Texas Debriefing: Cornelius Deserves His Moment in the Sun, All the Fanfare

The Cowboys took care of the Longhorns in dramatic fashion, downing the No. 6 team in the nation 38-35 and providing a much-needed boost for a program and fanbase that was reeling a bit after a 1-3 Big 12 start.

There were countless big plays, some head-scratching calls and a healthy pinch of controversy. So let’s debrief.

The Short Story

For the first time in what seemed like forever, the Cowboys started fast, popping the ‘Horns in the snout and taking control of the game early. There were some missed opportunities that I assumed would come back to bite the Pokes, like coming up empty and settling for 3 in the red zone, but the Cowboys retained their composure and control of the game.

OSU’s defense held Sam Ehlinger in check and kept his receivers from going off, and its offense was able to sustain drives for the most part. As a result, the Cowboys were in the driver’s seat from the opening kick. The Pokes, who rank last in the Big 12 in time of possession, kept the ball away from the third-ranked team for 34:28 of 60 minutes.

For once it wasn’t the Cowboys who shot themselves in the foot with penalties. There were some questionable penalty calls going both ways and then an on-field scrum that set Twitter ablaze.

Who Earned a Marshal Badge That Beautiful Old School Brand?

Offense: Taylor Cornelius

Who else? No one earned the fanfare more — or probably looked like he enjoyed it less — than Taylor Cornelius. It’s been an up-and-down season for the former walk-on but with all of the questions surrounding his viability as QB1 and a long bye week following his worst career game to let them sink in, he came out with an edge and turned in his most impressive performance as a Cowboy.

Corn Dog was responsible for all five of OSU’s touchdowns including two on the ground. When a play needed to be made, he made it. He limited mistakes and put the team on his back.

He’s never going to be considered one of the elite QBs to come through Stillwater but he’s been tough as hell and proven he’s a gamer. There was something special about watching Cornelius celebrate with his teammates after this huge play.

Defense: OSU’s Secondary

The oft-maligned back end of the Cowboys’ defense came to play on Saturday night. A group that has taken its lumps over the year mostly contained the Longhorns’ vaunted receiving corps.

Lil’Jordan Humphrey and Collin Johnson combined for a pedestrian (by their standard)  nine combined catches for 134 yards and zero scores. The group played well as a whole, as Mike Gundy pointed out post-game.

“I thought 4, and 8, and 24, and 20, and 31 and 3 did a good job of defending really long, talented receivers and I think that was the difference in the game in my opinion,” said Gundy.

Questions for Baylor

It wasn’t a perfect game for OSU by any stretch. After holding the Longhorns scoreless on four straight possessions, and in seven of eight, the Cowboys defense gave up 21 points in four drives from the end of the third quarter on. But give Texas some credit for fighting back and OSU some for making the plays to get the W.

The aforementioned red zone woes should also be concerning for Mike Gundy and Co. The two missed field goals were hopefully an aberration for Matt Ammendola who has been ? all year. One of those actually falls at the feet of the golden boy, Cornelius, for taking one of a couple bad sacks that put the Pokes behind the chains.

Play of the Game

When it came down to the wire, Taylor Cornelius came through. He willed his team to a win with grit and moxie and when it his team needed a play, he made some huge ones. None was bigger than the Cowboys’ only second half score. Just like Cornelius it was a bit unconventional, somewhat controversial and even more polarizing.

Bonus Play of the Game (because I wanted to watch it again).