Joseph Ossai went Beast Mode for Texas with All-American performance vs. Oklahoma State

Texas linebacker Joseph Assai was a huge defensive force for the Longhorns as they knocked off Oklahoma State.

On Saturday in Stillwater, the Texas Longhorns did what no one had managed so far in 2020: They beat the Oklahoma State Cowboys.

A large portion of the credit for the upset victory belongs to linebacker Joseph Ossai, whose performance on Halloween was positively monstrous.

The junior had 12 tackles, six tackles for loss and three sacks. He also added a forced fumble and fumble recovery, just to ensure the immensity of his impact.

Joseph Ossai saved Texas with his huge defensive performance

Ossai wasn’t even a sure thing to play on Saturday. The linebacker left the previous week’s game against Baylor with a shoulder injury and was monitored throughout the week of practice.

It’s a good thing for the Longhorns that injury didn’t linger too badly. They needed everything they got out of the junior.

His forced fumble set up a field goal just before halftime. His fourth-quarter fumble recovery set up a go-ahead touchdown for Texas. Then in overtime, his sack on 4th and 8 ended the game.

Brian Davis of the Austin American-Statesman rightly called Ossai’s outing an “All-American” day.

Ossai had already emerged as the best player on Texas’ defense. He went into Saturday with the team lead in tackles. His 6.5 tackles for loss were the most in the Big 12 for a linebacker. He nearly doubled that total in one game.

The Longhorns got a bit of breathing room with their second-straight win, moving to 4-2 and firmly shaking off their two-game losing streak to TCU and Oklahoma. Ossai will have the chance to improve his All-American candidacy with upcoming battles against West Virginia, Kansas, Iowa State and Kansas State.

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