UCO Football Falls Short at Pitt State

Central Oklahoma found its offensive spark early this past weekend before it quickly fizzled out, resulting in a 52-14 loss to the Pitt State Gorillas on the road.

UCO’s setback to Pitt State concluded Week 8 of MIAA play and dropped the Bronchos to a 3-4 overall record and 2-3 in the MIAA. 

The Bronchos started on defense and quickly forced a three-and-out. This put them on offense, where they quickly scored on a drive led by freshman quarterback Cruz Campbell. 

Interim head football coach Cody Swanson said the team emphasized getting Campbell “going early”. Eight plays and 69 yards later, the Central Oklahoma offense scored the first touchdown of the game off an eight-yard run by junior running back Ja’Daniel Nettles. Nettles’ first touchdown of the season gave UCO an early 7-0 lead over Pitt State. 

Unfortunately, Central Oklahoma’s early lead would not last for long. Within three minutes of the second quarter, Pitt State responded with their own touchdown, which tied it up. However, Pitt State would continue their offensive barrage with two more touchdowns before the end of the half, when the Bronchos found themselves down 21-7. 

Coming out of the half, UCO went three-and-out and then allowed a Pitt State touchdown. The following kickoff was then recovered by the Gorillas, who took advantage of Central Oklahoma’s lapse and scored once again. 

In a rare bright spot for the Bronchos this game, redshirt freshman quarterback Owen Jones made his debut for UCO with around seven minutes to go in the third quarter and threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Carney for his first career touchdown pass and the Bronchos’ second and final score of the game. 

Pitt State would eventually score two more touchdowns and a field goal in the fourth quarter to make the final score 52-14. The Bronchos had 314 total yards of offense, with only 104 rushing yards and 210 passing yards. 

Cruz Campbell threw for 139 yards, and Owen Jones threw for 71 yards. Ja’Daniel Nettles and Andrew Carney led the way on offense with one rushing touchdown and one receiving touchdown, respectively. 

Reese Roller, Cameron Done and Bryant Coley led the way on defense for the Bronchos with eight tackles each. 

Interim head football coach Cody Swanson cited the hostile environment at Pitt State and noted his team’s struggles with playing with a balanced focus. 

“When you go to Pitt, playing in that hostile environment, you have to be able to not get too high or too low, just in terms of how ready you are to play, and that’s been a real challenge for us.” 

However, Swanson also noted his team’s mentality and that they’re just focused on getting better every single game, rather than focusing on any long-term goals at the moment. 

“Whenever you have that daily 1-0 mindset, it’s what is your mission today. Everyone’s bought into their role, and there’s a mission to be done every Saturday for us.” 

Central Oklahoma will return to Chad Richison Stadium in Edmond this Saturday for a contest against Nebraska Kearney, with kickoff set for 1 p.m. 

For the home crowd, this game will serve as the annual Hall of Fame game. For the Broncho football team, this game against the Lopers will serve as an opportunity to bounce back.