Cowboys' disappointing loss to Mizzou

- Oklahoma State cornerback Tyler Patmon was in the end zone with his jubilant teammates after returning an interception for an apparent go-ahead touchdown. A penalty flag, though, quickly doused the celebration for the No. 13 Cowboys in the fourth quarter of the Cotton Bowl.

No. 9 Missouri kept the ball when Patmon was called for pass interference, and got a tiebreaking field goal as part of an exchange of points on six consecutive drives by the former Big 12 rivals before the Tigers pulled out a 41-31 victory late Friday night.

"I didn't see it. I just saw two guys competing for the ball," Cowboys coach Mike Gundy said after the game. "They said that our guy interfered with him. Obviously have to go with that."

The Cowboys (10-3) did manage to get the lead in that late sequence, when Desmond Roland bulled through the line for a 2-yard TD run. But Mizzou responded when Henry Josey ran 16 yards for his third touchdown with 3:08 left, and Shane Ray returned a fumble 73 yards for a touchdown in the final minute when Oklahoma State quarterback Clint Chelf fumbled while being sacked.

"It's tough. We had two opportunities to do that, and came up short both times," Chelf said. "It's disappointing."

The end of the Cotton Bowl was eerily similar to their regular-season finale a month ago, a 33-24 home loss to Oklahoma that cost the Cowboys the Big 12 title and a spot in the Bowl Championship Series. Roland had a go-ahead 1-yard run with 1:46 left that day, but the Sooners drove to score with 19 seconds left and added a 3-yard fumble recovery for a score on the final play of that game.

SEC East champion Missouri (12-2) matched its school record for victories, giving the SEC its 10th win in the last 11 Cotton Bowls, all against the Big 12. The Tigers were the last Big 12 team to win the game, six years ago in their other 12-win season.

Josey's go-ahead TD came a play after James Franklin's 27-yard pass to Dorial Green-Beckham to convert third-and-9. Franklin, the Missouri quarterback whose final two seasons were plagued by injuries, had two fumbles earlier in the second half when Oklahoma State overcame a 10-point deficit to tie it in just over 3½ minutes.

Franklin was only 15 of 40 passing for 174 yards with an interception, and almost another returned for a score.

Chelf threw for 381 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions, completing 33 of 57 passes. He also ran 10 times for 48 yards, including a 23-yarder to convert third-and-10 only a few plays before he was sacked by All-SEC defensive end Michael Sam, who knocked the ball loose.

That gave Sam 11½ sacks, the most in the SEC and matching a school record.

"All the drama you don't want as a coach in the fourth quarter," Mizzou coach Gary Pinkel said. "We had a lot of adversity, and our team handled the adversity well and made the plays we needed to win. I wanted that trophy really bad, wanted it bad for them."

Missouri wrapped up its second SEC season since leaving the Big 12. The Tigers debuted in their new league with a losing season, but made it to the SEC championship game in year two before losing to No. 2 Auburn.

"What a great way to finish the season," said Pinkel, whose 102nd victory in his 13th season snapped a tie with Don Faurot for the most in school history.

With the game tied, Franklin appeared to throw his second interception with 9 minutes left with Patmon running 40 yards to the end zone. But the penalty negated the touchdown, giving back the ball to Missouri. The Tigers settled for Andrew Baggett's 46-yard field goal.

"I felt as if both guys were competing for the ball," Cowboys linebacker Shaun Lewis said. "It's unfortunate. That play would have turned the game."

Gundy said he was told only that Patmon interfered and didn't really get an explanation about the penalty from the referees.

The Cowboys were trying to win 11 games for the third time in four seasons. Before Mike Gundy became the coach in 2005, the Cowboys had never won 11 games.

"It's hard on our team," Gundy said. "That's a very, very disappointed locker room right now."

by Stephen Hawkins, AP Sports Writer

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

The Gayly – January 4, 2014 @ 10:35am