STILLWATER - Tackling is such a basic part of football at any level, so why then can players at the college level fail at that fundamental skill so often?
And, in these days of big-time speedsters and wide receivers who are more suited for a power forward in basketball, it's like a time bomb waiting to explode.
Saturday night Oklahoma State University showed it has the offensive weapons to compete for the Big 12 Conference championship but the defense has a long way to go, a very long way.
On this perfect football evening at Boone Pickens Stadium OSU showed it was loaded with playmakers but there are definitely problems.
Time after time the Cowboys were in position to make tackles only to see Texas receivers and running backs running free in the secondary including on a final payoff drive in the closing seconds that salvaged a 41-36 victory before more than 56,000 fans, many of them who left the stadium disheartened ready to hit Eskimo Joe's and the strip to drown their sorrows.
It was clearly one of the toughest losses to take in recent history, not because the Cowboys played well, but because they played so poorly on defense.
Thursday May 23rd, 2013 • 6:56:14am
