Oklahoma State and Iowa State head into Saturday’s Big 12 opener for both teams at Ames, Iowa, coming off humbling nonconference losses last week.
Oklahoma State (2-1) lost to South Alabama 33-7 in Stillwater, Okla., and Iowa State (1-2) was upended 10-7 at Ohio.
Iowa State totaled 38 yards rushing on 23 attempts in its loss, with quarterback Rocco Becht accounting for 31 of those rushing yards. Cartevious Norton’s 15 yards were the most of any of the running backs, needing nine attempts to get to that mark.
“They were the more physical football team and deserved to win the football game,” Iowa State coach Matt Campbell said of Ohio, which is 3-1 after winning its last three games.
Becht completed 17 of 24 pass attempts for 233 yards but he had two interceptions to go with one touchdown.
“We thought we could go out there and do what we wanted,” Becht said. “I think it’s just a lack of preparation. The urgency, we’ve just got to have that throughout the whole week.”
Oklahoma State’s loss to South Alabama is its first nonconference defeat since falling at home against Central Michigan in 2016.
It was the third nonconference home loss under coach Mike Gundy, who took over as head coach at his alma mater in 2005. The 26-point margin was the worst loss against a nonconference opponent in the Gundy era.
“We got outcoached and outexecuted,” Gundy said. “Everybody has to own it. We’ve got to get through it. It’s extremely difficult when you don’t play well.”
The Cowboys’ three-quarterback system, that was efficient in wins over Central Arkansas and Arizona State, was ineffective this time.
Alan Bowman, Gunnar Gundy and Garret Rangel combined to complete 16 of 35 passes for 114 yards with one interception and no touchdowns.
“We’re 0-0 in conference, so let’s go in with a level head this week, put the loss behind us, learn from it, and ultimately go fix our mistakes,” senior offensive lineman Preston Wilson said.
– Field Level Media
