Oklahoma State Football: Winners and Losers from Cowboys' Win vs. Kansas

The Oklahoma State Cowboys could've been caught looking ahead to a couple of big road games against Texas and Missouri. They could've been caught underestimating their opponent. They could've been caught playing down to the Kansas Jayhawks' level of play.

They could've done any of those things, but with a 70-28 win, they didn't.

This wasn't the biggest game on your college football docket, but the outcome could have some big implications on many different players and teams. Obviously, the Cowboys won and the Jayhawks lost, but which specific winners and losers stand out in this game?

Read on to find out.

Winner: Oklahoma State's Defense

For many years Oklahoma State's biggest weakness has been their lack of talent and depth on the defensive side of the ball.

This year they seem to have addressed both of those concerns; no game has shown that more than their win against the Kansas Jayhawks.

The first team was absolutely dominant against Kansas' offense. After the Jayhawks' touchdown drive to start the game, the Cowboys were able to completely shut them down. They forced Kansas into four first half turnovers and didn't allow another point until the second half.

Jamie Blatnick had an exceptionally big game. He recovered a fumble that was forced by star safety Markelle Martin and tipped an interception to himself to give the Cowboys two of their four big turnovers.

Brodrick Brown continued the excellent play he showed against Texas A&M and had the other interception, while Shaun Lewis had the other fumble recovery off of a Richetti Jones sack.

This kind of play from the defense is exactly what the coaches and fans were hoping to see.

If this unit can continue forcing turnovers at a high rate, they will give the offense more chances to put the ball in the end zone. Look for them to continue playing at a high level as they head to Texas next week. 

Loser: Kansas' Defense

The Kansas Jayhawks came into this game already giving up a Bowl Subdivision-worst 44.3 points per game. The Oklahoma State Cowboys had already surpassed that with four minutes left in the second quarter. 

Not only were they torched by starting quarterback Brandon Weeden for 288 yards and five touchdowns, but they also saw themselves dismantled by backup Clint Chelf.

Chelf had 206 yards and two touchdowns against this Jayhawks squad. That kind of an output from your opponent's backup is absolutely dreadful and goes a long way to showing how far this program has to come.

Giving up 70 points to anyone is terrible, but it really stings when you let someone from your conference beat you that badly. The Cowboys already had 56 points at half time and had pulled most of the offensive starters before then.

This was one of the worst defensive showings I've seen in a long time. Kansas is going to have to fix something if they plan to win many more games against the high-octane offenses of the Big 12.

Winner: Oklahoma State's Future

As I said in the last slide, Clint Chelf had a huge game when he came in to relieve starting quarterback Brandon Weeden late in the second quarter.

Chelf's 206 yards and two touchdowns would be a solid day for any quarterback, but he basically did it in one half with a second team offense. Seeing him play so well will make Oklahoma State fans rest easy when they think about this squad's future.

He's not the only young player to show off in a big way this week. Running back Herschel Sims also finally saw some playing time after being left on the bench in the past because of a few Twitter posts. Sims didn't disappoint, putting up 22 yards and a touchdown in his limited playing time.

Finally, we got to see Chelf hook up for a couple of scores with a few of the young receivers that we'll be seeing a lot of in the next few years. Both Michael Harrison (junior) and Isiah Anderson (sophomore) had touchdowns, while freshman Josh Stewart had five catches for 65 yards. Harrison was the most impressive of the young bunch, adding four catches and 81 yards, including a 31-yard touchdown.

Getting to see what your team's younger players have is one of the most exciting things that happens during a blow-out. After today's big win, Cowboy's fans are pretty happy with the talent head coach Mike Gundy has to work with for the next few years.

Loser: Turner Gill's Future

I'm not saying that Turner Gill needs to be fired right away, but it's hard to argue that his seat isn't warming up a little after this week's loss. 

A 70-28 loss is one thing, but when you realize that Kansas has yet to win a road game under Gill, it makes this loss look that much worse. I don't really think Gill's a bad coach, but he's only won one conference game during his time as head coach and it doesn't look like his squad is getting much better.

Gill will probably stay on as coach through at least next season, but, in this "win now" environment, he's going to have to get his team to win more than three games a year if he wants a long-term contract.

The season is still young and there's still time for Gill to turn it around, but he'll have to do so soon or his hot seat is going to get warmer and warmer.  

Winner: The Big 12

With big name teams like the Texas A&M Aggies and the Missouri Tigers falling off the national radar lately, the Big 12 needs a second team to step up behind the Oklahoma Sooners and show off the strength of the conference.

Oklahoma State was able to do just that, showing off how strong their squad is with an absolute rout of the Kansas Jayhawks.

The Oklahoma Sooners are obviously the class of the Big 12 right now, but we haven't really known who was going to step up and be the second big team until this week.

Oklahoma State proved to be well on their way with a huge comeback win against Texas A&M a few weeks ago. This week's victory solidified their spot as the second best team in the conference.

The Big 12 has been reeling in recent weeks, as many teams are considering switching conferences. Oklahoma and Oklahoma State are two of the teams that are opposed to conference realignment and it's great for the conference as a whole to see both of them performing well.

If they can continue to show that the Big 12 still carries weight in the BCS, it will do a lot to keep recruits from jumping ship and going to other conferences.

Loser: Texas Longhorns

The Texas Longhorns were beaten up pretty badly against the Oklahoma Sooners this week, so I hate to pick on them, but they may of lost even more than a game this week.

Someday the Longhorns may bring their program back to prominence, but as of right now, they aren't even the second best team in the conference.

The Longhorns are one of the most storied programs in college football history, which is why it feels so strange to call them the third best team in the Big 12 at best. However, that's the world we live in.

Two years ago, if you would've told me that the Oklahoma State Cowboys would be ranked higher than the Longhorns, I would've called you crazy. It seems impossible because of how good Texas was during the last decade.

Texas will probably make a comeback to greatness within the next few years, but for now they've lost their spot as one of the top two teams in the conference. That said, I still wouldn't be surprised to see them upset the Cowboys next week.

Winner: Brandon Weeden's Heisman Hopes

Brandon Weeden's numbers this week: 24-of-28, 288 passing yards and five touchdowns. When you take into account that he put up those numbers in less than a half of football, you get a truly remarkable performance by Old Man Weeden. 

Before this week, Weeden only had ten touchdowns to six interceptions. He was leading one of the best passing attacks in the nation, but his numbers weren't quite up there with the nation's elite. Now, he's sitting among league leaders in virtually every passing statistic and looks like he might be a dark horse Heisman candidate moving forward.

I still wouldn't put Weeden in my personal top five, but he's moving closer. With many big games left to play, Weeden could make a huge move up the list of Heisman hopefuls if he's able to have big games against teams like the Texas Longhorns and the Oklahoma Sooners.

The most important thing, though, might be that he keep leading Oklahoma State to big wins.

Loser: Justin Blackmon's Heisman Hopes

Justin Blackmon was probably never going to win the Heisman trophy as a wide receiver, but this week's game isn't going to help his slim chances. It's not that Blackmon had a bad game; his game just wasn't good enough to outshine quarterback Brandon Weeden.

Blackmon was able to grab eight catches for 84 yards and two touchdowns. However, Weeden spread the ball around too much for Blackmon to have one of those days that really wows Heisman voters.

It's great for the team that the rest of receiving corps is playing well, but it's going to keep Blackmon from putting up the numbers it requires for a wide receiver to even be considered for the Heisman.

That said, I'm sure Blackmon is happy with the win. Today's game might not have been the huge game it could've been for him, but if other receivers can take some pressure off the defending Biletnikoff winner then he will be much more likely to produce in big games when the Oklahoma State Cowboys need him the most.

This was a solid win all around for the Cowboys and makes them look very formidable going into next week's game in Austin. How they play against that notoriously tough opponent will go a long way in deciding how this season shapes up for Oklahoma State.