It is better to win ugly than to lose pretty, and that was certainly the case for Oklahoma State on Saturday.
While the No. 16 Cowboys defeated the Arkansas Razorbacks, 39-31, it took a second-half comeback and two overtimes to avoid the upset.
The Razorbacks came out of the gate fast, going up 14-0 in the first quarter. The first points of the day for the Cowboys came on a Kale Smith 73-yard pick-six.
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The first offensive points for Oklahoma State didn’t come until they were under nine minutes left in the third quarter when kicker Logan Ward nailed a 45-yard field goal to make it a 21-10 game.
The Cowboys caught the break they needed with about 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter. Down 21-13 and the offense still sputtering, Razorback’s punt returner Isaiah Sategna fumbled the punt and the Cowboys recovered on the Arkansas 25-yard line.
Two plays later, quarterback Alan Bowman found wide receiver Brennan Presley for a seven-yard touchdown. Bowman then hit De’Zhaun Stribling for the two-point conversion to knot the game at 21 apiece.
After getting a stop defensively, the Cowboys turned to a trick play to jump-start the offense. On a flea-flicker, Bowman found a wide-open Jake Schultz for 63 yards to take into the red zone.
A few plays later, the Cowboys got creative by using Presley out of the backfield on a jet sweep for a three-yard touchdown, giving the Cowboys a 28-21 lead.
The Razorbacks responded in a hurry with a three-play, 75-yard drive capped off by Luke Hasz’s 43-yard touchdown reception from Taylen Green to tie the game 28-28 with just over four minutes remaining.
Bowman led the Cowboys 55 yards in three minutes to the Arkansas 20-yard line, setting up Ward for a 38-year-old field goal to put the Cowboys back in front 31-28.
With no timeouts and 55 seconds left on the clock, Green went to work.
The Razorbacks quarterback, after going underneath for marginal gains, took a shot and connected with Andrew Armstrong for 33 yards, bringing the offense to the Oklahoma State 27-yard line.
Arkansas kicker Kyle Ramsey snuck a 45-yard field goal attempt just inside the right upright, tying the game at 31-31 as time expired and sending the game into overtime.
The Razorbacks started with the ball first but went backward in overtime after a crucial 12-yard loss on a third-down sack of Green by Obi Ezeigbo, knocking Arkansas back to the Oklahoma 28-yard line.
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Ramsey was good from 45 yards to send the game into overtime but was not good in overtime from 46 yards out, pulling his kick to the left and giving the Oklahoma State offense a chance to win.
However, the Oklahoma State offense was not much better than the Arkansas offense in overtime.
They gained a grand total of one yard, having to settle for a Ward 41-yard field goal chance to win the game.
He missed wide right.
Both teams missed their kicks and the score remained 31-31 going into double overtime.
The Razorbacks kept Heisman candidate Ollie Gordon II quiet for most of the game. But the star running back found the end zone in double overtime on a 10-yard rush and then caught the two-point conversion to put the Cowboys up 39-31.
The Razorbacks’ offense worked the ball down to the Cowboys six-yard line but got stuffed on 4th-and-1, leaving their chance at an upset short.
The Cowboys survived to improve to 2-0 and will take on 11th-ranked Utah next on Sept. 21.
Arkansas looks to bounce back against Auburn on Sept. 21.
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