James Washington Was a Decoy on Saturday, Which Helped Oklahoma State

The best wide receiver in the country had one catch on Saturday against Iowa State. Even crazier? He only had one target.

Here it was.

There’s a reason freshman Tylan Wallace was targeted three times as much as the senior All-American, said Mike Gundy.

“Poor James. They put a guy on him. They put another guy over the top. They put another guy halfway,” said Gundy. “They just move all three of them around all the time so everybody has to catch passes or you have to run the ball. It worked for 523 yards for us. James gets to go out there and line up and hang out. When you’re the best receiver in the country, that’s what you’re going to get.”

A glorified decoy, as it were.

It did work, though, especially in the second half. Rudolph hit Jalen McCleskey, Dillon Stoner and Marcell Ateman a combined 13 times in the game for 247 yards. Ateman especially shined.

“Marcell has a gift,” said Gundy. “He has a special ability to go up and get the ball. He’s a basketball player. That part of what he brings to the table is huge for our team.”

He caught not only the game-tying TD but a monster 30-yarder on the game-winning drive. He was immense, as he’s been all season for the OSU offense.

So Washington may have been a decoy against Iowa State, or he may have been still injured from the OU game. Either way, his presence on the field helped Mike Yurcich’s offense rack up another near 50-point game. He’s that valuable, even when he’s not 100 percent. And they needed every one of those on the road in Ames against a nasty Iowa State defense.