Is Oklahoma State running into a trap game against Iowa State?
By JOHN HELSLEY, Staff Writer, jhelsley@opubco.com
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Published: November 7, 2009
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY BILL BOOTZ AND DOUG HOKE, THE OKLAHOMAN
Oklahoma State defensive end Shane Jarka forced a slight smile, attempting to put his team’s frightful Halloween in perspective.
"Losing to Texas, they were ranked No. 3, so it’s not like we lost to a horrible team,” Jarka said, just before offering up the kicker. "But we lost horribly to them.” Stumbling in their biggest game of the year, if not the biggest of their careers, the Cowboys must now pick themselves up and resume winning. The motivation: a trip to Ames, Iowa. In November. Trap Game! The term’s been tossed around with the Cowboys already this year. After Georgia, with Houston on deck, except the Cougars were too good to qualify as trap worthy. Before Texas, with Baylor as a prelim, only the Bears had no bite. This game is the very definition of a trap. One week, an emotional clash pegged as a measuring stick, even program-defining. The next, a Cyclones squad bearing not a single household name. And a trip to Ames, Iowa. In November. "There are a lot of upsets that happen in football,” said Cowboys wideout Justin Blackmon. "You don’t ever want to be that team that gets upset, so you really can’t overlook anyone.” The Cowboys can’t afford to sleep on the Cyclones, either. Iowa State has struggled against athletic teams, with a whacking a week ago at Texas A&M the latest reminder. But injuries played a factor, too, and ISU is getting healthy just in time for the Cowboys. Note, too, that the Cyclones are a hungry, at 5-3 overall, one win shy of becoming bowl-eligible for the first time since 2005. "Definitely,” Jarka said, "they’re coming for our heads.” The Texas game is gone, the opportunity missed. But what about the disappointment? Does it linger? The Cowboys said all the right things this week. "It’s not how we wanted it to turn out, but I let it go (Sunday) and we’re going to have to move on,” said senior offensive tackle Brady Bond. "If we worry about it too much, it’s going to affect us against Iowa State. "Texas beat us once, we can’t let them beat us twice.” The Cowboys face a test today — a test of character. They’ve elevated their status, still ranked No. 18, with bigger games to come. Among them, they hope, a bigger, better bowl game. Working in their favor: a group of key veterans in place to push the cause. "I think our team chemistry just allows us to bounce back,” Jarka said. "It’s just what we have to do. We feel that we can win out the rest of the season. We’re just going to have to do it.”
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