S. Alabama Debriefing: Tyron Gets Touches, DL Dominates and the Wild Wacky World of Kicking

Oklahoma State went on the road in Week 2 and beat up on a Sun Belt opponent in an oversized high school stadium in front of a slightly oversized high school crowd. There were some sloppy plays and ugly drives but Oklahoma State’s two best players made a little history and its defense shined.

Let’s debrief.

The Short Story

The Pokes took it to the Jaguars with a fast-paced fury that was not always pretty. But even an opening three-and-out, settling for three field goals in the first half and a few head-scratching penalties couldn’t slow down the Cowboys. With a 41-0 lead in the third quarter and history already made, Mason Rudolph was on the sideline hacking it up with his wideouts while Keondre Wudtee got his feet wet.

OSU’s defense was dominating, especially up front. There is so much speed and depth. If the Cowboys can do a decent job of avoiding injury, this group should just get better as the season goes on.

Who earned a marshal badge?

Offense: Mason Rudolph

This is a no-brainer. Rudolph took over for Brandon Weeden as the all-time passing leader at Oklahoma State and did it in style. He worked through a couple of hiccups early but finished with 335 yards and three scores in the air and one on the ground. By the way, let’s cut down on those QB runs when the game is not in question.

Rudolph spread the ball around with six different receivers getting five or more targets — James Washington wasn’t one of them. Tyron Johnson got six targets after his one-target, one-catch, one-TD debut. He caught four passes for 43 yards and, yep, still looks the part. This video starts during a scoring drive in the first half where the Bag Man gets two straight catches.

Defense: Defensive Line

Oklahoma State owned the Jags in the trenches on Friday night. Jarrell Owens wasted no time in grabbing two solo tackles for loss in the first quarter and claiming the DL flag at the top of the mountain.

But then came DeQuinton Osborne with this early sack and a recovered fumble and all the overall disruptive play. Then Jordan Brailford returned to 2015 Sugar Bowl form with his sack and 1.5 tackles for loss. Cole Watersheid forced a fumble. Darrion Daniels tipped a pass that ended with an OSU defensive score.

https://youtu.be/QDkYrxMFbnY?t=7m32s

Trey Carter stuck his nose in. Enoch Smith Jr. had a sack. Taaj Bakari recorded a tackle for loss. But the numbers didn’t tell the whole story. OSU’s defensive line dominated a lesser opponent. It was something they were supposed to do but not something we saw as much in Week 1.

Unsung Hero: Chris Lacy

It’s not the sexiest name on that star-studded receiver depth chart but Chris Lacy has turned into a ballplayer. He took a leap in 2016 with Marcell Ateman’s absence but the crowded receiver room hasn’t kept Lacy from making plays.

On Friday night, Lacy was a first-down machine along the sideline. He and Ateman each shared the lead of seven targets from Rudolph and he paid his off for four catches and four first downs, including the pass the put Rudolph past Weeden in career yardage. Lacy would have had a fifth first down if not for an “illegal touching” penalty.

https://youtu.be/QDkYrxMFbnY?t=1h4m1s

It was Over when

Justin Phillips rocked the Jags to sleep with Oklahoma State’s 41st non-offensive TD since 2010.

https://youtu.be/QDkYrxMFbnY?t=1h43m41s

Questions for Week 3

New Kicking-Game Strategy?

As Carson pointed out on the postgame show, Matt Ammendola might be bizarro Ben Grogan. Line him up outside of 45 yards and he’s automatic. Bring him inside of 40 and things get dicey. With his talent and range, I don’t see Mike Gundy benching him. And I don’t know if you want to have placekicker by committee for a position where confidence is key. So either Gundy goes for it more often on the close ones or he takes three-straight delay-of-game penalties to get Ammendola to his sweet spot.

Punt Returner

Mike Gundy has a lot of trust in Jalen McCleskey. He’s stuck with him on punt returns through some questionable plays including the that fiasco against Tulsa. It didn’t end on Friday night when he went backwards to field one that he probably should have let bounce then caught one that he should have signaled for a fair catch before getting wiped out. Luckily, that didn’t turn into another gaffe. Is McCleskey just that much better in Gundy’s eyes than the rest of the roster? Why not give Dillon Stoner a couple tries?

Star Linebacker Depth

It sounds like Kirk Tucker will get the nod at the versatile Star linebacker with Calvin Bundage disqualified for the first half due to a targeting penalty. Week 1 starter Kenneth Edison-McGruder is rehabbing from an injury he sustained during practice and is questionable for next Saturday.