Houston Guns Down Oklahoma State

Playing with a false sense of defensive dominance and an obviously lofty No.5 ranking, the Oklahoma State Cowboys came crashing back to reality Saturday afternoon against University of Houston at their own Boone Pickens Stadium.

In a battle of two potent offenses, the Cougars prevailed 45-35 to move to 2-0 on the season. This was a huge loss for the Cowboys (1-1), who this week moved into the Top 5 for just the fifth time in school history and first time since 1985, following a rousing win over SEC foe Georgia.

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But this was obviously a different week and a much different offense than the Bulldogs threw at first-year defensive coordinator Bill Young and the Cowboys. UH, led by quarterback Case Keenum, compiled 512 yards of offense, 367 of which came through the air to survive a late-game shootout by scoring 21 points in the fourth quarter.

The Cowboys rallied from a 24-7 halftime deficit to to take the lead a couple times late in the second half without leading rusher Kendall Hunter, who was hurt in the second quarter and did not return to the game. OSU scored thre touchdowns in a seven-minute in the third quarter to claim its first lead, 28-24.

It seemed like it was going to be a replay of last season when the Cougars went up 16-7 on the Cowboys and gave them all they could handle before eventually losing to OSU 56-37. But this year, UH was able to reclaim the lead and hang on.

Four turnovers did the Cowboys in, especially two costly turnovers by quarterback Zac Robinson late in the game. He committed a fumble and then threw an interception for a touchdown with 3:14 remaining that gave the Cougars the 10 point lead.

Still, the Cowboys had one last chance to make one last run but couldn't punch it on four attempts from the Cougars 8 yard line in the final minute of the game.