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Well, another long weather delay led to a late night for the Cowboys. This time they weren’t able to come out on top, falling to the Baylor Bears 35-24. Two costly turnovers, including a fumble inside the 5-yard line by freshman running back Justice Hill, played a huge part in the Cowboys demise. But, we can’t blame it all on turnovers, the Cowboys gave up too many big plays on defense and weren’t able to finish a few drives with points on the offensive end.
That being said, Mason Rudolph had a solid performance through the air going 27/45 for 279 yards. Not as impressive as his 540-yard outing last week, but he looked poised and made solid throws throughout the game. In addition, he showed that he is capable of making plays with his feet, which we hadn’t seen much of this year.
In line with that thought, this week’s the Play of the Game goes to Rudolph on his 25-yard scamper in the 4th quarter.
The Cowboys were facing 3rd and 23 and were down by 4 points at a crucial point in the game. QB1 couldn’t find anyone open down field, so he took matters into his own hands. Rudolph took off around the right side, made one pump fake to freeze the defensive back, then took off up the middle of the field and dove for the first down. Some quarterbacks would slide in that spot and end up short of the first down, but Mason was determined to move the chains for his team. It’s a little scary seeing your starting QB dive head first in between two defenders, but he came out unharmed and got the first down.
Coach Gundy was pleased with Rudolph’s ability to move around against the Bears:
Gundy says Rudolph had his best game in terms of scrambling against Baylor. #okstate
— Nathan Ruiz (@NathanSRuiz) September 26, 2016
There was also this play, equally as terrifying as the play above (please don’t get hurt), where Mason decided to channel his inner Marshawn Lynch, on the same drive, and go #beastmode through a Baylor defender.
It’s disappointing that Oklahoma State wasn’t able to pull it out, but there were some positive takeaways that the Cowboys can build on as they progress through the season.
Honorable mention goes to Motekiai Maile deflecting a Seth Russell pass and Jordan Burton grabbing the ball out of the air for the interception.