Oklahoma State football rewind: Top players, the cost of defeat, Cowboys' redshirt tracker
STILLWATER — With the Big 12 Conference opener just days away, Oklahoma State has little time to ruminate on the 33-7 dismantling at the hands of South Alabama last weekend.
Before focus turns to Saturday’s 3 p.m. contest at Iowa State, let’s take a look at what we learned from the Cowboys’ first loss of the season:
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An expensive loss
Last Saturday’s game was the last in a three-game contract between OSU and South Alabama that was originally agreed to in 2010.
OSU played in Mobile, Alabama, in 2017 and the Jaguars made the first of two trips to Stillwater in 2018.
Over the entirety of the contract, OSU paid a net balance of $625,000 to South Alabama for the trio of games — the contracted payment for the 2018 game.
South Alabama paid OSU $300,000 for the 2017 game and OSU repaid the same amount for Saturday’s contest.
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Top 5 players of the week
Linebacker Collin Oliver: The move from defensive end continues to look better and better. Oliver had a team-high 10 tackles, including a sack, plus a pass breakup and a forced fumble.
Defensive back Lyrik Rawls: The redshirt sophomore’s tackling ability was strong, making nine stops. He continues to become a more reliable piece of the defense.
Nose tackle Justin Kirkland: The 6-foot-4, 346-pound bruiser is never going to post big stats, but he managed four tackles and is easily the most powerful piece on a defensive line that struggled against the run. His ability to eat up blockers and fill holes will be crucial to the defense getting back on track this week.
Tight end Josiah Johnson: Bright spots were rare on the offense, but Johnson had his best game in an OSU jersey. The UMass transfer caught two passes for 25 yards, but more importantly, his blocking grades were much improved, particularly in passing situations, as the former high school quarterback adjusts to his new offense.
Offensive tackle Dalton Cooper: As a whole, the offensive line was a mess. But Cooper got his first look at left tackle, where he played at Texas State prior to transferring. He moved there in the third quarter, with Taylor Miterko entering the game at left guard, and the offense had its best possession of the night, a 17-play, 84-yard drive for its only touchdown.
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Quotable Cowboy
Center Joe Michalski was the unlucky player chosen to represent the offensive line in postgame interviews, but the redshirt senior held up well amid difficult circumstances. He spoke to the frustration the group felt after failing to find consistency, whether the play was a run or a pass, and also getting hit with multiple penalties.
“It’s always frustrating when you can’t keep rolling,” he said. “Gotta deal with adversity. We need to execute better and make sure we don’t make those mistakes that hold us back.
“Gotta be more disciplined. There’s certain things we can control and penalties is usually one of them. We gotta be better at that.”
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Redshirt tracker
Five redshirt-eligible newcomers have played in all three games at this point, with the NCAA limit of four games to retain redshirt status looming in the distance.
Two additional first-year Cowboys who had played in the first two games did not appear on the participation report from Saturday’s South Alabama loss.
For now, the redshirt tracker will only include first-year players in the program and not redshirt-eligible veterans who are expected to play all season, like Brennan Presley, Korie Black and others.
Here’s a look at the redshirt tracker after three games:
Played in three games, still eligible to redshirt: Longsnapper Shea Freibaum (Fr.), cornerback Kenneth Harris (Sr.), punter Hudson Kaak (Fr.), nose tackle Justin Kirkland (So.), receiver De’Zhaun Stribling (Jr.).
Played in two games, still eligible to redshirt: Receiver Leon Johnson III (Sr.,), Lardarius Webb Jr. (Jr.).
Scott Wright covers Oklahoma State athletics for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Scott? He can be reached at swright@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at @ScottWrightOK. Sign up for the Oklahoma State Cowboys newsletter to access more OSU coverage. Support Scott’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com or by using the link at the top of this page.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State football loss to South Alabama costly in several ways
