Notebook: OSU Offense Wasn’t Slow to Start in Rout of Kansas

The Cowboys took care of business and a 1-win Kansas team on Saturday in the home finales of Mason Rudolph, James Washington, Marcell Ateman and 18 other seniors. The feeling changed from sleepy and unengaged to bittersweet as the BPS crowd enjoyed its last glimpse at one of the best senior classes to ever ride through Stillwater.

Let’s jump into the notebook.

• This was such a weird feeling for the regular season finale. We’re so used to Bedlam capping off the year with either a chance at a conference title on the line, like the last several years or the chance at playing spoiler in others. Kansas, at 11 a.m. with the title out of reach made for a pretty ho-hum feel.

• The Cowboy offense (for once) was the opposite of sleepy, marching right down the field and scoring on its first possession. Kansas won the toss and deferred, making it the sixth time OSU received the opening kickoff this season.

• OSU has deferred all six times it has won the coin toss this season, including in the losses to TCU, Oklahoma and K-State. I would like to see a coaching staff with one of the best offenses in the country try to go out a strike first and make the opposition start from behind. Does that make the difference in three games? Probably not. But it might in one, and then you might be playing in the Big 12 title game next week.

• After a quick score following the 54-yard strike to Ateman and the Rudolph rush, KU’s defense forced one of two three-and-outs. Oklahoma State shouldn’t have any three-and-outs against Kansas, much less on its second drive of the game.

• James Washington now sits at 4,346 career receiving yards and needs just 69 yards in the bowl game to pass Rashuan Woods as the all-time leader at OSU.

• DQ Osborne got a sack on third and 10 to start off his Senior Day. He led all Cowboys with six solo takedowns, three TFLs and that sack. He’ll be missed next season. Wasn’t a big numbers guy, though he leads the team in sacks, but has been tough up the middle and has a bit of a mean streak.

• /whispers Matt Ammendola has quietly been really good over the last month. He was 6 of 7 over the last four games coming into KU with his one miss being a 49-yard attempt in Morgantown. He was perfect for the fourth-straight game on Saturday with makes from 43, 36 and 49 yards.

• But OSU needs to use a scholarship on a kicker who can kick it in the end zone over 70 percent of the time on kickoffs. Grogan was bad at 23.9 percent in 2015, Ammendola was better at 46.6 in 2016 but is currently at only 44 percent after KU. On Saturday, Ammendola allowed returns on nine of his 12 kickoffs. Which leads me to my next point.

• I wrote about it when the change was announced but starting in January, teams are going to be able to add a 10th assistant and its time for Mike Gundy to get out his steno pad and start writing down candidates for a full-time special teams coordinator. OSU was historically bad in special teams this season and lost at least one game because of it.

• LD Brown and Landon Wolf on kickoff return duties. I don’t understand where Tyron Johnson has gone? Is the coaching staff blaming him for Bedlam? Do they think they can hide him on the sidelines and try to redshirt him again, hoping no one will notice? He didn’t see the field until Taylor Cornelius did. At least they are trying to get their timing down for next year.

• Are we ready for the Age of the CornDog? It’s about to begin, folks, and we saw a little glimpse of it with a 56-yard bomb to Tyrell Alexander, another of a handful of buried studs in OSU’s receivers group. A lot can change between now and then but I got to think the QB1 job is the Oil Baron’s to lose in 2018.

• Oklahoma State went four-wide against Kansas, something many have been calling for since we started drooling over OSU’s wideout depth chart this summer. Oklahoma State went four-wide against Kansas.

• LD Brown leapfrogged true freshman J.D. King on the RB depth chart and toted the rock eight times for 48 yards (6 yards per carry) and two scores. King was on the sideline but did not play, even in garbage time. Freshman Ja’Ron Wilson instead spelled Brown for his first action since the Baylor game. Gundy noted after the game that King was banged up during the week.

• I guess we can say that OSU’s defense had a bounceback game. It’s honestly hard to toss too many roses at anyone’s feet when you read the other name on the scoreboard. But it took care of business, allowing just 1.2 points per drive. It did give up a 33-yard touchdown pass with 18 seconds left in the first half

• After Chad Whitener made his Senior Day mark with an interception early in the third quarter, Mason Rudolph aired it out to James Washington for one final TD inside BPS. Washington now has 38 career receiving TDs, just two shy of Justin Blackmon (No. 2) and four shy of Rashaun’s 42 and the all-time mark.

WATCH: Rudolph and Washington make it look easy as #OKState takes a 41-10 lead! pic.twitter.com/xTJBJloTCq

— Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) November 25, 2017

• Mason Rudolph broke Barry Sanders’ record for most TDs responsible for in a season with 45. He further padded his lead at now 106 on his career, 18 over No. 2 Zac Robinson. He will own all the records for QBs as well as the most important, his 31 wins as a starter. Did the season and his career end like most hoped or expected? No. But he is an all-time great football player at OSU.

• It was nice that the coaching staff was able to get seniors both on offense and defense a planned victory lap. That’s one of the perks of playing Kansas on Senior Day. Would I rather they be playing Oklahoma with something on the line other than pride? Absolutely.

We’ll have the next few weeks to really digest this season and most of the thoughts will center around what went wrong and what opportunities were squandered. But the fact that missing out on a conference title game is a let down tells you just how far Mike Gundy has elevated this program. Us old people remember when playing spoiler was a good as it got.