No Time For Oklahoma State To Savor Victory

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Oklahoma State's troubles on the road finally came to an end, and in maybe the most unlikely fashion and the most unexpected of locations.<br/><br/>After losing 20 straight games

Monday, October 15th 2007, 7:23 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Oklahoma State's troubles on the road finally came to an end, and in maybe the most unlikely fashion and the most unexpected of locations.

After losing 20 straight games at Nebraska, the Cowboys roared out to a 38-0 halftime lead in a 45-14 rout of the Cornhuskers on Saturday. Coach Mike Gundy, who'd played his part in the losing streak as a quarterback in 1988, savored it for less than 24 hours.

With a top 25 team coming to Stillwater next week, there's no time to dwell on history.

"It was a good win for everybody and it's good for the Oklahoma State people that have suffered through so many difficult losses up there, but it just doesn't last very long in this profession," Gundy said Sunday. "We get back at it as of this morning. Nebraska's over with, and now we're looking forward to a very good football team. Kansas State will present challenges for us in all areas.â€

"You just can't live very long on the last one. You've got to get ready for the next one."

Oklahoma State (4-3, 2-1 Big 12) had lost 11 of its previous 12 road games before winning at Nebraska for the first time since 1960. The victory came only a week after the Cowboys squandered a 17-point lead in a 24-23 loss at Texas A&M.

"This week our motto was finish, and this week we did," said linebacker Rodrick Johnson, who had one of the Cowboys' two interceptions in the game.

Quarterback Zac Robinson said the Cowboys "knew that we gave one up last week and we had to get it back."

"I am not going to lie. I think it is a completely different team," Robinson said. "We are as close as we have ever been. Our defense is stepping up big time. You got to see that."

Oklahoma State has held each of its last two opponents scoreless in the first half.

"We play better each week and we're going to keep getting better and better," defensive end Nathan Peterson said. "When we get each aspect playing good like that, we feel like its going to be difficult for anyone to stop us."

The win, combined with Texas A&M's loss at Texas Tech, vaults Oklahoma State into a four-way tie for first place in the Big 12 South, and the Cowboys won't go on the road again for a month. There's a bye week for Oklahoma State after it hosts No. 25 Kansas State this week, and then No. 19 Texas and No. 15 Kansas come to town in November.

Last year, the Wildcats handed Oklahoma State one of its most difficult losses of the season by rallying from a 10 point deficit with a pair of touchdowns in the final 3:04 of a 31-27 win.

"I don't know how the players react to that. I have a pretty good feel for the way they handle situations like that, but I very seldom go back on a game or anything that happened that far back," Gundy said. "I just believe in preparation and the future. You can't change what's happened in the past. You just get ready for the next one.â€

"This is a different team, a different scheme on defense and a more mature offense than what we faced last year."

If last year's game wasn't enough of an eye-opener, the Cowboys can also look back on Kansas State's 41-21 victory at Texas earlier this season.

"They're a very good football team, there's no question about it," Gundy said. "You don't go to Texas and beat them down there the way they beat them without being a good football team."