 "Photo: Vanessa Skocz")
The goal is written right up there on the wall of the Oklahoma State meeting room, making it more than a bonus for an offense that knows its success comes from the big gainer.
"Get chunk plays."
Chunk plays - or passes of 20 yards or more and runs of at least 15 yards - were how an OSU team that fell behind Nebraska 16-0 and held the ball for 10 fewer minutes was able to score a comfortable win Saturday.
The Cowboys ran off seven such gains in their second straight win over NU at Lewis Field and their second come-from-behind win in league play.
"Everybody on this team had the opportunity to say, 'They are a good football team and we are behind, so let's just go in the tank,' " OSU Coach Mike Gundy said. "They didn't respond that way because of good senior leadership."
And because of the most dynamic offense in the league, led by quarterback Bobby Reid, who fired off the first shot in Oklahoma State's rally when he scrambled for 56 yards to the Nebraska 21 just after the Cornhuskers had taken a 16-0 lead on Brandon Jackson's 24-yard run.
Three plays later, the sophomore QB beat a Husker rush and lofted a 16 yard scoring toss to running back Keith Toston to get the Cowboys on the board.
"That changed the game for us at that particular time," Gundy said. "That gave us a chance to say 'Ok, now we can score. If we stop them, we've got a chance.' "
Reid again rallied OSU just before halftime. Following NU senior Zac Taylor's 22-yard TD pass to junior Maurice Purify, Perrish Cox returned a squib kickoff to the NU 45. Reid connected with Adarius Bowman on the next play for a score to narrow the gap to 23-20 at the half.
"He's running this offense the way we expected him to run it," said Larry Fedora, the Cowboys' offensive coordinator. "He's making plays. He's pulling the ball down and makes big runs, and he's not throwing the ball into coverage. He's doing some great things."
Gundy said the game plan included taking shots down the field using Bowman and wide receiver D'Juan Woods. The two combined to average 24.7 yards on their seven total receptions.
While Bowman's big grab came on the score before halftime, Woods broke the Huskers' backs on OSU's go-ahead scoring drive, hauling in a 55-yard pass on third-and-9. Dantrell Savage scored one play later to give the Cowboys a lead they wouldn't relinquish.
"The chances of us just lining up and pounding these guys and scoring enough points to win probably weren't very good," Gundy said. "Your approach prior to the game has to be chunk it down the field a bunch and then if we can get them off us, then we can go back inside and run the ball, which we did in the third and fourth quarter."
And for Reid - who was questionable to play this week after suffering a concussion last weekend against Texas A&M - the confidence is coming snap by snap, when it's anyone's guess as to which Oklahoma State playmaker will gash the opposing defense in chunks.
"I don't ever feel like we're ever out of the ball game until the other team is ahead and there's zeroes on the clock," Reid said. "Until then, we're just going to keep on playing our ball."
