John Rohde: Rice is nice for Oklahoma State

STILLWATER — Here it is, only the third week in September, and we’re already running out of ways to describe how Oklahoma State football isn’t quite what we expected.

Ride an elevator down from the press box, and you’ll see the faithful shaking their heads about the Cowboys’ defense.

Walk onto the field and you’ll hear other fans dressed in orange wondering when the offense will get its act together.

But as you observed OSU coach Mike Gundy in his post-game interview session, you saw someone very much at ease following his team’s 41-24 victory over Rice on Saturday night at Boone Pickens Stadium.

Gundy spoke calmly, factually, even smiled a couple of times.

He wasn’t completely satisfied with what he just witnessed, but seemed content for the time being.

Gundy said it was good to get back on the winning track after a humbling loss to Houston. He thought his team’s effort was great, said he saw some good things, and all that is fine and dandy.

But holy smoke, when are the Cowboys finally going to drill somebody? I’m talking about delivering a good old-fashioned whipping on both sides of the ball?

Saturday night provided precisely that opportunity, and here’s what happened:

The Owls finished with five more first downs, 26 more total yards, ran 27 more plays, yet still managed to lose by 17 points.

In case you forgot, Rice entered the contest dead last (120th) in scoring defense and pass defense, 118th in passing efficiency defense and 116th in total defense.

Against a rushing defense that ranked 89th, OSU managed just 124 yards on 36 carries, which is about 50 yards less than what the Owls normally allow.

The Cowboys now haven’t had a 100-yard rusher in their last five games.

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