Notebook: Taylor's pick-six puts Cowboys 'within striking range'

Oct. 17—Jason Taylor II flew across the turf as he approached the burnt orange end zone, scoring the Oklahoma State football team's first touchdown against Texas.

This time, his pick-six counted.

Earlier in the season, Taylor, a redshirt junior safety, returned an interception for a touchdown against Tulsa, but it was called back because of a defensive holding penalty. On Saturday, Taylor was more fortunate, recording the first pick-six of his career as the Cowboys defeated the Longhorns 32-24 in Austin.

It happened at a crucial point in the game.

In the first half, OSU struggled to activate its offense, and Texas led 17-3 after Bijan Robinson scored on a 13-yard pass play. The Cowboys needed a boost, and it came from a defensive back.

Texas quarterback Casey Thompson was looking in the direction of Taylor's zone, Taylor said, so he anticipated where the pass would go and grabbed the ball, taking it 85 yards to the house. The touchdown cut the Longhorns' lead to 17-10 with 5:13 until halftime.

"The pick six kept us within striking range," offensive coordinator Kasey Dunn said. "And we felt good about where we were. The strange thing is, we didn't feel like we were getting our (butts) handed to us."

Taylor's touchdown kept the Cowboys from falling into a deep deficit during a first half in which they scored no offensive touchdowns, but he didn't spend much time reveling in the glory of his accomplishment. He had more work to do.

"I have to come back out, get another stop," Taylor said. "So a lot of people told me that it switched the momentum, but I didn't really notice. I was just like, 'Let's go again.'"

Edge rusher Martin returns to lineup

After missing part of the Kansas State game and the entire Baylor game with a dislocated elbow, edge rusher Brock Martin returned to OSU's lineup.

He made his presence known, delivering a couple of big stops for the Cowboys to keep Texas from launching a comeback. Late in the fourth quarter, the Longhorns went for it on fourth down, but Martin "blew the whole thing up," as coach Mike Gundy said.

Martin's level of toughness has been well-documented — his background as a standout high school wrestler helps — and he competed through pain to contribute to the Cowboys' victory against Texas.

"His arm is back to normal, but it's still sore," Gundy said. "I mean, it's really painful. He's one of those guys that loves to play."

That love for the game has resulted in Martin's decision to stick around for another season. Gundy confirmed that Martin, a redshirt senior, is returning for next year, when he will continue toward a master's degree.

"Then he'll donate his body to science or something," Gundy joked.

Brown is 'the guy' at placekicker

Tanner Brown had a team-high 15 points against Texas.

Brown, a senior, has been handling kickoff duties this season, but he also stepped in for Alex Hale as the placekicker when the Cowboys faced Baylor. This week, Brown's workload increased during OSU's highest-scoring game of the season. He attempted four field goals and three PATs, making all of them.

Gundy didn't provide a postgame update on Hale, who has been working on a technique issue, but he did indicate that Brown has likely earned the starting role for the future.

"His times were good," Gundy said. "His elevation's been good. At the end there, when he was trying to kick for the lead, there's a lot of pressure. And he's executed so far. Our snaps have been good. Tom (Hutton) has been good with the holds. Our protection's been good, and so moving forward, (Brown) would be the guy, based on the success he's had at this point."

Penalties contribute to early lull

Earlier in the season, Dunn pointed to penalties as a potential reason why the Cowboys struggled to score after halftime.

This time, the problems struck early.

During a first half with no offensive touchdowns, the Cowboys had five penalties for 55 yards, sometimes denying themselves of opportunities.

To start the second quarter, a holding call on Cole Birmingham erased Spencer Sanders' 13-yard pass to Tay Martin, turning a first and 10 into first and 20. On the Cowboys' next offensive drive, an unnecessary roughness penalty on Braden Cassity pushed OSU back 15 yards, bringing up second and 26. Both of those drives ended with punts.

Although OSU dealt with first-half mishaps, the second half was cleaner with only two penalties for 10 yards.

In the end, the Longhorns had more blunders — nine penalties for 80 yards — so the Cowboys' miscues didn't hold them back significantly.