Washington vs. Oklahoma State: Score and Twitter Reaction for 2015 Cactus Bowl

Washington mounted a ferocious second-half comeback, but it was too little, too late for the Huskies. They fell, 30-22, to the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the TicketCity Cactus Bowl Friday night at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona.

Washington quarterback Cyler Miles finished 25-of-38 for 268 yards, one touchdown and an interception. That turnover proved extremely costly, coming on the Huskies' final drive of the game as they attempted to tie it in the final seconds.

Miles' opposite number, Mason Rudolph, picked up his second career victory, throwing for 299 yards, two TDs and an interception on 17-of-26 passing. Desmond Roland provided the freshman with plenty of help, rushing for 123 yards on 32 carries.

Kyle Fredrickson of The Oklahoman singled out the Oklahoma State offensive line for opening up holes for Roland against a tough Washington front seven:

This is the ninth year in a row that Oklahoma State qualified for a bowl game. The Cowboys needed a victory over rival Oklahoma in their final game to get here, but they made it nonetheless.

It's an unparalleled streak of success for the school, and one that head coach Mike Gundy knows not only helps on the recruiting trail but also allows more inexperienced players to gain invaluable time on the practice field, per The Seattle Times' Adam Jude:

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But the streak is important for us to have those practices, which we did over the last three weeks. Those 12 practices are very important for us to develop the younger players, the guys that we've talked about and you've talked about in the press, that are first year players. They were told two weeks ago that they’re now essentially second year players because they've got a season under their belt. But those practices are really important. I think it’s vital for us to continue to develop our program and work to get better.

"

Plenty of teams before have used victories in lesser bowls as a jumping-off point in the pursuit of greener pastures, Oklahoma State included. Just look at how the Cowboys parlayed their Alamo Bowl success in 2010 to a Fiesta Bowl victory the following year.

The school looks to have a bright future ahead. ESPN.com's Jake Trotter thinks the rest of the Big 12 is on notice:

On Friday, the Cowboys helped carry the conference flag in a way that few Big 12 schools have so far. Entering the game, the Pac-12 and Big 12 conferences had differing fortunes throughout this year's bowl season, per ESPN Stats & Info:

Although Oklahoma State almost certainly didn't care about preserving the image of the Big 12, the Cowboys helped the conference regain some prestige.

Of course, some will likely wish they finished the game with the same ferocity with which they started it. OSU dropped 24 points on Washington in the first half, dominating the Huskies on both sides of the ball.

Oklahoma State defensive tackle James Castleman picked up the seldom-seen fat-guy touchdown to give the Cowboys a 7-0 lead early in the first quarter. Castleman took the snap out of the Wildcat and ran it in from a yard out:

Bleacher Report's Adam Kramer joked that between that TD and Bryce Petty's 18-yard touchdown pass to 390-pound offensive guard LaQuan McGowan in the Cotton Bowl Classic, the Big 12 was establishing itself as the pre-eminent home of the fat-guy touchdown:

Wideout James Washington hauled in a 28-yard touchdown pass with one hand to double the Cowboys' lead, 14-0, with 16 seconds left in the first quarter.

Three of the Huskies' first four drives ended in three-and-outs. The other resulted in a Cameron Van Winkle missed field goal after Washington started with the ball on the OSU 28-yard line. They mustered no offense to speak of for almost the entirety of the first half.

Meanwhile, the Cowboys padded their lead with a 40-yard field goal from Ben Grogan to start the scoring in the second quarter. Then, 48 seconds from halftime, wide receiver Brandon Sheperd added another touchdown, putting on the brakes as Washington defensive back Kevin King blew by in pursuit, as illustrated by ESPN College Football:

Jenni Carlson of The Oklahoman thought the junior might have taken pointers from Tom Cruise before the game:

Oklahoma State couldn't have asked for a better start. The Cowboys outgained Washington 293-113 heading into halftime and prevented the Huskies from converting on a single one of their six third downs.

Rudolph was a bit hit-or-miss. He threw for 198 yards and two touchdowns in the first half but had a fumble and an interception on consecutive drives. OSU was a bit lucky Washington didn't turn either of those turnovers into points.

In order to have any chance at a comeback, the Huskies needed to do something special on their opening drive of the second half. They did exactly that, with wideout Jaydon Mickens taking a reverse 31 yards to the house and trimming the deficit to 17 points, 24-7, with 11:48 left in the third quarter:

Grogan hit another field goal to give Oklahoma State a 27-7 lead, but the Huskies weren't done. On the ensuing kickoff, return man John Ross made a couple of moves and then turned on the afterburners to smoke OSU's coverage team for a 96-yard return touchdown.

Pac-12 Networks attempted to encapsulate Ross' emotions as he headed for paydirt:

That quick TD helped Washington regain some momentum, but the team couldn't break through.

Head coach Chris Petersen gambled on a 4th-and-6 on Oklahoma State's 37-yard line with roughly nine-and-a-half minutes to go in the fourth quarter. The Cowboys stopped Miles two yards short of the first down.

On the next drive, Grogan split the uprights with his third field goal of the game with a little under six minutes left, putting a major dent in Washington's comeback hopes. Mickens got his second touchdown of the game, this time coming on a 16-yard pass from Miles, but the Huskies still needed another TD and a two-point conversion to tie the game.

Following a missed field goal from Grogan, Washington got the ball on its own 20-yard line with 43 seconds remaining. The odds were against the Huskies from the start of the drive, and Miles' interception resigned them to defeat.

This is Washington's third bowl loss in four seasons. Petersen's obviously a talented coach, though, having worked wonders with Boise State in the past. The infrastructure is there for the Huskies to climb up the Pac-12 totem pole. It's only a matter of time before they put it all together.

Trotter, meanwhile, penciled in Oklahoma State as a contender to rival Baylor and TCU atop the Big 12 next year:

The 2014 season was always viewed as a bit of a rebuilding year for the team given how many players the Cowboys lost from last season. Making and winning a postseason bowl is a nice accomplishment for this team and a great way to start 2015.