Oklahoma State Football: Cowboys will vault up Top 25 after beating Boise State

Boise State had a chance to consolidate its position as the top Group of Five team. Instead, Oklahoma State football beat the Broncos at home to stay unbeaten.

It was one of those rare matchups between Group of Five teams and Power Five teams where both teams were ranked in the polls. Even more rare was the fact that the mid-major was actually the higher-ranked team. Boise State entered the contest in Stillwater ranked seven spots higher than No. 24 Oklahoma State in the AP Top 25. The Broncos hit the road as two-point favorites against their Big 12 hosts, but the Cowboys had the last laugh in a 44-21 victory on Saturday.

Taylor Cornelius showed off his arm and his wheels, throwing for 243 yards and a touchdown and adding 41 rushing yards and two scores on the ground. Justice Hill led the way out of the backfield for Oklahoma State, reeling off 123 yards and a rushing score on 15 carries.

The defense made a big difference for Oklahoma State, as they were susceptible to getting beat through the air but stifled Boise State’s running attack all day long. Brett Rypien finished 39-of-56 for 380 yards and three scores, doing his best to give the Broncos a shot at the statement win over a Power Five opponent. He lost a fumble on the final Boise State snap of the game, but by then the game was already out of reach.

It was really the ground game let Bryan Harsin‘s offense down. Alexander Mattison managed only 50 yards on 14 carries, as he failed to reach the endzone. Thanks to seven sacks sustained by Rypien, the Broncos actually finished with fewer yards as a team than Mattison posted. The backfield finished for a combined 34 yards on 30 total carries.

Special teams betrayed Boise State. Oklahoma State managed to generate two punt blocks, one of which led to a short field for the Pokes offense and the other that was scooped up and returned for a touchdown. Kicker Haden Hoggarth also missed a 27-yard field goal attempt early in the game after a botched snap forced him to rush and led to him pinging it off the upright.

It is a major opportunity lost for Boise State

The Broncos entered the game as the top-ranked team in the AP Top 25 and Coaches Poll, and Hurricane Florence sidelined UCF from their chance against ACC opponent North Carolina in Week 3. Boise State had the potential to climb up into the top 15. Instead, they will be lucky to cling to a Top 25 spot this week after suffering such a resounding loss.

It was the only chance Boise State had this year to make a statement against a Power Five opponent. They now turn their attention to Mountain West play, hoping to run the table and keep themselves nominally in the Group of Five race for a New Year’s Six invitation. But that will be an uphill battle in which the Broncos no longer completely control their own fate.

Meanwhile, Oklahoma State is poised for a vault up the polls after taking down a higher-ranked opponent. Mike Gundy‘s squad asserted itself as a team to watch in the Big 12 this season after such a convincing takedown of the Broncos.

Boise State has a bye week next weekend to try to sort things out and determine what went wrong in Stillwater. They take the field next on Sep. 29 for the divisional showdown against Wyoming in Laramie. Oklahoma State squares off at home next weekend against Texas Tech to start Big 12 play.