Pokes Unleash on Iowa State, 59-17

It was a long day for the Iowa State defense. After a slow start, the Pokes finally developed their passing game and began to take advantage of the young ISU secondary. 

The offense had a field day on Iowa State's defense after what felt like a slow first quarter. With almost 700 yards of total offense (263 rushing/419 passing), the Cowboys were able to rack up a season-high 59 points. Zac Robinson had, by far, his best game of the season throwing for 395 yards along with 5 TDs and and interception.

Dez Bryant had another career day as he recorded 171 receiving yards along with a career high, 4 receiving TDs. He had huge touchdowns of 1, 11, 26 and 80 yards. On every TD pass, Bryant made some kind of acrobatic leap to reel the ball in. Bryant is now tied with former Oklahoma State receiver ReShaun Woods for second most touchdowns recorded in school history. His 15 touchdowns puts him 2 behind ReShaun Woods' 17 which he recorded in 2002. 

Wide receiver Jeremy Broadway, who only had one reception before today's game, had a 95-yard touchdown reception which set a record for the longest pass play from the line of scrimmage.  Another good sign for Poke fans transpired when Artell Woods, who hadn't recorded a catch since 2006, caught a 7-yard pass from Alex Cate late in the fourth quarter. After recovering from a severe back injury that could have ended his football career, it was very uplifting to see Woods back on the field making plays. 

Kendall Hunter had another strong game on the ground, rushing for 104 yards and a touchdown on only 13 carries. Not only was Hunter a big factor on the ground but so were Toston and Robinson. Robinson had 11 carries for 66 yards and Toston had 5 carries for 48 yards.

As for the Pokes' defense, the defensive line and secondary had another solid game. They allowed only 122 yards rushing on 38 attempts (3.8 avg) and 240 yards through the air. They were pressuring and hitting ISU's QB, Austen Arnaud all game, leading to inaccurate passes, a sack and two interceptions. 

The Pokes are now 8-1 for only the 3rd time in history and will head in to Lubbock next weekend for what will, arguably, be the biggest game in OSU history.  

Inside the Match-Up: Iowa State

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After coming up just short against Texas last weekend, the Pokes are looking to redeem themselves tomorrow against the Iowa State Cyclones.

The Cyclones (2-6), have been struggling this season, especially on defense. They are allowing an average of 423 yards per game for an average of 32 points per game. Their secondary has been a nightmare of all sorts allowing an average of 329 yards per game. Last week against Texas A&M, ISU's defense gave up 381 yards passing and 128 yards rushing for a total of 509 yards. 

The Cyclones' run defense has also been very inconsistent. Ranked #87 in the nation, Iowa State has allowed 170 yards per game on the ground. This area does not match up well with Pokes' Kendall Hunter, who enters the game with almost 1,100 yards and 10 TDs. Keith Toston and Zac Robinson are also threats in the backfield and I'm sure they will have their fair share of carries.

As for ISU's offense, they are led by sophomore quarterback Austen Arnaud, who has thrown for 1,571 yards with 9 TDs and 4 interceptions so far this year. The Cyclone's offense is averaging 361 yards per game for an average of 26 points per game. 

Overall, this has not been the year for Iowa State. Not to mention they have lost their last 14 games on the road and their last 33 games against ranked opponents during the regular season. This game is key for the Pokes, as they will try and carry some momentum in to next week's game against Texas Tech. If TTU were to pull off the upset, the Cowboys will have a huge game awaiting them in Lubbock next weekend.

Daytawion Lowe Commits to Oklahoma State

The Oklahoma State coaching staff just pulled in another huge commitment today. Daytawion Lowe, a 4-star safety from Midwest City (Carl Albert), just announced at a press conference held at his high school that he is commited to Oklahoma State. At 6'1", 190 pounds, Lowe is a great defensive player, receiver and is also phenomenal on special teams.

Daytawion Lowe to Make Commit Announcement at Noon

It has been reported that Carl Albert High School's prospect Daytawion Lowe will make his commit announcement at around noon today. Lowe, a four-star safety (#17 position ranking) from Midwest City, has been recruited by other schools like Pittsburgh, Missouri, TTU, and Nebraska but has had Oklahoma State on top of his list for a while now. This would be a huge addition to the current recruiting class if Lowe decides to commit to the Pokes. With the departures of Ricky Price and Jacob Lacey at the end of the year, Lowe could possibly fill a starting role in '09.

Pokes Get Commit from Local LB

Colt Richardson, a two-star (Rivals) recruiting prospect from Ada, has decided to commit to Oklahoma State this weekend. At 6-4, 225 pounds, Richardson will add some depth at the linebacker spot. This is only the 6th commit the Pokes have gotten this year. If the Cowboys continue to succeed, expect more prospects to come.

SI's Big XII "Flow Chart"

Hopefully we'll be on that path consisting of the 3-way-tie between us, UT and TTU...

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008_images/Big12.gif

Click to Enlarge

Daddy Boone Donates Another $63 Million

After much talk circulating over the huge hit Pickens' BP Capital Energy Fund has taken in recent months, Boone Pickens has decided "...to put to rest the rumors out there which 99% are false." Pickens, who's $165 million donation in early '06 was the largest contribution ever made to an athletic program,  has donated another $63 million in order to finish the remaining construction on the newly renovated stadium. However, the other athletic projects Pickens had planned on funding have been put on hold. He also said that he would return the remaining $125 million from last years donation back into the Athletic Department's fund.

Over a two and a half year period, Pickens' donations in the fund had reached a high of $407 million; however, shrank to $125 million after the ongoing economic downturn. Pickens will no longer manage the money he donates to the program.

Full Article:

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/big12/2008-10-27-okla-state-pickens_N.htm

Pokes Drop to #9 in BCS and AP

After the heart-breaking loss to the #1 Longhorns on Saturday, the Pokes dropped to #9 in both the BCS and AP Polls. 

Pokes Unable to Pull Off the Upset, Fall to #1 Texas

The Pokes were unable to pull of the victory last night to upset No. 1 Texas. Late in the game, Zac Robinson and the offense narrowed the UT lead to only 4 after the Pokes down by what was a 14-point deficit. However, they were unable to capatizilize on a crucial 4th and 6 with 2:39 remaining. The Cowboys had one last shot at the endzone at the end of the game but Robinson was unable to pull off the Flutie Miracle.

The Cowboys were playing well all game but certain mistakes costed them the game. On their second possession, after a 52-yard kick-off return by Victor Johnson, Kendall Hunter fumbled on what was going to be an easy TD if he held on to the ball. The Longhorns were able to take advantage of the mistake and drive down the field 91-yards to take a 14-0 lead. Later in the second quarter, McCoy threw a pass that was intercepted around the Cowboys 10-yard line. However, the play was called back after Andre Sexton was flagged for roughing the passer. This costly penalty led to a UT touchdown. The score at half was 21-14.

In the third quarter when the score was 28-21 in favor of Texas, Colt McCoy was intercepted by Jacob Lacey. The Cowboys were able to drive all the way down the field but were held to just a 39-yard field goal by Dan Bailey.

On the ensuing UT drive, the Longhorns drove all the way down the field once again. When at the OSU 6-yard line, McCoy tried to take it in to the end-zone himself and seal the deal. However, he fumbled after he was hit by Orie Lemon, giving the Pokes another shot at a late comeback.

The game basically came down to a 4th and 6 on the OSU 30. The Cowboys were unable to convert after what I thought was a terrible play call. It was a screen pass to Dez that only went for 2-yards. I really dont know what Gundy or the offensive coordinators were thinking, but it was an ugly play and it was one of many plays that costed OSU the game.

Highlight Reel

Postgame will come soon... But this is all I have to say for now.

http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?categoryId=null&brand=null&videoId=3663858&n8pe6c=2