Chalk Talk: OSU Game Plan Succeeds, McCleskey Prospers

The Oklahoma State Cowboys racked up 555 total yards of offense and scored the most points since their season opener against the Texas Longhorns last Saturday. Receiver Jalen McCleskey led the Cowboys in receiving with four receptions for 109 yards and two touchdowns. Both touchdowns were on plays that the Cowboys have never run before. Today, we’re going to break them down.

Mccleskey’s first score was on a vertical RPO off a quick snap. The Cowboys usually go quick snap following the first first down of a drive, and this was one of those plays that they used.

In the play, Rudolph can either hand the ball off or throw to the slot receiver in the seam.

The second time the Cowboys ran it, Rudolph handed it off to Justice Hill.

But on the first time, the Cowboys caught the defense off-guard and McCleskey ran right past the secondary.

The Cowboys have been excellent this season when it comes to tempo, and they have found success with the quick snap. The defense often doesn’t align quickly enough, and it allows the Cowboys to take advantage of the defense being out of place.

McCleskey scored his second touchdown out of a formation that the Cowboys have never used before; it had the running back aligned off the line of scrimmage on the right and the tight end on the left with a slot receiver on the tight end side.

The Cowboys showed the formation a couple of times before, but on the first time, Rudolph found his tight end Blake Jarwin off a chip release in the flat:

On the second time they ran it, McCleskey found the soft spot in the zone and Rudolph threw the most accurate ball of the game for a score.

This is a perfect example of how new schemes and concepts directly translate to success for an offense. Yurcich & Co. implemented these plays in this past week’s game plan, and the Longhorns, who have never seen these plays from the Cowboys before, couldn’t stop them. The Cowboy offensive coaching staff does an excellent job coming up with unique game plans every week. This one had a number of new plays, and players like McCleskey shined because of them.

How would you rate the Cowboys’ game plan against the Longhorns? Leave your opinions below in the comments!