Oklahoma State Football: 3 Takeaways from Liberty Bowl win vs. Missouri

The Autozone Liberty Bowl pitted former Big 12 foes Oklahoma State football and Missouri against each other. The Cowboys inched out the Tigers, 38-33.

Oklahoma State and Missouri fought tooth and nail in this one and it couldn’t have been a better Liberty Bowl. Both teams gave every part of their heart and soul onto the field for 60 minutes. This one came down to a fourth-and-one play where Drew Lock was stopped just short of the line to gain in the red zone.

Here’s what we learned about these teams, starting with two big names for the Missouri Tigers.

3. Drew Lock stepped up in a big way. Emanuel Hall was missed.

I have been a Drew Lock non-believer for the longest time. Every time he plays a semi-decent defense, he tends to crumble and fall apart. However, that wasn’t the case this time as he stood up and did everything that he had to do to put his team in the driver’s seat to win the game.

He finished 23-for-38 with 373 yards passing and three touchdowns. To put it simply, even though he wasn’t the winning quarterback in this one, Lock improved his draft status in a big way.

It is also important to note that Emanuel Hall missed much of the game due to an injury. This team missed him in a big way, I can promise you that. He missed four games earlier in the season with a strained groin. The team is 1-3 without him and 7-1 with him. It is no question that he is a game changer on the offense for Missouri.