unlike Fields’ conversion, Vailahi was stuffed at the line of scrimmage, handing the ball back to the Bearcats late in the first half.
After OSU was stuffed and had arguably its most encouraging drive of the season thwarted, Cincinnati put a dagger into the Cowboys’ hopes of winning. The Bearcats quickly drove 94 yards on their final possession of the half, with Brendan Sorsby finding Cyrus Allen for his second touchdown catch to take a 28-10 lead into halftime.
Still, part of the reason OSU was in a position to get the game within one possession just before halftime was its touchdown drive early in the second quarter. After Fields’ 41-yard rush ignited the drive, Jackson ran it in himself on a scramble several plays later for the Pokes’ first touchdown of the night.
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.