Yahoo Autos Oklahoma State vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff football: Five takeaways from Cowboys' win
STILLWATER — The second quarter wasn’t even a minute old and Oklahoma State quarterback Spencer Sanders’ day was done.
The redshirt senior put the eighth-ranked Cowboys on the fast track toward a 63-7 rout of Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Saturday night at Boone Pickens Stadium.
It was widely expected that the Pokes would plow through their FCS-level opponent, but Sanders’ efficiency was still impressive.
He finished 13-of-16 for 242 yards and four touchdowns through 15:42 of game time.
In the same span, super-senior receiver Braydon Johnson had yet another strong outing, catching four passes for 86 yards and two touchdowns.
On the other side, the defense allowed just 36 yards in the first quarter before second-stringers began to pop up in various positions.
The sharp performance from the first-teamers on both sides should leave the Cowboys feeling good as they head into an open week before diving into Big 12 play with a road trip to Baylor on Oct. 1.
Here are four more takeaways from Saturday’s victory:
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Block party
For the first time in school history, Oklahoma State scored two touchdowns off blocked kick attempts in the same game.
On Pine Bluff’s second possession of the game, OSU’s Trace Ford busted through the line of scrimmage to block a punt, then scooped it up and returned it 15 yards for a touchdown.
In the second quarter, Pine Bluff looked poised to get on the board with a field goal, but OSU’s Sione Asi pushed his blocker backward and the low-trajectory kick drilled the lineman in the back of the helmet.
The ball bounced back several yards, where it was picked up by OSU cornerback Korie Black and returned 38 yards for a touchdown.
Adding to the special teams excellence, a Tanner Brown onside kick — which appeared to simply be a squib kick that unintentionally hit a Pine Bluff player — was recovered by linebacker Lamont Bishop, setting up another Cowboy score in the second quarter.
'Special teams magnet': How Oklahoma State's FG, punt blocks aided rout of Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Rookie hookup
Backup quarterback Gunnar Gundy’s first two series in place of Spencer Sanders weren’t great for the Cowboy offense. Gundy handed off three times on his first possession, with the third play ending with a fumble by running back Dominic Richardson.
Gundy’s second series involved a string of firsts — first completion, first incompletion, first interception — for the redshirt freshman son of head coach Mike Gundy.
Gunnar Gundy completed his first career pass attempt to true freshman running back Ollie Gordon. Gundy’s second throw was ruled incomplete because receiver C.J. Tate was said to be juggling the ball as he went out of bounds. And Gundy’s third throw went through the hands of true freshman Braylin Presley and straight to a Pine Bluff defender for an interception.
But Gundy redeemed himself with an 11-play drive on the next possession in which he completed six of eight throws for 72 yards. It ended with a 16-yard touchdown toss on a fade to Talyn Shettron, which was his first career reception.
On the drive, five of Gundy’s six completions were to other freshmen, Jaden Nixon, Stephon Johnson Jr., Braylin Presley and Shettron. The only non-freshman to catch a pass on the drive was redshirt sophomore Cale Cabbiness.
On the first series after halftime, Gundy hit Cabbiness for a 25-yard touchdown in which Cabbiness shook his way past a defender on the way to the end zone.
Gundy finished 12-of-20 for 128 yards and two touchdowns, also rushing for 42 yards on six carries.
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Spreading the defensive wealth
With so many players getting in the game, the OSU defense didn’t have any big individual stats from anyone.
Second-string linebacker Lamont Bishop led the team with five tackles. Starting linebacker Mason Cobb filled the stat sheet the best with four tackles, a sack, 2.5 tackles for loss and a quarterback hurry.
Redshirt senior walk-on Ben Kopenski accounted for two of the Cowboys’ four sacks, with them coming in a span of three plays in the third quarter.
A collection of second- and third-team defenders came up with a big goal-line stand early in the fourth quarter after Pine Bluff earned a first down at the OSU 3 but failed to score.
With the defenders from OSU’s primary rotation on the field in the first half, Pine Bluff managed just 87 yards.
More: Gunnar Gundy fulfills his Oklahoma State football dream with first TD pass against UAPB
Brendon Evers, Sean Michael Flanagan out
Though none of the injuries were believed to be serious, the Cowboys were without a few starters.
Defensive tackle Brendon Evers sat out after suffering a shoulder injury late in last week’s win over Arizona State. Safety Sean Michael Flanagan was out with an undisclosed injury as well. Center Preston Wilson was said to be questionable prior to the game, but started.
Backup defensive end Tyren Irby was unavailable, and receivers Jaden Bray and Blaine Green remained out, as they have been all season.
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Oklahoma State vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff live updates
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State football: Cowboys beat Arkansas-Pine Bluff in Week 3
