Pittsburgh Debriefing: OSU Passes Its First Test with Flying Colors

Oklahoma State went to an NFL stadium for its first real test of the year and walked onto the field like it knew all the answers. The Cowboys put up some gaudy numbers, made some impressive plays (and some history) and head into Big 12 play with no red flags in tow.

Let’s debrief this impressive win over Pitt.

The short story

Oklahoma State scored early and often finishing its first seven drives in the end zone. Its defense facilitated a quick 35-zip lead controlling Pitt’s ground game and basically making the second half irrelevant.

Mason Rudolph set some records, several receivers had big days and there was a regrettable special teams snafu. Basically, a normal day at the office for Mike Gundy’s squad.

Who Earned A Marshal Badge?

Offense: Mason Rudolph

Rudolph broke his own Oklahoma State record for passing yards in a half with 423. He also tied Josh Fields’ OSU record with five passing TDs in one half. He also tied Zac Robinson for second-most TD passes in school history with 66.

Entering the game, Rudolph was riding a streak of 185 straight attempts without an interception. The school record of 194 was set by Brandon Weeden back in 2011. Rudolph hit 216 before the discussion finally jinxed him. He threw a pick on his 32nd and final attempt of the day and Gundy pulled him before he or his Heisman statement suffered any unnecessary abuse.

Rudolph did leave Heisman voters with this statement play on a third-and-long in the first quarter.

https://youtu.be/0AFmIK1sWXo?t=27m56s

Defense: Justin Phillips

Phillips has proven over his three-plus years in Stillwater that when he’s given the opportunity he produces. The unsung Bedlam 2014 hero redshirted in Year 2 and has worked his way into a starting role at Will linebacker after a promising 2016 campaign.

On Saturday inside of Heinz Stadium, Phillips tallied five total tackles, a pass breakup and an atonement for Mason Rudolph’s lone sin in Pittsburgh. Just two plays after Rudolph’s interception, Phillips caught this deflected pass and hustled into the end zone for his second pick-6 in as many weeks.

https://youtu.be/0AFmIK1sWXo?t=1h34m57s

Unsung Hero: Jalen McCleskey

I don’t know if the game’s leading receiver counts as “unsung” but I’m going to give McCleskey the nod here for his big turnaround after a rough start to the season.

McCleskey logged minus-2 yards receiving and a costly punt return gaff in Week 1 followed by just 19 yards in Mobile in Week 2. His performance in Pittsburgh on the other hand was perfect.

He tied James Washington for most targets from Rudolph, seven each. But McCleskey made the most of his, catching all seven balls for a career-high 162 yards and three touchdowns (also a career high).

Pitt was determined to limit Washington and Oklahoma State’s outside threats so Rudolph looked inside and found “Lil Sho” for catches of 26, 27, 40 and 48 yards and Rudolph’s third, fourth and fifth TDs on the day.

It was over when

Can I say the coin toss? There’s a little truth to that, actually. Pitt elected to kick the opening ball to the Cowboys and it was mostly downhill from there for the Panthers. Mason Rudolph left the sidelines seven-straight times to start the game and each time he returned with seven more points to show for it.

The result was pretty much etched in stone when the Cowboys went up 35-zilch early in the second quarter. Pitt made some plays during the 30-plus minutes of garbage time but had no answers for the Cowboys’ offensive attack.

Questions for Week 4

Team Health

Mike Gundy stated after the game that he expects starting right tackle Zach Crabtree and wide receiver Chris Lacy to play in OSU’s Big 12 opener against TCU next Saturday. That’s good news. Starting Star linebacker Kenneth Edison-McGruder’s status is more of a concern. He missed his second-straight game after an in-practice injury. It’s a linebacker corps that lost second-teamer Kevin Henry for the year as well and can’t afford many more DNPs as it heads into the meat of its schedule.

Pass Protection

While we can all get fired up by Mason Rudolph’s best Big Ben impersonation shown above, I’m not super fired up by how much pressure Pitt’s defense was able to get on QB1. He was sacked just once but had to evade pressure several times. I like that Mason can go Johnny Football if need be, but there will be far better pass rushes than Pitt’s in the way of a Big 12 championship.

Can his O-line give Rudolph enough breathing room to chase down history?