The Day After - It's Happening!

A win over a three-win Iowa State team probably won't tell the College Football Playoff Committee very much, in fact, if we know them at all, they'll probably dock Oklahoma State for winning. But there are some things to take away from yesterdays game.

1) OSU Has A Running Quarterback Problem

Quarterbacks who have any semblance of the ability to run the ball have been pretty good against OSU this year. The Big 12 is full of those. In eight of the Cowboys 10 games this year, the opposing teams quarterback has gotten past the 40 rushing yard mark. The only times it didn't happen were Taylor Reed for UCA (nine rushes for 16) and Ryan Willis for Kansas (five for -20). The other eight starters have put up a total of 529 rushing yards on 121 carries, or 4.37 yards a carry, and eight touchdowns. This might not be something to kill OSU on, but it's definitely something to watch. Especially with two teams in Baylor and OU who aren't afraid to let their quarterbacks move.

If you were to take the total amount of rushing yards OSU has allowed and took the quarterbacks out, you'd have 1,046. Quarterbacks account for just over 33 percent of opponent rush yards on the year and eight of the 16 rushing touchdowns allowed.

2) That Being Said, This Defensive Line Isn't At Fault

People are going to look to blame someone and that's fine. But don't look at the front four. Emmanuel Ogbah is now the active leader in sacks in the country with 26 in his career. He has 11 sacks on the year and every time the opposing teams take a snap, you can see Ogbah making a whole lot of something out of a whole lot of nothing. He's not alone, his partners in Vincent Taylor and now Trace Clark, Jarrell Owens and company have all done great things and totaled up to 35 sacks on the year. That's more than last year (33) and more since OSU had 37 in 2006. OSU hasn't had a 40-sack season since 1998.

3) Mason Rudolph

I'm not sure we can say it enough, but this has got it. There are reports that there was an upper respiratory infection going around the locker room. Apparently, Rudolph was one of the few who had gotten hit by it. Instead of using it as an excuse or looking bad in Ames, Rudolph impressed, completing 24 of his 36 passes for 327 yards and a touchdown. In his 13 games as a starter - which is about the length of a normal freshman year - Rudolph has a total of 4,014 yards, 24 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. The thing is, it could be so much better. Not to take away from J.W. Walsh and what he's done, but if he wasn't the backup, Rudolph may have even more touchdowns and more yards.

He does not, though, and instead if the season ended yesterday and started when Rudolph took control in Waco all those months ago, he'd have just finished the third best quarterback season in OSU history. The other two are owned by Brandon Weeden.

4) This Rushing Game, Though

It's not good. Chris Carson had his first touchdown and best day since the Cowboys played UTSA. That isn't acceptable. However, there are plenty of teams out there that have holes like the Cowboys. Certain top 10 teams that the playoff committee is in love with are certainly one dimensional. OSU will need to run next week against Baylor, but not having the run game isn't going to be the end of the world.

5) OU Is Looking Nice

Who's up for Bedlam being the conference championship game? After last nights win against Baylor, OU looks like it is primed to make that happen. Baylor has shown its holes the past two weeks against KSU and OU, so this week is as winnable as the other 10 were. OSU will need to solve that rushing quarterback problem though.

6) That Escalated Quickly

It was early July when I started looking at the OSU schedule. To be honest, TCU looked and should be this conferences best team. But a few lucky breaks and a great outing from the offense made Oklahoma State the only undefeated team in the Big 12 on November 14, 2015, only about four months later. The Big 12 is as unpredictable as Oklahoma weather, the only thing I can tell you is don't blink because you could miss this ride. Rudolph is now 12-1 as a starter and has a win over every Big 12 team, except Baylor.

Could this be the year Baylor finally beats the Cowboys in Stillwater? Probably, but it's also likely that Rudolph gets his revenge against the Bears that welcomed into the college football world.