By Sports editor Kyle Salomon,

Now that Mustang’s football season is in the books, basketball season is arriving to pick up the slack, and the Bronco boys enter the 2014-2015 year with high expectations.

The Mustang boys basketball team arguably has higher expectations than any other athletic program at Mustang High School this year.

The Broncos come into the new year with a Class 6A state ranking of No.2 behind Putnam City West.

Mustang opens the new basketball regular season on Tuesday at home with a 7:30 p.m. matchup with Deer Creek. The Antlers are one of the top-rated Class 5A hoops squads, so it should be an exciting game to start the season.

“We’ve been working hard in the preseason,” Mustang coach Terry Long said. “We aren’t paying attention to what anyone is saying about us right now. We know if we play the way we are capable of, we have as good of a chance as anyone else. In order to get there, we have to work hard and earn it.”

However, before MHS opens play here in Mustang, the Broncos will take their talents south of the Oklahoma-Texas border and compete in the DFW Metroplex Hoop Fest, which is widely considered to be one of the best high school basketball tournaments across the nation.

“This will be a great test for our team,” Long said. “The level of play in this tournament is really high.”

There are a lot of reasons to be excited about this year’s boys hoops squad as they return most of the roster that made it to the state semifinals a year ago before being knocked out by Putnam City West.

The only player that played in the rotation last year that is not returning is DeMarion Love.

Mustang returns senior guards Terrell Williams, Isaiah Hammons and Aubrey Johnson. Johnson is a sharp-shooting guard who was injured just a month into the season, so the Broncos will welcome him back with open arms.

“Terrell has been with me forever,” Long said. “He needs to be a leader for us this year, he will be. We are excited to get Aubrey back. We missed him when he went down last year, hopefully he can stay healthy and have a big year.”

Senior forwards Geoffrey Hightower and Dylan Snyder return for their final year with Mustang. Hightower is a bruiser down low in the paint with a soft shooting touch. The 6-foot-6 power forward committed to West Texas A&M several weeks ago.

“Geoffrey has had a really good offseason and preseason,” Long said. “He looks great. He has worked his tail off. I expect big things from him this year.”

In the junior class, the Broncos return guards Jakolby Long and Kejuan Frazier and forwards Austin Meyer and Bryce Roberts to the Mustang roster.

Long and Meyer are two of the most highly-recruited basketball players in the state for the class of 2016.

“I’ll put our junior class up against anyone in the state,” Long said. “Jakolby and Austin are the headliners, but overall, it’s a very impressive class.”

Perhaps the most exciting piece of the puzzle of this year’s version of Mustang basketball is not who they are bringing back, but who they are adding to the squad.

Junior guard Curtis Haywood II will get to compete in varsity action this season after having to play junior varsity basketball a year ago as a sophomore because of transfer rules, according to the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association.

“Getting Curtis is going to be huge for us,” Long said. “He is a tremendous player. He’s going to turn some heads this season.”

Haywood will provide the Broncos the much-needed wing player opposite Long they need in order to get over the hump and win a state championship.

The expected starting lineup for this year’s team will be the three-guard, two-forward system. Williams will run the point at 6-foot with Long and Haywood manning the wings each at 6-foot-5. Hightower at 6-foot-6 and Meyer at 6-foot-10 will handle things down low for MHS.

Preseason expectations don’t mean much, but if Mustang is the last one standing in March, no one will be surprised.

By Sports editor Kyle Salomon,

Last season was a record year for the Mustang wrestling program, as five grapplers qualified for the state tournament.

David McCright, Gareth Ballard, Clay Feland, Trey Edwards and Gage McBride competed at the state tournament a year ago, but only two of those five wrestlers return this season for the Broncos.

Edwards and McBride come back for their sophomore seasons after having stellar freshmen year campaigns. Both grapplers have been with the football team all fall, so they haven’t been in the wrestling room practicing with the team.

“Gage and Trey’s work ethic is top-notch, they start in the room this week and should be ready to go by the first varsity tournament at Putnam City. It is awesome every day to see how they push each other to get better.”

Edwards and McBride and Kaden Truelove as well as several others coming from football to wrestling will have a week and a half to get ready for the opening dual of the season when the Mustang wrestling team travels to Edmond to take on Edmond North at 6 p.m.

During the preseason, the Broncos have competed in the Edmond North Open and the Yukon Open and they concluded their open season with the Edmond Pre-Turkey Open on Wednesday at Edmond Memorial.

“The first two tournaments have been a learning lesson for our guys. Although we did not bring home much hardware, I feel that we got better individually each week, which is what Coach Allen and I want to see with this group.”

The highlight of the open season for the Mustang wrestling team has been senior 182-pounder Zach Butler. Butler went undefeated and won the 182-pound weight class in both the Edmond North and Yukon Opens.

“Hard work pays off, last year Zach just barely missed the state tournament. He went to two national tournaments, went to every freestyle tournament and practice, and even went with Team Oklahoma to Fargo where the  best kids in the nation wrestle. Zach is winning these tournaments because of what he did in the offseason. I am very proud of him and hoping he has a great season.”

Butler will be counted on to lead the 2014-2015 version of the Mustang wrestling team. The senior has been wrestling for the majority of his life and has been in the Mustang program since he moved here his sophomore year from Amarillo, Texas.

Butler has competed at weight 170 since he arrived in Mustang, but with the graduation of David McCright last year, Butler will move up to a weight he’s more comfortable with.

Butler has had a tough run since he’s been at Mustang. His sophomore year, he was off to a great start, then broke his arm in the middle of the season. Last year as a junior, he battled ankle injuries all year.

He said he’s ready to go as a senior.

“I’m all out for blood this year,” Butler said. “I had some bad injuries the past couple of years. Last year, a couple of seniors that graduated last year beat me out to go to state, so going to state is my main goal, as well as winning the Geary tournament championship.”

The Geary wrestling tournament is the oldest high school wrestling tournament in the country and one of the most popular in the nation as well.

“I want to win the state championship this season. I really believe I can,” Butler said. “It was really frustrating being injured. My ankles were the worst last year. I couldn’t get healthy all year.”

Longtime head coach Dave Rankin retired after last year, and his longtime assistant Will Allen took over the job.

Butler said the coaching staff is great to work with.

“Coach (Will) Allen has been really awesome this year for us,” Butler said. “Coach Dick is one of the best technique coaches I’ve ever worked with. He knows so much and helps us out a lot every day and Coach (Craig) Allen is a really good strength and conditioning coach.”

Butler said for this season to be a success both individually and team-wise, they will have to work hard.

“I have high expectations for myself,” Butler said. “I know if I work hard and do what I need to do on the mat, I can win the state championship. As a team, I know we are capable of surprising people. We are working hard and are look forward to having a great season.”

By Sports editor Kyle Salomon,

The Mustang Broncos entered last Saturday afternoon’s semifinal game with No.1 Tulsa Union with visions of gold balls dancing in their heads, but the Redskins quickly squashed the Broncos’ state title hopes as they handed MHS a 52-7 loss.

The Broncos finished the 2014 season with an overall record of 8-4 and in the first year of Class 6A-1, Mustang took third in its district behind Union and Owasso with a 5-2 district mark.

Mustang finished the season ranked fourth in the state’s largest class and was the highest-ranked west-side school. They also were the only 6A-1 west-side team to beat an east-side opponent when they knocked off Broken Arrow 22-19 in the quarterfinal round of the postseason.

“They (Union) whooped us, every facet. From the start to the end, we just didn’t have an answer,” Mustang coach Jeremy Dombek said. “We couldn’t get anything going on offense or defense. I haven’t seen us play like that in a long time. We didn’t play great, and they played really good.”

In their first meeting, the Broncos and the Redskins gave us all an instant classic, as Union won the game 30-24 after scoring 18 unanswered points in the fourth quarter and coming back from being down 24-12 entering the final frame.

On Saturday, the Redskins continued where they left off from that Halloween night comeback at Bronco Stadium.

Mustang got the ball first and picked up a first down, but then Union’s defense flexed its muscles and forced the Broncos to punt. The MHS punt only sailed several yards against the strong south wind, giving the ‘Skins great field position on their opening possession.

Union took advantage and drove down the field for the touchdown, taking the lead 7-0. On Mustang’s next possession, the Broncos couldn’t get much going as the Redskins defense was playing lightning fast.

Mustang was forced into another punt, but this one was a better effort as it sailed across the 50 into Union territory.

However, that wouldn’t stop the UHS offense as it put another touchdown drive together before the end of the opening quarter to take a 14-0 lead into the second frame.

The second quarter will be one the Mustang faithful will want to forget for years to come as Union outscored the Broncos 28-0, making the halftime deficit 42-0 in favor of the ‘Skins.

The game was all but over, but Union decided they would put one more touchdown on the board on its first drive of the second half, making the score 49-0. That would remain the score through the rest of the third quarter, as both teams began to empty their benches.

The fourth quarter was the only frame the Broncos won on Saturday. The Redskins scored first on a 20-yard field goal early in the quarter, making the score 52-0, which made it 70 unanswered points Union had scored on Mustang including the fourth quarter from their Halloween night matchup.

The Broncos’ only score of the game came at the 2:37 mark of the final frame on junior backup quarterback Luke Ring’s 9-yard run for a final 52-7.

Mustang finished the game with just 182 yards of offense, including 132 passing and 50 rushing. The Broncos had 12 total first downs in the game and were 4-for-19 on third down opportunities for 21 percent.

MHS finished the game with one turnover and five penalties for 27 yards.

Junior quarterback Chandler Garrett finished the day with 89 passing yards and one interception on 14-of-26 passing. Garrett ran five times for a minus 38 yards. The 6-foot-5 junior was under pressure all day and was sacked numerous times by the Union defense.

Senior running back Chase Brown had a rough day as well, rushing for 46 yards on 15 carries, and senior receiver David Parker led the Broncos through the air with 62 receiving yards on four catches.

Ring, who scored Mustang’s only touchdown, carried the ball four times for 33 yards and completed two passes for 43 yards.

Union finished the game with 419 total yards of offense, including 238 passing yards and 181 rushing. The Redskins totaled 26 first downs and converted 6-of-15 third down opportunities.

The ‘Skins had no turnovers and were penalized three times for 34 yards.

Despite Saturday’s game, the Broncos can hold their heads high on the season they had in 2014.

Going 8-4 with a district record of 5-2, combined with being the only west-side school to beat an east-side opponent in 6A-1 is an impressive feat.

Looking ahead to next year, Mustang has many reasons to be excited for the 2015 season.

They bring back quarterback Chandler Garrett, who made great strides in 2014 as being one of the top players in the state. They also bring back receivers Dylan Doran, Mason Brown, Miles McFadden, Jakolby Long and Bobby Brown.

Tight ends Bryce Roberts and Blake Williams return next year. Offensive lineman Jacob Conley will return and lead the O-line in 2015.

On offense they will lose seniors such as running back Chase Brown, receivers David Parker and Preston Ochoa. On the offensive line, they will lose seniors Larry King, Coty Harper and Jaxon Taylor.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Broncos will bring back defensive lineman DeAntre Thomas and linebacker Cole Daniel. Defensive backs Kiante Miles, Carter Rees and Darion Richards will return to lead the Bronco D that shocked people across the state in 2014.

They will lose senior nose tackle Jordan Umphries, linebackers Zach Davis, Kaden Truelove, Cutter Smith and Dalton Good and safety Emilio Daugherty.

It’s always difficult replacing senior starters, but with the players Mustang has returning next season, there is no reason they shouldn’t be able to compete for the gold ball in 2015.

By Sports editor Kyle Salomon,

Oklahoma beat Kansas 44-7 on Saturday, but the highlight of the game was freshman running back Samaje Perine.

The 5-foot-11, 243-pounder set the single-game NCAA rushing record with 427 yards on the ground on 34 carries with five touchdowns in the game.

Perine set the record one week after Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon broke LaDanian Tomlinson’s record. Gordon rushed for 408 yards last week against Nebraska.

The Sooners, ranked No.23, improved to 8-3 overall and 5-3 in the Big 12 Conference, while the Jayhawks fell to 3-8 overall and 1-7 in league play.

OU coach Bob Stoops talked about Perine after the game.

“I have to start with Samaje Perine. Perine was just sensational. The guy is just so exceptional in everything he does. It just got to that point where we were thinking about resting him and then someone said he only needs 38 more yards.

“That’s too close not to do it and there is still way too much time left in the game. Samaje overheard somebody say that and he told Coach Gundy, ‘Coach, that doesn’t matter to me.’ That’s how special he is. He went in there and ripped off another long run and fortunately we were able to get him out. He is really just a special guy. His timing, his pace, his strength, and then when he breaks it he runs away from everybody.”

The game was delayed an hour and a half from its original start time. The game was supposed to kick off at 11 a.m., but due to inclement weather in the Norman area, the start time was suspended until 12:30 p.m. and the game was mostly played in wet conditions at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.

Oklahoma finished the day with 549 total yards of offense. Out of that 549, 517 of those yards came on the ground. OU had just 39 yards passing in the rainy conditions.

The Sooners had three turnovers in the game (two fumbles and one interception) and four penalties for 25 yards.

Following Perine on the ground was sophomore running back Keith Ford, who had eight carries for 36 yards in the game.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Cody Thomas was under center for the second consecutive week last Saturday, as starting QB Trevor Knight is still recovering from a neck and spine injury he sustained in the Baylor loss.

Thomas struggled in the soggy conditions, completing 3-of-13 passes for 39 yards. Perine was also the team’s leading receiver on the day with one reception for 19 yards. Junior receiver Durron Neal had one catch for 11 yards.

Sophomore linebacker Dominique Alexander led the defense in tackles with seven in the game.

Kansas finished the game with 103 total yards of offense, including 84 passing yards and 19 rushing. KU had two turnovers (one fumble and one interception) and two penalties for 20 yards.

Jayhawks running back Corey Avery led the team in rushing with 11 rushes for 38 yards. Quarterback Michael Cummings was 8-of-22 passing for 84 yards with one interception. Receiver Jimmay Mundine led the way through the air with three receptions for 27 yards.

KU linebacker Isaiah Johnson led the team in tackles with 12 in the game.

OU enters its third and final bye week of the 2014 season during Thanksgiving week. The Sooners will return to action on Dec. 6 at home in their final regular season game of the year as they host in-state rival Oklahoma State in the annual Bedlam game.

By Sports editor Kyle Salomon,

Oklahoma State suffered its fifth consecutive loss of the season last Saturday in Waco with a 49-28 defeat at the hands of seventh-ranked Baylor.

The Cowboys fell to 5-6 overall and 3-5 in Big 12 Conference play. The Bears, who are still in contention for the college football playoffs, improved to 9-1 overall and 6-1 in league action.

In the Pokes’ five-game conference losing streak, it has been the slow starts that have been the most concerning. On Saturday, Baylor jumped out to a 14-0 lead before Oklahoma State knew what had hit them.

OSU woke up after going down two touchdowns, but on the road against a top-10 opponent, digging out of a two-touchdown hole makes it nearly impossible to mount a comeback.

The Cowboys cut the BU lead to 14-7 and 28-14, but that was as close as they would get as Baylor would record a 21-point victory.

“It’s almost like we realized that everything was going to be OK,” OSU coach Mike Gundy said. “I wish we would have started that way.”

The debate around the Oklahoma State camp all week was if Gundy would pull the redshirt off Mason Rudolph and play the true freshman with starting quarterback Daxx Garman being sidelined with a concussion.

Gundy chose to burn the redshirt and play Rudolph. The true freshman ended up with 281 yards passing, two touchdowns and two interceptions on 13-of-25 completions.

Oklahoma State finished the game with 397 total offensive yards, including 281 passing yards and 116 rushing yards. The ‘Pokes had two turnovers (two interceptions) and were penalized four times for 45 yards.

True freshman running back Tyreek Hill led the ‘Pokes on the ground in the game with 59 yards on 10 carries. Junior receiver and Mustang native David Glidden led the Cowboys through the air with five receptions for 99 yards and one touchdown.

Glidden said the young QB played well in his debut.

“You gotta give him a lot of credit,” receiver David Glidden said. “He put the ball on the money.”

Linebacker Ryan Simmons led in the OSU defense in the tackling department with 13 on the night.

Baylor finished the game with 579 total yards of offense, including 317 rushing yards and 262 passing yards. The Bears had two turnovers (two interceptions) and were penalized 12 times for 68 yards.

Quarterback Bryce Petty was 18-of-29 for 262 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Running back Shock Linwood led BU on the ground with 21 carries for 116 yards and one touchdown. Receiver Corey Coleman led the Bears through the air with three receptions for 75 yards and one touchdown.

Linebacker Bryce Hager led the Baylor defense in tackles with seven in the game.

Oklahoma State will have its third bye week of the 2014 season during Thanksgiving week before closing its regular season on Dec. 6 with a road trip to Norman for the annual Bedlam game. It will be OSU’s final chance to become bowl eligible.

By Sports editor Kyle Salomon,

Three weeks ago, Mustang entered the fourth quarter against No.1-ranked Tulsa Union with a 12-point lead, but an 18-0 run to end the game by the Redskins sent the Broncos home with yet another disappointing end to what could have been a program-defining win.

This Saturday at 1 p.m., the Broncos will get their second chance at the No.1 team in Class 6A-1, this time in the state semifinal round of the playoffs when the two teams collide at the University of Tulsa’s Chapman Stadium.

The other semifinal game will be played at 7 p.m. Friday night at TU between Jenks and Owasso. Mustang is the last standing west-side team in the largest football class in Oklahoma.

“We know until someone knocks them off, they (Union) are the No.1 team in the state,” Mustang coach Jeremy Dombek said. “We are going to have to play really well in all phases of the game. We will have a good week of practice and be ready to go on Saturday.”

In their Halloween night meeting, Union came back to defeat Mustang 30-24. The Broncos became the first west-side team in Class 6A-1 to beat an east-side school when they took out Broken Arrow 22-19 last Friday night on the road.

The Redskins hosted Edmond Memorial and had a much easier time in their quarterfinal matchup, as they drubbed the Bulldogs 59-28.

Mustang enters Saturday’s game with an overall record of 8-3, while Union comes in at 10-1 and undefeated in the state of Oklahoma.

The Redskins’ one loss came in week one against South Lake Carroll in Texas, where they fell to one of the top teams in the nation, 42-41 in overtime. Since that opening-game loss, the ‘Skins are undefeated with their closest game being the six-point victory in Bronco Stadium.

Other than the Union loss, Mustang’s other two losses came against east-side schools. The Broncos dropped a heartbreaker at Owasso 28-24 after leading by 10 points midway through the fourth quarter and fell to Class 6A-2 Stillwater 35-26 in week two of the regular season.

Mustang comes into the game averaging 35.4 points per game, while allowing opponents 20.4 points per game this season.

The Broncos are averaging 441.6 total yards per outing and allowing 260.2 total yards to opponents. MHS is passing for an average of 236.7 yards and rushing for an average of 204.9 yards per contest. They are allowing 164.4 passing yards and 95.8 rushing yards on average defensively.

Mustang quarterback Chandler Garrett has completed 182 passes out of 302 attempts this season for 2,300 yards, with 18 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

Bronco running back Chase Brown leads the team on the ground this season with 1,380 yards and 15 touchdowns on 229 carries.

MHS receiver David Parker is the team’s leading pass catcher this year with 45 receptions for 799 yards and seven touchdowns.

Union will go with either Mason Farquhar or Zach Fisher at quarterback against the Broncos. Farquhar has been the Redskins’ starting QB all season, but after sustaining an injury against Mustang, Fisher came in and led UHS to the comeback win.

Farquhar has completed 145 passes out of 219 attempts this season for 1,577 yards, with 16 touchdowns and five interceptions. Fisher has completed 14 passes out of 25 attempts for 326 yards, with three touchdowns and one interception.

In the rushing department, Tyler Adkins leads Union with 1,188 yards and 17 touchdowns on 167 carries.

Receiver Robert Thomas is the Redskins’ leading pass catcher this year with 716 yards and seven touchdowns on 70 receptions.

On defense for Union, Lorenzo Thomas leads in tackles with 73, Malon Aljiboori leads in sacks with 14, Brandon Golphin has the most interceptions with five and Chance Wenglewski has two fumble recoveries, which leads the team.

Who knows what Saturday’s semifinal game will bring, but if the first matchup was any indication, we are in for one heck of a game.

By Sports editor Kyle Salomon,

Mustang’s swim teams competed in their third meet of the season on Nov. 13 at Ponca City High School.

Both the boys and girls teams took first place in the team competitions in the event. The boys team finished with a total score of 96, while the girls squad had 103 points.

Here are the individual Mustang results from the Ponca City meet:

In the girls 200-yard medley relay race, it was Mustang taking the top spot with a time of 2:14.45. That was good enough for a state qualifying time by the Lady Broncos. Hannah Kertzner, Lauren Oliver, Summer Chrismon and Samantha Jones made up the four-swimmer team for MHS.

In the boys 200-yard medley relay competition, the Broncos took first-place overall with a time of 1:56.89. That time was also good enough for a state qualifier. Drake Stowe, Zach McSwain, Chandler McDonald and Minh Nguyen swam the four legs in the relay race.

In the girls 200-yard freestyle race, Ryhan Deuel took first place with a time of 2:28.08 and Zoe Mills finished in fifth place with a time of 2:54.07.

In the boys 200-yard freestyle competition, Jacob Hesser finished in third-place overall with a time of 2:22.16.

In the girls 200-yard individual medley race, Brandi Naeher took the top spot with a time of 2:55.27.

In the boys 200-yard individual medley, Tucker Legg took first-place overall with a time of 2:37.80.

In the girls 50-yard freestyle event, Samantha Jones finished in first with a time of 26.91, which was a state qualifying time. Lauren Oliver placed second with a time of 28.62. Hannah Kertzner finished fourth overall with a time of 30.05 and Morgan Shirk took seventh place with a time of 31.22.

In the boys 50-yard freestyle race, Robert Coulter placed fourth overall with a time of 26.76 and Zach McSwain took fifth place with a time of 27.60.

In the girls 100-yard butterfly stroke, it was Summer Chrismon who took first-place overall with a time of 1:18.75.

In the boys 100-yard butterfly race, it was Chandler McDonald taking first place with a time of 1:09.27.

In the girls 100-yard freestyle event, Samantha Jones took first place with a time of 1:02.07. Hannah Kertzner finished second overall with a time of 1:04.49. Mazie Garza placed third overall with a time of 1:05.45 and Ryhan Deuel placed sixth with a time of 1:10.64.

In the boys 100-yard freestyle competition, Robert Coulter took second-place overall with a time 59.66 and Jacob Hesser finished in fourth place with a time of 1:02.26.

In the girls 500-yard freestyle race, it was Rachel Snodgrass taking second place with a time of 7:46.51.

In the boys 500-yard freestyle event, it was Minh Nguyen placing first overall with a time of 5:50.97. Drake Stowe took third place with a time of 6:41.60 and Chandler McDonald took fourth place with a time of 7:17.75.

In the girls 200-yard freestyle relay, the Lady Broncos placed first overall with a time of 2:01.80, which was a state qualifying time. Brandi Naeher, Morgan Shirk, Mazie Garza and Summer Chrismon made up the team.

In the boys 200-yard freestyle relay race, Mustang finished second with a time of 1:50.88. Robert Coulter, Max Mayfield, Jacob Hesser and Tucker Legg made up the squad for MHS.

In the girls 100-yard backstroke competition, it was Brandi Naeher finishing in second place with a time of 1:21.60. Summer Chrismon took third with a time of 1:24.33 and Zoe Mills placed fourth with a time of 1:31.56.

In the boys 100-yard backstroke race, it was Drake Stowe placing second overall with a time of 1:11.46 and Tucker Legg taking third with a time of 1:14.84.

In the girls 100-yard breaststroke, it was Mazie Garza who took second place with a time of 1:24.12 and Morgan Shirk taking fourth place with a time of 1:37.84.

In the boys 100-yard breaststroke race, Zach McSwain finished at the top spot with a time of 1:13.21. Minh Nguyen placed second with a time of 1:13.58 and Cooper Quinn took third-place overall with a time of 1:18.43.

In the girls 400-yard freestyle relay race, it was the Bronco girls taking first-place overall with a time of 4:29.12, which was a state qualifying time. Hannah Kertzner, Brandi Naeher, Lauren Oliver and Samantha Jones made up the four-swimmer team.

In the boys 400-yard freestyle relay event, it was Mustang taking first-place overall with a time of 4:07.52. Chandler McDonald, Drake Stowe, Zach McSwain and Minh Nguyen swam the four legs in the event.

By Glen Miller,

STILLWATER – With an offense which sputtered for the better part of three periods, Oklahoma State University’s quest to become bowl eligible for a ninth straight season took a major hit.

The Cowboys were held to under 200 yards total offense for the first time since 2009 as the University of Texas rolled into Boone Pickens Stadium and handed OSU a 28-7 defeat.

The loss dropped Oklahoma State to 5-5 on the season and 3-4 in the Big 12 Conference standings. The Longhorns, meanwhile, became bowl eligible by improving to 6-5 overall and 5-3 in the league race with their eighth straight series win in Stillwater and ninth in the past 10 trips.

“I have a lot of confidence in where we’re at. It’s my responsibility to see who we are, see where we’re at, get the guys to play hard and keep everybody together. So I have a pretty good feel for most things that are going on.

“People would want you to panic, get upset and show frustration and anger, but I just don’t believe in that,” said OSU head coach Mike Gundy.

Oklahoma State managed only 34 total yards rushing on 23 attempts for an average of 1.5 yards per carry. Desmond Roland led the way for the Cowboys with five carries for 21 yards, while Tyreek Hill had 16 yards on eight carries.

Quarterback Daxx Garman rushed for 17 yards but was sacked seven times for a minus 27 yards, giving him a negative 10 yards for the game.

Garman was able to find success with the shorter routes, completing 17-of-29 passes with one interception for 158 yards. Mustang native David Glidden caught three passes for 31 yards, with a long catch of 25 yards.

“We had fight. It’s simple, though. Their front is really good right now, and it’s not a good matchup for us. When you get whipped, you can’t run the ball and you struggle in pass protection, it’s really hard to kind of identify things. We tried to move the ball around with some different formations, but they were able to contain us,” said Gundy.

The Cowboys’ lone scoring drive came in the fourth period as Garman completed 6-of-6 passes for 48 yards, which helped set up an 8-yard touchdown pass to James Washington.

Texas’ lead was cut to 22-7 at that point, but the Longhorns answered back with a 45-yard scoring strike. The effort was part of a 305-yard passing day from Texas quarterback Tyrone Swoops, who went 24-of-33 with no interceptions.

The Longhorns closed with 430 total yards of offense after rushing for 125 yards on 43 carries and one touchdown.

OSU heads to Baylor for stiff Big 12 test

The Cowboys will again try to become bowl eligible this Saturday, but in a much tougher setting when they travel to Waco to take on the Baylor Bears at 6:30 p.m. The game will be nationally televised by FOX.

Oklahoma State enters the game with a 5-5 overall record and 3-4 mark in the Big 12, while Baylor comes into the game with an 8-1 record overall and a Big 12 mark of 5-1.

The Bears’ last game was a blowout win in Norman over Oklahoma 48-14.