The snap whizzed by Baylor quarterback Bryce Petty's left shin in an instant. The Baylor quarterback was expecting the ball to come towards his hands in front of his midsection. Instead, it flew past like a torpedoing sparrow delirious from hitting a window.
That torpedoing sparrow? Yeah, it's a good metaphor for Baylor's evening.
As Petty chased down the ball, it looked like he was going to fall on it and preserve a field goal opportunity. Nope, the sparrow continued on, only to be scooped up by Oklahoma State's Tyler Patmon for 78 yards and a touchdown. The final: Oklahoma State 49, Baylor 17.
When the snap sailed past Petty, Baylor was at the Oklahoma State two yard-line, trailing 35-10 with over 12 minutes left. Sure, a touchdown would only cut the deficit to three possessions, but this was Baylor's offense. We've seen how crazy it can be.
It was crazy Saturday night, but towards the other end of the spectrum. That turnover was the second Bears' turnover inside the Oklahoma State five. The first happened in the first quarter, when Shock Linwood fumbled at the one while Baylor trailed 7-0 and Petty stumbled before the goal line just three plays earlier. This was not Baylor's night.
It was Oklahoma State's. This wasn't a simple case of benefitting from Baylor's mistakes. OSU found matchups with its receivers one-on-one against Baylor's cornerbacks deep, and capitalized exceptionally.
Quarterback Clint Chelf finished 19-25 for 370 yards and three touchdowns (doesn't that line look a lot like one of Petty's from earlier in the season?) and even added a 48-yard reception of his own. You would have had no idea that earlier in the season the Cowboys had a quarterback controversy between Chelf and J.W. Walsh.
Or that this was a team that lost to West Virginia, who gave Kansas its first Big 12 win since 2010 last week. Since then, the Cowboys have won seven straight games, the last five by 18 or more points. So figuratively speaking, it's not the same team. But it's definitely Chelf's team.
That was apparent on Oklahoma State's final touchdown of the night. With just over three minutes left and the Cowboys seemingly content to run out the clock, Chelf had Jhajuan Seales in one-on-one coverage and hit him for a 33-yard touchdown. The ballgame was already over, but the statement had just been made.
Not all is lost for Baylor. With one loss and two more wins, a BCS bowl bid is still possible. But the Heisman is gone for Petty.
And this is Oklahoma State's conference for the second time in three years.
- - - - - - -
Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
Follow @NickBromberg