STILLWATER, Okla. – Maybe losing Knowshon Moreno and Matthew Stafford really was a big deal.

Georgia’s defense kept the high-powered offense of No. 9 Oklahoma State in check for the majority of Saturday’s game. But the Bulldog offense couldn’t quite capitalize as No. 13 Georgia fell to the Cowboys 24-10.

Fifth-year quarterback Joe Cox finished 15-of-30 for 162 yards and a score in his first start in three years. Sophomore Richard Samuel looked solid in his debut as the Bulldogs’ No. 1 tailback, rushing for 87 yards on 20 carries.

The defense held Oklahoma State Heisman candidate Dez Bryant to 77 yards receiving, contained dual-threat quarterback Zac Robinson and kept tailback Kendall Hunter under 100 yards.

The Bulldogs were aided by 14 OSU penalties and the punting game pinned the Cowboys inside their own 10-yard line more than once.

But it wasn’t enough.

“[The offense] looked good there for a minute didn’t it,” said coach Mark Richt. “But I don’t think we’re far off.”

The Bulldogs got off to a good enough start on offense – their first possession of the game was an 80-yard, 10-play drive capped by a four-yard Michael Moore touchdown catch.

It featured a 29-yard Cox completion to A.J. Green, a 19-yard Samuel scamper and snaps taken by backup quarterback Logan Gray and freshman defensive back Branden Smith.

But it would be the only time the Bulldogs would find the end zone all day.

“I don’t know what changed,” Samuel said.

Both defenses kept the scoring silent for the rest of the half. At least until the last three minutes.

While Georgia’s offense showed some positive signs but sputtered, the Cowboys’ came to life at the end of the half.

Bryant got his first two catches of the game in accounting for 65 of the Cowboys’ 68 yards on their fifth drive of the contest. He capped it off with a 46-yard touchdown grab, putting Oklahoma State on the board for the first time with 2:24 left in the half.

On the second play of the Bulldogs’ next drive, tailback Carlton Thomas fumbled when OSU’s Lucien Antoine got his helmet on the ball, setting the Cowboys up on Georgia’s 6-yard line.

The Cowboys would get it to the one before a holding penalty on fourth down forced them into a field goal and made the score 10-7 at the half.

The Cowboys got the ball at the start of the half, and Perrish Cox, just shy of becoming the Big 12′s all-time leading kick returner, took the kick 74 yards to the Georgia 24, setting up a short scoring drive and extending the Cowboys’ lead to 10.

The Bulldogs would add a 53-yard Blair Walsh field goal on the next drive.

But again, it wasn’t enough.

“They pretty much threw every blitz imaginable at us, different coverages, just a lot of different things to confuse us,” Cox said.

The Bulldogs’ fate was officially sealed early in the fourth quarter. Still down just 17-10, Prince Miller returned a punt to the 1-yard line with 11:20 left in the game, but a block in the back sent Georgia back to its own 24. Two plays later, Cox was hit and fumbled.

Bryant quickly scored on a 12-yard pass.

“I feel like I let a lot of people down today,” Cox said.