Rudolph, Washington Revel in Final Homecoming Game, ‘Cherished Every Moment’

It’s a strange thing to type that Mason Rudolph and James Washington have played in their final Homecoming game. Aside: It’s going to be even stranger here in a month when they’re playing their last home game ever against Kansas over Thanksgiving. But those two have played some gems over their four years in Stillwater on Homecoming, and Saturday’s 59-16 rout was the latest example.

In 2014, OSU lost to West Virginia. Rudolph didn’t play, but Washington had a game-high 5 catches for 87 yards from Daxx Garman. In 2015, OSU hammered Kansas as Rudolph completed 20 of 26 passes and Washington had another 103 yards. Last year, OSU housed a top 10 West Virginia team. And this year they housed a bottom 10 Baylor team.

Four years, three wins and three either blowouts or borderline blowouts. Those two and others reflected on what Homecoming means to them on Saturday.

“It was great,” said Rudolph. “The atmosphere was great from the start and it was packed. The offense was moving the ball and the defense was getting turnovers and stops. It’s just an awesome feeling. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else for Homecoming.”

“It was a lot of fun, especially for being my last one,” added Washington who tallied 542 Homecoming receiving yards in his career. “I cherished every moment out there and each of the fans that came out to support us.”

But it wasn’t just Washington and Rudolph who enjoyed their final HoCo weekend. Senior Gyasi Akem (who got his first career interception) and redshirt senior Darius Curry also said farewell to the orangest weekend of the year.

“It’s fun. I’ve been around here for a while and it’s probably the best environment I’ve been around in college football,” said Akem. “The fans love us and we love them and want to come out here to perform and see the reactions. Every game is exciting here, but Homecoming has something a little bit extra special about it. You get to see your family and friends and so it’s always a good time.”

“It is a great experience for my first Homecoming to actually have played,” added Curry. “The atmosphere is live. I think this is the best atmosphere that I’ve played in since I’ve been playing at Oklahoma State. It’s pretty much the same as a regular game, but it was much louder this time. We got the fans involved and the defense had a nice tempo to get everyone involved in the game.”

They certainly did. And now they take a 5-1 record to the second half of the season as they try and give a senior night crowd something even better to cheer about.