Oklahoma State football: 3 takeaways from loss to TCU

1. Oklahoma State’s hot start ends quickly

The Oklahoma State Cowboys and quarterback Mason Rudolph had their fair share of challenges in Week 4. Rudolph did find wide receiver James Washington on an 86-yard bomb for a touchdown, but other than that, he had a pretty average day.

The Cowboys’ offensive line struggled all day to keep Rudolph protected in the backfield. Rudolph was sacked three times in the game, fumbled once and also threw an interception. Rudolph was held to pedestrian numbers compared to his previous three games. They came into their Big 12 opener averaging 54.0 points and allowing 17.0 points per game. All of that went out the window in Week 4.

Wide receiver Jalen McCleskey was held to two catches for 36 receiving yards. Marcell Ateman had five receptions for 71 receiving yards but no touchdown receptions. The Oklahoma State defense didn’t play much better. They allowed 37 points, 28 first downs and over 400 total yards of offense.

Next: 2018 NFL Mock Draft entering Week 4

The Cowboys offense had a chance late to score down 37-24 but McCleskey’s interception ended up thwarting that drive. The Cowboys are now 3-1 and should fall in the AP rankings. We’ll see where they end up. Regardless, it wasn’t the end that Cowboys’ fans were looking forward to.