John Holcomb: Missed Tackles, Injuries Cost OSU In Last-Second Loss To BYU

The lasting image of OSU's loss at BYU will be Darrius Lassiter evading three Cowboy defenders for the game-winning score with 11 seconds left. 

Missed tackles have been a major issue most of the season. The absence of Collin Oliver, Nick Martin and Trey Rucker on Friday was massive- it was Rucker who made the game-ending play against the Cougars in overtime last year, but he didn't make the trip to Provo because of an injury. 

Parker Robertson started in place of Rucker and came up with 11 tackles and an interception, but the Cowboys needed more from others.

OSU was one play away from pulling the upset. BYU faced a 4th and 7 on that final drive, but Jake Retzlaff somehow found Chase Roberts who beat Cowboy corner Korey Black for a first down catch. 

Another issue for the defense came soon after. Mobile quarterbacks have kept plays and drives alive against OSU, and Retzlaff's 27-yard scramble set up the winning play.

Until the final 1:13, it looked like the Cowboys would do what they so often do coming off a bye week under Mike Gundy. OSU had won 8 of the last 9 in that situation, and the Cowboys had just finished off one of the more impressive drives in the Gundy era. 

Alan Bowman's 6-yard TD pass to Brennan Presley capped a 17-play march that lasted 8:22. It was by far the longest drive of the season in terms of draining the clock, and yet they still left a little too much time.

Bowman had lost the starting job to Garret Rangel, and despite throwing an early interception Rangel was starting to get into a rhythm. His ability to run the ball was keeping BYU off balance. 

The switch during the bye week was paying off until, ironically, Rangel suffered a collarbone injury when he was tackled at the end of a 54-yard run in the second quarter. He was back on the OSU sideline later with his arm in a sling. 

Bowman deserves credit for responding to the situation. He didn't throw for a lot of yards, but he managed the offense well, and on the first play of the 4th quarter he scored on a Mike Gundy classic call- Presley with a throwback across the field to Bowman for a touchdown.

The Cowboys kept scoreboard pressure on the Cougars in large part because they ran the ball like last season. Ollie Gordon went over 100 yards on the ground for the first time since the win over South Dakota State. 

Gordon found the end zone three times- twice on rushes and once after hurdling a BYU defender after catching a short pass.

The fire was back from Gordon, and it was evident from the offensive line where Austin Kawecki saw significant snaps at guard for the first time this season. There was energy and enthusiasm that had been missing since the loss to Utah. 

Players afterward in Provo said one of the most significant things to come out of the bye week was a team-wide pledge to play for each other, to lean into the "family" aspect of being a team.

The margin for error on the road is hardly ever significant, and the Cowboys needed to make every opportunity count. One major momentum swing came in the third quarter. OSU had a chance to take a 10-point lead, but Logan Ward missed a 48-yard field goal. It was Ward's fourth miss in his last eight attempts. BYU responded with a game-tying touchdown drive.

Last season the Cowboys won just about every close game. The outcome against the Cougars hurts. OSU, with all the preseason expectations, is currently last in the Big 12 standings. 

But Mike Gundy's team didn't let the injuries to their best defenders affect their play in Provo. There was fire in their effort. Unfortunately there was also a lot of frustration in the end.