Cowboys dominate Mustangs, 52-6

The stadium was packed. The final attendance was 27,106 people— the majority of them wearing orange, the color of theopposing team. Fox Sports Southwest televised the first home gameof the year on the renovated field. The Mustangs were clad in theirred jerseys, the sun was out and the Boulevard was filled withpeople. The atmosphere was that of hope for a good showing or evena win. The anticipation of football back in Gerald J. Ford Stadiumwas intense.

In the end, the Oklahoma State Cowboys came away victorious52-6. The score aside, the Mustangs owned the time of possession,34:27 to 22:58 for OSU. SMU started the game with a deficit afterRichard Bartel’s pass was intercepted by OSU on the 19-yardline and returned to the 3-yard line.

Oklahoma State put seven points on the board with a three-playdrive on which quarterback Josh Fields completed a pass to RashaunWoods for his first of seven touchdowns on the day. Woods broke a34-year Division I-A record.

The Mustang offense was stifled going into the second quarter.By this time, the score was 24-0. The offense was overwhelmed,already punting twice in the first quarter. They only amassed sevenyards on nine plays through the air and eight yards on five rushingattempts.

“It was like a snowball. The problems and mistakes keptadding to our deficit,” Mustang head coach Phil Bennettsaid.

Enter Tate Wallis.

“Everyone always loves the backup QB,” Bennett said.He put the backup quarterback in with 12:43 remaining in the firsthalf. It was the first meaningful playing time Wallis had seen allseason since he finished of the 2002 season finale against Tulsa, agame that the Mustangs won.

This move proved too little too late as the Mustangs, strugglingto get out of the quicksand that was Oklahoma State, only hastenedtheir gloomy decent to a memory of losing seasons past.

Wallis went 8 of 19 in passes for 126 yards with a touchdown. Anacrobatic catch by receiver Matt Rushbrook was what people saw, butit stood for pride and resilience. The play seemed to bring backthoughts of the previous year when Wallis had the starting job andlooked somewhat promising.

The Mustangs’ points came after OSU had scored 45unanswered points, making the score 45-6. SMU went for a two-pointconversion, but a gang of Cowboy defenders thwarted a valiant runby Wallis at the 1-yard line.

The late charge for self-preservation was fueled by the intensethree and out stand by the defense, which gave SMU the ball back. A39-yard completion to Matt Rushbrook seemed to show some promise.Instead, it was the culmination of any semblance of an offense.Wallis was picked off two plays later, and Woods hauled in hisrecord-breaking seventh touchdown catch.

In the press conference preceding the game, Bennett noted that adiscouraging performance after what was said to be a productiveoff-season may lead to an alternating two-quarterback system inwhich Wallis, whom Bennett called the bigger of the two, might beused in physical situations. Bartel, who has had the majority offirst-team snaps, seems more likely to check down and audibleaccording to shows by the defense.

“There will be no crying around here. I’ve got to doa better job. My coaching staff has to do a better job, and wewill,” Bennett said following the lackluster performance ofhis Ponies versus a Big 12 team.

“[OSU] had to do what they had to do [to get that recordlate in the game]. Someday we’ll do that,” he said.

Next week the Mustangs look to take down the Nevada Wolfpack,one of the better teams in the Western Athletic Conference. It isthe first WAC game of the season.

Cowboys dominate Mustangs, 52-6

Cowboys dominate Mustangs, 52-6