By Michael Doutey

The Cardiac Cowboys were at it again. Oklahoma State held a three point lead late in the game. And as the phrase goes, when you play with fire eventually you get burned. The Cowboys got burned today, blowing a 10 point fourth quarter lead to Baylor, falling 35-31.

This game was one OSU should have had. They held a 10 point lead with 8:55 left. But the OSU defense gave up 14 points in that amount of time. OSU seemed to have done enough to win today, but a late Baylor touchdown with just 11 seconds left in the game sealed a loss after a sloppily played game by the Pokes.

This was a loss that OSU has to kick themselves over. OSU beat themselves more than Baylor beat OSU. That is what happens when you commit 12 penalties for 133 yards. That is where the issue sits with me. This team isn’t good enough to overcome that and poor defense.  OSU now has three games left to try and find a win to become bowl eligible. Here are today’s five observations.

ONE: Undisciplined Play Dooms OSU

This has been an issue all season long. But it was just out of control today. OSU committed 12 penalties for 133 yards. That is horrific and unacceptable. The offense had a few penalties that they had to work through, but the defense was the biggest culprit. Via Mark Cooper, OSU’s defense earned 108 penalty yards. They could have gotten off the field a few times, but they committed stupid penalties. AJ Green had several himself. He had a couple pass interference calls , a couple face masks and a personal foul. Calvin Bundage had a stupid penalty, shoving Charlie Brewer late and out of bounce. Then Malcolm Rodriguez was called for a crucial pass interference on Baylor’s final drive that got the Bears in the Red Zone. OSU is an average team at best. They are certainly not good enough to overcome the penalties like they had today. They beat themselves time after time today.

TWO: Where Was the Defense?

Baylor’s John Lovett took off for a 75 yard touchdown run right before the end of the third quarter. He basically went untouched. AJ Green had a shot on him in the backfield, but he dove at his feet and missed. Then Malcolm Rodriguez missed him in the open field and Lovett took off and was gone. Later on in the fourth, Jalen Hurd caught a 36 yard touchdown pass. AJ Green was in soft zone coverage and never really knew where Hurd was. But as Hurd caught the ball, Jarrick Bernard overran the play, thinking Hurd’s momentum would carry him out of bounce or Green would push him out of bounds. Instead, Hurd easily walked in for a score. Then on the final drive, OSU allowed a big run on a draw play and then Rodriguez was called for a pass interference call that put the Bears the Red Zone. OSU had a 10 point lead with 8:55 to play. Somehow OSU’s defense allowed 14 points, handing OSU a loss. They were undisciplined in tackling, coverage and in penalties. This was their worst performance of the season in my book.

THREE: Special Teams Disaster

Baylor’s blocked punt for a touchdown was a killer. Zac Sinor, who took a long time to get the kick off, got a nice look out block and the Bears scooped and scored for an easy touchdown. Then Matt Ammendola missed two of his three attempts. Twice he kicked into a strong wind and missed badly. Both of those kicks were from 47 and 45 yards. It was curious because Ammendola struggled making kicks from that distances kicking into the wind in warmups. So, I am not sure why they decided to kick those in the actual game. But if OSU doesn’t give up a touchdown with poor blocking on the punt or they make their field goals, then OSU likely wins.

FOUR: Play Calling

Mike Yurcich wasn’t afraid to pull some stuff out today. He had an excellent play call throwing to Tylan Wallace out of the backfield and used Chuba Hubbard as a lead blocker, which went for a score. Then he used the same play, but Wallace threw the ball back to Cornelius, which wound up gaining a key first down. But then there was a third-and-goal at the two, where Yurcich dialed up a corner pattern to Landon Wolf instead of handing it off to Justice Hill or JD King. Then there was the fact that OSU got away from their game plan in the second quarter. While going into the wind, OSU was trying to take deep shots down the field.

They got back to their roots in the second half, but I still have a problem with how few carries Hill had. Hill just had 18 carries for 119 yards, good for 6.6 yards per carry. Hubbard had similar success, carrying the ball 10 times for 51 yards. But why didn’t Hill or Hubbard get more carries? Why did Corn have 41 throws? Corn should have had 10 fewer throws and Hill and Hubbard could have split those 10 plays however you would have liked. But then there was the final play. The fourth-and-three play. It was a timing play, designed for Corn to roll to his right as Jelani Woods diagonally floated out into the flat. But Baylor blew up the play from the get go. But the offensive line has had success with quick plays where they didn’t have to block long. Instead, Corn had nowhere to go and he took a bad sack. Yurcich had some really good plays, but then there were times he got too cute and off his game plan.

FIVE: Corn Wasn’t Great But Did Enough to Win

Hero one week and scapegoat the next. Somehow Corn is being blamed for todays loss. To me, it is a very lazy take. I’m not going to say he played perfect or anywhere close to it. But he did enough to win. At least you would have thought. He had a poor passing percentage, completing just 24 of his 41 attempts for 287 yards and one TD. He had a tough stretch in the second quarter, but I don’t put that on him as much as I do on the play calling. They were having him throw deep into the strong wind. He got way out of rhythm, but found his way in the third quarter by connecting with Dylan Stoner over the middle. Several times Corn threw really nice passes on third-and-long conversions. OSU was a very respectable 7-16 on third down conversions and Corn was a huge reason why. He did a good job throwing and running for first downs. But probably his biggest mistake was not throwing the ball away on the fourth-and-three play and taking a sack, which jumpstarted Baylor’s final drive. To me, Corn is Matt Saracen from the TV show, Friday Night Lights. Corn isn’t a great quarterback. But he is scrappy and a competitor. He plays hard but lacks the ability to be a big time quarterback. He just doesn’t have the physical tools. But he will give you a chance to win with his toughness, but he needs help. Corn did enough to win today, but he didn’t get the help from the defense or special teams. He played hard and left it all out there, it just wasn’t good enough.

OSU’s chances to make a bowl took a hit with this loss. The Pokes now take on the Sooners in Norman next week with a kickoff time yet to be determined.