© Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports
Oklahoma State Knocks Off No. 23 Iowa State
After beating No. 23 Iowa State on the road in Ames, Iowa 34–27, not only did Oklahoma State get back in the win column in the 2019 season, but they finally broke a six-game road losing streak in conference play.
It also marked the Pokes' first road conference win as an underdog since they beat TCU back in 2016.
Oklahoma State moves to 5–3 on the season, and 2–3 in conference play.
"We played well," said head coach Mike Gundy on the Cowboy Radio Network. "The games that we've lost this year, we just took ourselves out of them. So, I had hoped during the week that we could stress to them to play the game and don't beat yourself, and that's really what happened. Interestingly, [Iowa State] beat themselves with a quarterback that's really good. Our defense rose to the occasion in the end. Coach Knowles had some nice schemes there to undercut some inside routes, because they do so much of the crossing stuff and it worked for us. The flip side of it is we caught the ball when they threw it to us."
The Cowboys' offense played well in the first half, but started to stall out toward the end of the game. Prior to Oklahoma State's final drive, the previous two drives went nowhere. On the first of the two drives, it ended with a turnover on downs and the second with a punt that was nearly blocked.
But it was the defense that bailed the Cowboys out and secured the win. Linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez intercepted a Brock Purdy pass and took it back 26-yards for a pick-six, putting the Pokes back on top, 34–27.
Then on the final two Iowa State drives, linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga and Tre Sterling each came up with an interception to seal the deal. The interceptions were the first of the season for each player.
The great fourth-quarter performance comes a week after the Pokes dropped a heart-breaker to Baylor for homecoming in the fourth quarter.
"This is a great life lesson for the boys from the standpoint of just keep playing," said Gundy on the Cowboy Radio Network. "Ignore all the outside noise, and we played better."
It certainly wasn't a bad day for the Cowboy offense though. The Pokes scored three first-half touchdowns on three big plays: a 71-yard touchdown by Tylan Wallace, a 50-yard touchdown by Braydon Johnson and a 65-yard touchdown by Chuba Hubbard.
Kicker Matt Ammendola was also crucial in the win as he put through two field goals, one from 49 and one from 40. If he doesn't make those, it still leaves the Pokes up by one-point, but there's no doubt that there would've been a momentum shift.
Oklahoma State will face TCU at home on Nov. 2 for a 2:30 p.m. kick for a game that just became that much more interesting with TCU knocking off No. 15 Texas today 37–27.
