Superlatives: Justice’s Historic Scamper, McGruder’s Big Strip and More

STILLWATER — Oklahoma State pounced on Missouri State early and often in its season opener on Thursday night. The Cowboys scored 31 unanswered points over the first quarter-and-a-half to enter blowout territory well before halftime, and easily rode the wave of momentum to a dominant 58-17 win.

Let’s take a look at some of the superlatives from Game 1.

Most explosive play: Justice’s (near) TD scamper

Justice Hill surpassed the 100 yards rushing mark before Missouri State was in the positive in rushing yards on the night (!) thanks to a massive-gainer No. 5 ripped off in the final minute of the first quarter.

This 93-yard scamper, which originated from the 5-yard line, ended just shy of the end zone. But it was historic, no less, going down as the fourth-longest rush in school history.

WATCH: @jhill21_ takes off for 93 yards, the fourth-longest rushing play in #OKState history!

? #Big12FB on @FS1 pic.twitter.com/YclGbVe273

— Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) August 31, 2018

“It would’ve been nicer if I had gotten into the end zone,” said Hill.

Best strip job: Kenneth Edison-McGruder

Oklahoma State’s new-look 4-2-5 defense forced two turnovers, the latter of which came on the heels of a fumbled snap from QB Peyton Huslig. Its first? A full-blown strippage at the hands of the ninth president, Kenneth Edison-McGruder.

Biggest winner: The video board

Look, I was as thrilled as anyone about OSU’s new video board. I knew it’d rock. But it exceeded even my wildest expectations in action.

It stole the show (more on that later this week), and it significantly upgraded OSU’s in-game experience. From instant replays that are now actually visible (!), to highlight video pump-ups that got the crowd jumping, everyone is a winner (including the media!) because of Thursday’s biggest winner. It’s 110-feet of excitement packed into BPS, and makes for one super-replay-system in real-time.

The best GIF of the year. So far.

Bundage’s famous Conor McGregor celebration stole my heart last season. So you can imagine how surprised I was to see that, in Game 1, he already made the early case for GIF of the year with a celebration that wasn’t the McGregor swag surf.

Exactly how I thought Calvin Bundage would react to playing his first football game in eight months. pic.twitter.com/a4fy52ZpU9

— Pistols Firing (@pistolsguys) August 31, 2018

And as for that McGregor celebration? He told Pistols Firing that it’s not going away.

“You’ll definitely see it again this year,” he said.

My favorite play

As a majority shareholder in the stock of Chuba Hubbard, I am pleased to announce that I cashed in big on Thursday night. But not before briefly blacking out watching Chuba do this.

Chuba has some wheels, huh? pic.twitter.com/KfcjkLLZPA

— Pistols Firing (@pistolsguys) August 31, 2018

This is your fourth-string running back, folks! He proved what everyone suspected — that he’s absolutely electric in space — and if he continues to take advantage of his opportunities, we could be in for more Chuba more often.

Freshman who impressed

Side eyes Chuba’s classification: Redshirt freshman.

Really: Chuba was great. But among the true freshman, Kolby Peel caught my eye. Peel, listed at No. 2 at safety on the depth chart, played a healthy amount in the game and was consistently around the ball.

Kenneth Edison-McGruder agreed with my assessment.

“Kolby Peel, man, he definitely impressed me,” said McGruder. “I wanted him to get that pick. But he’s a baller. He knocked that ball down .. I wanted him to get that pick so bad.”