Kansas Debriefing: What Did We Actually Learn about OSU?

The Cowboys traveled north to Lawrence in desperate need of some chicken soup on the road. At times, the Pokes looked like the team we thought they might be two weeks ago. And at others, we were reminded how undisciplined it can be.

The Short Story

The Cowboys looked crisp and clean on offense early. Taylor Cornelius connected on seven of his first eight passes and found pay dirt on three of his first six. The Pokes didn’t seem thin at all at wideout with Tylan Wallace and Tyron Johnson doing Tylan Wallace and Tyron Johnson things. Then Landon Wolf stepped into a vacated slot role and led the team in catches and receiving yards.

The defense had its own bounce back game, holding Kansas to less than 6 yards per play and 3-of-13 on third downs. And they still dialed up the pressure. With five more sacks the Cowboys remain atop the nation with 24 total through five games, five more than No. 2 Ohio State.

The Pokes allowed it to be a little too interesting int the second half, but all things considered got the 20-point win. On to the next.

Who Earned a Marshal Badge Brand

Offense: Taylor Cornelius

The polarizing fifth-year senior turned his best performance as a Cowboy on Saturday. Could that have been because his receivers were mostly running wide open? Sure. But he made the throws (or most of them) that you need to succeed.

Like this well-placed dime in the back of the end zone.

Cornelius went 15-for-20 for 312 yards and four touchdowns. His one interception appeared to be due to some miscommunication with Tylan Wallace. Not excusable, but it’s better than some earlier this year, when he’s just made the wrong read or forced the issue. And he made a little history his 15.6 yards per pass attempted edged out Mason Rudolph’s 15.5 against Pitt last year for the top mark in OSU history.

If OSU can establish the run game like it did early against KU, it frees Cornelius up to operate downfield and in the QB run game, both of which he handled almost perfectly in Lawrence.

Also receiving votes: Landon Wolf, Justice Hill, Tylan Wallace, Tyron Johnson

Defense: Devin Harper

It’s hard for me not to just copy and paste “Jordan Brailford — for every time he sat (fill in the blank)’s quarterback down on his butt.” But for the sake of variety, lets highlight the redshirt sophomore who showed out at outside linebacker in the absence of injured Calvin Bundage.

Harper was second behind only Justin Phillips with nine total tackles and a pass breakup. Through five weeks he is fourth on the team with 24 total tackles, leading all underclassmen. His eight solo tackles doubled his previous career high.

Also receiving votes: Jordan Brailford, Kenneth Edison-McGruder, Justin Phillips, Mike Scott

Questions for Iowa State

How bad is Kansas? Yes, I understand the Jayhawks stink, but I’m actually trying to gauge how much of the Cowboys’ success on Saturday was due to the level of competition. The home team’s secondary looked like a JV squad trying to man up the wideouts at Nike’s The Opening.

Justice Hill made up for a lot of OSU’s deficiencies by being Justice Hill. If other, better teams control the line of scrimmage, can Cornelius still play backyard ball with his receivers? So far this season that hasn’t been the case.

As far as penalties go, Oklahoma State has proven to be a fairly undisciplined team through five games. That’s not really a question. The question is when that comes back to bite them. Which game will the Cowboys actually lose because they get flagged for 15-yard penalty after 15-yard penalty?

Play of the Game

There were a slew of highlight reel plays on Saturday, but I had to settle on one. I could have probably picked one of a dozen Justice Hill rushes and few would complain, but I chose this grown man’s catch by OSU’s top receiver.