OSU’s Two-Headed Running Game Helps Seal the Win Over Texas Tech

On senior night a true freshman made Cowboy history but a weathered, journeyman back punctuated his big night by taking a knee. The Cowboys once again lived up to their “cardiac” moniker. It took a late-game special teams snafu to set up the dramatic final drive.

After James Washington fielded the more-anticipated onside kick, OSU had a shortened field, 1:44 on the clock and a one-point lead. Kliff Kingsbury had all three timeouts and a hope that OSU would score quick.

If you’re Mike Gundy you know this. You know that if you get seven, Tech can still tie it with eight.

On the first play, senior Chris Carson barreled out left for 17 yards forcing Kingsbury to use a timeout. A couple plays later and the Cowboys are looking at 2nd and 4 and still need to get one more first down to seal it.

Then this happened.

The amount of self control that Carson had to have mustered to take that knee? I can’t even. He lays the defender out and then takes a knee, four yards away from the only three-touchdown rushing game of his career… On senior night!

Poetic.

For a guy who didn’t live up to lofty expectations last year. A guy who has had injury issues since arriving in Stillwater. This was Carson’s game. The man of imposing stature punctuated his final game at Boone Pickens Stadium with a passive, yet strong period. This will probably be the play for which I remember him most.

“Oh man,” said Rennie Childs. “It was crazy. I was just hoping that Chris [Carson] would do what he did and kneel or slide to a knee. It was so smart of him to take a knee.”

Two-Headed Monster

Since returning from injury, Chris Carson has become the perfect complement to star true freshman Justice Hill. Hill finished with 126 yards and a score, making him the first freshman in OSU history to log four 100-plus yard games.

Chris Carson added 73 yards and two touchdowns. They both combined for over seven yards per carry. In fact, since returning from the hand injury that kept him sidelined for four games, Carson has averaged 7.2 yards per carry and run for five touchdowns in four games.

“It’s fun to be able to run the ball well,” said offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich after the game. “It gives you a tremendous balance. It takes the stress off the quarterback. It alleviates a lot of different pressures. We were able to call a couple of different looks. The guys in the box did a good job communicating. Whenever you’re able to have balance it makes it harder to defend. It was good control.”

A Tale of Two Halves

Although the Cowboys were moving the ball through the air, the first half rushing attack was an embarrassment.

122nd ranked rush off #TexasTech – 124 rushing yards, #okstate – just 55 rushing yards on the 115th ranked rushing defense in the country.

— Kyle Cox (@KyleCoxPFB) November 12, 2016

But that’s what makes the second half so impressive. The Cowboys had rushed for 55 yards on 3.3 yards per carry at halftime and finished the game with 210 yards and 5.5 yards per carry as a team. This was only their third 200-plus yard rushing game this season.

Hats off to Mike Yurcich for relying on the ground game late and to the running backs and offensive line for executing down the stretch.