Not much to say here, is there? We avoided the early hole and ended the game in the first half. The defense more than doubled Zac Robinson's interception total, even if Chykie probably should have knocked his INT down, Jordan Shipley easily won the battle with Perrish Cox, and Colt McCoy was efficient and effective. The fact that we throttled the best offense we'll probably see until the bowl season was quite encouraging.
The Pokes still have an mathematical shot at the Big 12 South title, but I doubt they are seriously considering that possibility. The Houston loss is now very costly; a one-loss Okie State would have been a good candidate for a BCS at-large berth, but even if they win out (and I'm inclined to think they'll lose to Oklahoma anyway), it is unlikely they're getting a BCS selection. Next year, they can say goodbye to some key players and it's back to obscurity.
For those curious about their losses next year, here's a list of key players moving on:
Offense:
LT - Russell Okung
WR - Dez Bryant (already gone)
QB - Zac Robinson
RT - Brady Bond
C - Andrew Lewis
LG - Noah Franklin
RB - Beau Johnson
RB - Keith Toston
Defense:
CB - Perrish Cox
S - Lucien Antoine
LB - Donald Booker
LB - Patrick Lavine
LB - Andre Sexton
DT - Derek Burton
DT - Swanson Miller
DE - Jeremiah Price
CB - Terrance Anderson
Contributing returners
Offense:
RB - Kendall Hunter
WR - Hubert Anyiam
WR - Dameron Fooks
WR - Josh Cooper
TE - Wilson Youman
RG - Lane Taylor
Honorable mention: RB Jeremy Smith
Defense:
DE - Ugo Chinasa
DE - Richetti Jones
DT - Shane Jarka
LB - Orie Lemon (injured this year)
S - Victor Johnson
S - Markelle Martin
And.... that's about it
There are several things worth mentioning. First and foremost, their offense will be losing a ton of key players, particularly along the offensive line. They have some decent receivers and Hunter returns along with promising freshman Jeremy Smith, but it looks to be a difficult transition for this offense for sure. Their offense will most certainly take a step back from the last couple of years.
Defensively they also lose a lot, but many of the losses are not exactly crippling since they didn't have that great of a defense to begin with. The biggest losses will be their linebackers and cornerback and return man Perrish Cox, but the others aren't departures to lose sleep over.
Thus, what we have is a team that will be losing most of their best players and who will be coming to Austin next year. I think I like Mack's chances to improve to an impressive 13-0 against Okie State in 2010.
And with that, the State of Oklahoma ends for good this year, and we can happily place both games in the win column. Because all we have to do is win to get to the promised land, there's no need to be overly concerned about what Oklahoma State and OU do from now on, but if I had to guess, I think Okie State loses to OU in Norman, beats Tech in Stillwater, and then Oklahoma squeaks one by in Lubbock. I hate to pick OU to win anything, but their defense is second only to ours and much better than the rest of the Big 12's units.
Just for kicks, I'll ask the community how they think Oklahoma State will finish.