By Michael Doutey
The Oklahoma State Cowboys advance to 2-0 after thumping South Alabama 55-13 Saturday night inside Boone Pickens Stadium. The Pokes had some really good moments and then some not so good moments.
It wasn’t the smoothest game we’ve ever seen. The Cowboys had a strong hold of the game throughout but especially in the second half. The offense was really solid in the first half but hit some turbulence in the second half. The defense got stronger has the game went along, having some issues at times in the first half. But OSU worked their way through those moments on their way to a dominating win.
The Pokes wrap up what I am calling their two preseason games with big wins over Missouri State and tonight’s over USA. OSU now looks toward a daunting test against talented Boise State. But first, here are tonight’s five observations.
1. Cornelius was Better
Corn had really good numbers again this week, completing 25 of his 40 pass attempts for 428 yards and one touchdown. I said in the pregame writeup and on the pregame show, the stats didn’t really matter to me tonight. I wanted to see him look more comfortable and decisive and tonight he was. He was also accurate and on time with his passes, hitting receivers in stride. Now, what most people will remember is the two interceptions. His first pick was a really nice play by the South Alabama defender. He took a shot and the defense made a nice play. Gundy said that is going to happen in this offense. But the one in the end zone was really unfortunate. It was a bad throw and a bad decision. Mike Yurcich said interceptions in the end zone are “unforgivable.” Yes, those are bad. I am not saying otherwise. But I saw some good play from Corn tonight. If you want to compare, Mason Rudolph was 25-28 for 335 yards and three touchdowns last year against this team. Corn threw for 93 more yards. He played well but still has things to work on. Decision making in the red zone is one of them. But overall, this was a much better game from Corn.
2. Tylan Wallace Emerges into Playmaker
We saw some glimpses of Tylan last season. Last week he really looked good in his first start. But tonight he was great and showed us just how good he can be. Wallace had 10 catches for 166 yards (which are both career highs) and one touchdown. Wallace displayed his entire repertoire tonight. He was excellent with the deep ball, out routes, slants and basically was untouchable as he drew at least two pass interference penalties. But he also made a huge block on Chuba Hubbard’s touchdown run. He really displayed it all tonight and is emerging as OSU’s best receiver.
TOUCHDOWN POKES!@CowboyFB launches a rocket to the back corner and finds 6! #GoPokes | #Big12FB pic.twitter.com/5h67UKsyyu
— FOX Sports Southwest (@FOXSportsSW) September 9, 2018
3. Hello, Tyron Johnson
In game one, Johnson didn’t get much going. Tonight, he exploded. He also had a career night with five catches for 137 yards and had a rushing touchdown on a jet sweep. He really made some big plays where he displayed his ability to run after the catch. Johnson is a supreme talent and he reminded us all about what he is all about tonight. OSU is showed once again the depth of their receiving core.
WATCH: Cornelius to Johnson and Wallace takes #OKState 71 yards and into the end zone in just 23 seconds!
#Big12FB on @FOXSports pic.twitter.com/5k0sXKsURV
— Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) September 9, 2018
DON’T BLINK!
Run the board, @CowboyFB! Add another 6 to the stat sheet for the Pokes!#GoPokes | #Big12FB | @Big12Conference pic.twitter.com/rYbwsayEpk
— FOX Sports Oklahoma (@FOXSportsOK) September 9, 2018
4. Defensive Shutdown in the 2nd Half
There was some sloppy play in the first half. OSU wasn’t tackling well and Mike Gundy and Jim Knowles both pointed it out in the post game. South Alabama got into a bit of a rhythm. They scored twice in the first half, one off a nice long drive and another on an easy touchdown throw after a big special teams mistake giving USA a very short field. But in the second half OSU allowed just 65 yards total. OSU was dialed in and Gundy felt like it was due to better tackling. They also had a pick six by Devin Harper. Tonight OSU had 11 tackles for loss and three sacks. Calvin Bundage was all over the place and continues to be a standout for the OSU defense. OSU held USA 3 of 17 on third down conversions. Another solid night from the defense who will truly be put to the test next week against Boise St.
INTERCEPTION
THE HOUSE
Devin Harper delivers the pick 6 for @CowboyFB!#GoPokes | #Big12FB pic.twitter.com/0CxF6Y3h9c
— FOX Sports Oklahoma (@FOXSportsOK) September 9, 2018
THE HOUSE5. Offensive Line Concerns
One of the hopes Gundy had for the season was for an improved offensive line. Thus far, they look to be on par with the last few seasons. OSU really struggled to run the football tonight. OSU ran for just 164 yards on an average of 3.7 yards per carry. Again, the Cowboys struggled to run the ball inside the five. Corn has some more pressure in his face and was sacked three times. USA had 11 tackles for loss, which is a concern. OSU did a decent job running the football last season but also struggled with USA a season ago too. OSU in 2017 vs. USA rushed for 163 yards on a 4.4 yards per carry average. Tonight, Chuba Hubbard lead the team in rushing yards with 46 yards on six carries and scored a touchdown. Justice Hill rushed for just 32 yards but did score two touchdowns. Some of it was that USA was playing the run, much like they did last season. But they also had some missed assignments that Gundy wasn’t thrilled with after the game. It is a concern with how they’ve played the past two weeks, but they have time to get better throughout the season.
WATCH: Justice Hill gets his second touchdown of the night, pushing the #OKState lead to 31-13 right before halftime
#Big12FB on @FOXSports pic.twitter.com/An1oExrUzh
— Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) September 9, 2018
Rolling…Rolling…Rolling…
In Hubbard we trust!
@CowboyFB keeps stacking early in the fourth! #GoPokes pic.twitter.com/HG6AnZBIw8
— FOX Sports Oklahoma (@FOXSportsOK) September 9, 2018
Rolling…Rolling…Rolling…
Next for Oklahoma State is a very good Boise State team. Kickoff is at 2:30 inside Boone Pickens Stadium. This is a big test for this team and we’ll see just how good they can be next week.