Points were certainly not at a minimum in the Oklahoma State-Texas Tech contest Saturday. Neither were big plays.
However, this has pretty much been the case all season for both squads — some particular ingredients in this latest victory recipe allowed the Cowboys to remain unbeaten.
Versatility is necessary in college football. So many teams have more than one talented quarterback, and few handle such an advantageous situation better than Mike Gundy at Oklahoma State.
Coming into Saturday, the Cowboys had Mason Rudolph as the primary quarterback with J.W. Walsh coming in during specialty plays. Prior to the game, Walsh had completed 14-of-18 passes for 129 yards and seven touchdowns. Yes, half of his completions resulted in scores. That manifests an ability to make every snap count.
Walsh — in keeping with the larger themes created by this game — sustained that trend against Texas Tech. Not only was Walsh the second-leading rusher with 80 yards; he threw two touchdown passes in five attempts.
Rudolph, who became a breakout player late last season, had completed over 64 percent of his 245 passes for 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Though Rudolph threw an early interception in this game against Texas Tech, he rebounded nicely to lead his squad to 70 points. He finished 21-of-35 for 285 yards and a pair of scores.
The offense mirrored Rudolph’s progression — it appeared to look past the Red Raiders early on, trailing 24-7 in the first, but found its footing and struck back authoritatively.
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The main question for the Oklahoma State offense heading into this game was a rushing attack which had been averaging just 3.1 yards per carry. On the other end, Texas Tech came into the game allowing 281.5 rushing yards per game. Rock, meet hard place.
The big plays followed for the Cowboys. They placed three players with averages of over 10 yards per carry, including a 75-yard rush. For the game, Oklahoma State rushed for 275 yards. Those successes outweighed the shortcomings of OSU’s defense.
The issue which arose for the Cowboys in this game was a propensity to allow the big play. Texas Tech’s offense has been especially proficient at home this season, scoring 59, 69, 52, and 66 points in each of its four games in Lubbock before this one against the Pokes. Oklahoma State knew it had to shut off the big-play spigot, but it failed to do so for three and a half quarters. In the 24-point first quarter, Texas Tech had a 100-yard kick return, a 90-yard pass and run, and a 42-yard touchdown toss. This is nothing new for Texas Tech. Not only do the Red Raiders collect yards, they accumulate points en masse as well.
However, Kliff Kingsbury’s squad allows points in bunches as well, just as it did in Saturday’s shootout. Texas Tech’s defense could not stop anything, wasting another great performance by the offense.
DeAndre Washington was his usual strong self, rushing for 95 yards and a score. He showed his big-play ability early on with a 31-yard run, but was bottled up late as the Cowboys’ defense finally adjusted.
Pat Mahomes continued his strong season with 480 more yards and four touchdowns. In any game with Mahomes under center, the Red Raiders have a chance; he’ll just have to outscore the opponent each time, because his defense just hasn’t been able to help him very much.
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We’re left with a bottom-line reality, a denial of all the could-have-beens and should-have-beens Texas Tech will lament in its sleep on Halloween night: Saturday’s game could have changed the trajectory of the Big 12, but thanks to Oklahoma State’s big fourth quarter, this clash continued many trends and left the league’s status quo intact for at least one more week.
