How Rare Was That 300-100 Game From Taylor Cornelius on Saturday?

In the second half on Saturday, OSU ran Dana’s old “spread ’em out and let it ride” offense on Dana to take down WVU and secure victory No. 6 on the season. It worked because OSU has great receivers and a QB who can make you pay if you get too concerned with the pass on defense.

“They spread us out,” said WVU defensive coordinator Tony Gibson. “We had too many guys blow some and miss tackles. It was an ugly second half.”

Corn ran for 86 of his 106 yards on the ground in the second half, and by clearing the century mark became the first QB of the Gundy era (and I believe Oklahoma State history) to have a 300-yard passing and 100-yard rushing game. Oh, and he pitched in six total TDs in the process.

“I thought he did a really good job,” said Gibson. “We had a couple of blitzes. We flushed them out. We had them contained. I don’t know what happened. They had easy access to the perimeter and they had some big runs”

Corn’s second half runs included scampers for 8, 9, 11, 12, 13 and a pair of 17-yarders, most of them in the fourth quarter, as OSU scored 21 points in the last 11 minutes.

So we know Corn is the first OSU QB to have a 100-yard rushing game since J.W. Walsh did it in 2013, and we know he’s the first QB under Gundy to put up a 300-100 game. But what about nationally? How rare is a game in which a QB totals 300 yards through the air, 100 on the ground, 5 throwing TDs and 1 with his legs? Here are all the players since 2000 who have accomplished that feat.

There are only 12 of them, but four have happened this year. Also, it’s just the fourth game between Power 5 teams in which it’s happened. Pretty incredible stuff for ?.

“Cornelius made a play,” said WVU head coach Dana Holgorsen. “He is a good player. He has gotten better every week. He has been there for a while. We couldn’t get pressure on him. Couldn’t get off blocks. He scrambled around and kept his eyes down field.”

He actually made a lot of plays. Both with his legs and through the air. Following that lackluster 2-INT first half with just 119 yards, Corn put up another 219 through the air to go with his 86 on the ground over the final 30 minutes. He was borderline flawless with the game on the line, and the result was one of the more historic QB performances in recent college football history.