In a back-and-forth game at Boone Pickens Stadium on Saturday, the biggest controversy came on a play late in the fourth quarter.

With the Sooners trailing 27-21 and facing a third-and-12, Dillon Gabriel looked for Drake Stoops in the right corner of the end zone. But OSU cornerback Dylan Smith appeared to tackle Stoops out of bounds before the ball arrived.

But instead of an official flagging the play for pass interference or potentially reviewing the play to see if Stoops caught the ball inbounds, the ball was ruled incomplete and the Sooners faced fourth-and-12 from the OSU 18-yard line.

"I thought that was what interference was," OU coach Brent Venables said when asked about the play.

The Sooners opted to kick a field goal to cut the deficit to three, but that wasn't enough in a 27-24 loss to Oklahoma State.

"I felt like I was getting held on the out and up," Stoops said after the game. "I ran out a couple times, but they didn't call it. At the end of the day, I still feel I caught the ball, and I would like to see them review it. I felt like I had feet in bounds and caught it with one hand. I would at least like to see a review, but it's water under the bridge now. I can't do anything about it, but it's disappointing."

While it was still a disappointing night for the Sooners, it was a career-best performance for Stoops. He set new single-game bests in targets (15), receptions (12) and yards (134) while adding a six-yard touchdown in the second quarter. Stoops caught more passes than Jalil Farooq (7) and Nic Anderson (3) combined.

But it ultimately wasn't enough for the Sooners to avoid falling to 7-2 on the season.

"It hurts and it stings right now, but we're not going to change our approach," Stoops said. "We have a process, and we trust our process. We're going back to work tomorrow, putting the game to bed, getting the film watched and getting ready for our next opponent, which is West Virginia. They're a good football team.

"We'll continue to have a good week of practice, a good week of preparation and then learning from the mistakes on film and emphasizing where we need to get better from last week and this week again. I think that'll be a crucial part to our success moving forward."

Stutsman, who leads the team in tackles and tackles for loss, was a game-time decision against Oklahoma State after suffering a leg injury last week at Kansas.

The junior linebacker participated in pre-game warmups but was ultimately not available, spending the entire game on the sidelines. Instead, Lewis made his first collegiate start in Stutsman's place.

Lewis played every snap and finished with a team-high 15 tackles.

"Kip really played well," Venables said. "He had 15 tackles and was all over the field. He did a great job. Several guys did. Several guys stepped in for guys today. I thought they really stepped in."

Venables said there was an "outside chance" that Stutsman would play as early as Saturday morning, but he wasn't quite healthy enough to play.

Midway through the fourth quarter, OU freshman cornerback Makari Vickers was called for pass interference on an incomplete third-down throw, gifting the Cowboys a first down.

Venables didn't like the call and voiced his complaint with an official, who promptly flagged Venables for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. The two penalties gifted Oklahoma State 30 additional yards of field position, and they eventually capitalized with a 97-touchdown drive to give them a 24-21 lead.

"I asked a question," Venables said after the game. "But I guess you can’t go on the field at all. (The official) didn’t get cussed out or nothing else. That’s on me."

Saturday marked the second consecutive week that an Oklahoma coach has been flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct.

The Sooners' final offensive play came near midfield at the 1:01 mark of the fourth quarter.

The Sooners were facing fourth-and-5 but Gabriel found Stoops for a three-yard gain, resulting in a turnover on downs. That sealed the Cowboys' win.

The play didn't seem to include many options for Gabriel, and the Sooners still had a timeout. But Lebby and Venables both defended the play call after the game.

"We liked it," Lebby said. "Thought it was going to be man-to-man (defense). (Stoops) needed to be about a yard deeper. That's the reality of it. I can put us in a better situation.

"It's just a tough situation there in the end," Stoops added. "We got into one of our good play calls. I feel like I could've caught it cleaner and maybe try to spin back inside, make one miss. But at the end of the day, it just looked like they had us a little outnumbered over there... Ultimately, it was just a little short of the sticks, and that's probably on me."

Next game: The Sooners return home next Saturday for a game against West Virginia. Kickoff time has not been announced.