The Daily O’Collegian

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Perrish Cox’s 90-yard kick return for a touchdown is the third of his career, which ties him for the national lead among active players.

Dez Bryant was surprised by what he saw.

As he returned the first punt of the game against Washington State, Bryant got a block from a teammate, made a cut and turned upfield.

Suddenly, there was no one left in front of him.

“I was excited when I saw open field,” Bryant said. “I couldn’t believe it, to be honest.”

A WSU player would eventually chase down Bryant, but not before he had returned the punt 42 yards and set the tone for a dominating performance by Oklahoma State’s special teams.

OSU rode big returns and an improved defensive performance to a 39-13 victory Saturday against the Cougars in Seattle.

“Special teams is one of those areas that everybody talks about how important it is, but your team chemistry and your approach to it — how important it is for you to work hard and spend the extra time in practice and really get good at it — is important to it,” coach Mike Gundy said. “Those guys did a nice job and they worked hard. They take pride in it.”

The Cowboys (1-0) finished with 252 return yards, 124 from punts and 128 from kickoffs, including a 90-yard return for a touchdown from junior cornerback Perrish Cox.

Gundy said credit for the return game went to the players blocking on special teams, particularly noting sophomore running back Taylor Sokolosky and junior safety Lucien Antoine, and Cox was quick to agree.

“I always give it up to my teammates blocking for me,” Cox said. “If they don’t get me started, I can’t get nothing.

“I never seen [holes] that big. Going untouched? I feel like that was a big accomplishment.”

Ricky Price took a punt return 68 yards in the third quarter before getting tripped up at the WSU 18-yardline.

“On our return game, I felt like we have some big-time playmakers back there,” Bryant said. “I feel like we’re gonna be real good at special teams. It don’t matter who’s back there returning kicks, punts or whatever, I feel like we’re capable of making big plays.”

The return game repeatedly set up the OSU offense. Bryant’s return in the first quarter set up a field goal as the Cowboys took a 3-0 lead. Price’s return led to a field goal that put OSU up 18-0, and later that quarter, Cox’s touchdown answered the Cougars’ first score and made the lead 25-6.

“We didn’t get to have the ball [on offense] very many plays because of special teams,” Gundy said. “We only had the ball seven plays in the third quarter because we ran a kickoff back and we had a good return.”

The big returns were complemented by the Cowboy defense, which recorded a safety, a turnover and gave up just 52 yards of total offense in the first half.

The return game wasn’t the only part of the special teams unit that stood out. Sophomore kicker Dan Bailey quietly had a good day, going 3-for-3 in field goals from distances of 21, 26 and 27 yards.

Last year, he replaced Luke Ricks midseason and went 2-for-4 in field goal opportunities.

“I had a couple games last year to get into the flow of things,” Bailey said. “I feel a lot more comfortable this year.”

With the special teams off to a good start, Bryant said the team’s goal is to keep it up throughout the season.

“I feel like we’re gonna be real good at special teams,” Bryant said. “After our performance against Washington State, I feel like we can continue to do that against whoever as long as we just play hard.”