Emotional rollercoaster on the football field is the best way to describe this game. At different times of this double overtime game fans of both schools had feelings of euphoria, anxiousness, bewilderment, and exuberance. Who would have thought the longest pass reception of the game would come from OSUs under used fullback Jake Schultz. Amazingly the longest gain on the ground didn’t come from OSU’s Ollie Gordon II who happens to be one of the top running backs in the NCAA but from Arkansas’s transfer quarterback. The team who put up huge statistical numbers on Saturday lost in the end. Oklahoma State also at halftime welcomed in the newest member of the Ring of Honor.
Oklahoma State came out of the locker room wearing their classic white pants with orange shirts and black helmets. It was in honor of former OSU defensive end and college football hall-of famer Lesslie O’Neal. The fifth and newest inductee to the Cowboys Football Ring of Honor at Boone Pickens Stadium was born in Little Rock, Ar. During his playing days at OSU, Leslie O’Neal was a two-time All-American. He was named Defensive Player of the year for the Big 8 conference He also still holds the record at Oklahoma State for career sacks with thirty-four as well as most sacks in a season with sixteen. Leslie O’Neal had a long stat filled career in the NFL after his time in Stillwater, which included being drafted No. 8 by the then San Diego Chargers, 1986 Defensive Rookie of the Year selection, and being a six-time Pro Bowler.
In this game against one of least successful teams in the southeastern conference, Oklahoma State needed extra time to garner a victory. To win, the Cowboys had to overcome a fourteen-point deficit for the third time in their past six games if you investigate last season. Statistically this was not a very good game for the football team from Stillwater. At the halftime the Cowboys had gained less than a hundred yards and had been dominated on every aspect of the game. The scoreboard reflected those same sentiments with Arkansas leading Oklahoma State 21-7. Head Coach Mike Gundy said after the game “That his staff had been out coached in the first half but adjusted well at halftime” Which resulted in a dominate performance in the latter half of the game. The Cowboys offense came out in the third quarter using the whole field from sideline to sideline. On the defensive side of the ball OSU started blitzing and disrupting the flow of the Razorback’s offensive attack. By the end of regulation, the Cowboys had scored twenty-four points and only allowed ten points. The game was tied, and extra football was on the way. Overtime play in college football gives both squads a chance to win the game. In this example, both teams had the ball twice, and each had an opportunity to go home with a victory. When the dust settled Oklahoma State won by not giving up a point and scoring a touchdown with a two-point conversion.
In the end, the game was surprisingly ugly and thrilling at the same time. The results of the contest (a win for the poke nation) was expected and granted.