Oklahoma State 59, Baylor 16
When: 3:30 PM ET, Saturday, October 14, 2017
Where: Boone Pickens Stadium, Stillwater, Oklahoma
Temperature:
89°
Head Official:
Mike Defee
Attendance:
56790
By The Sports Xchange
STILLWATER, Okla. -- Quarterback Mason Rudolph has done big things at Oklahoma State such as directing a school-record 747 yards of offense Saturday.
But the performance was also personal.
Rudolph, who had been 0-3 against Baylor, had a heavy hand in his first victory over the Bears, a 59-16 rout for the No. 14-ranked Cowboys before a sellout crowd at Boone Pickens Stadium.
"Finally did it," said Rudolph, who has now beaten every team in the Big 12. "That definitely checks a box. But we're moving on. That's that. Plenty of games left."
Maybe big games, too, if the Cowboys (5-1, 2-1 Big 12) can produce like that offensively.
Rudolph tied a school record with his seventh career 400-yard passing game, finishing with 459 yards and three touchdowns. Wideout James Washington tied another school mark with his third career 200-yard receiving game, going for 235 and a touchdown. Marcell Ateman posted a 119-yard receiving day, with a score.
And running back Justice Hill ran for 117 yards and a touchdown, giving the Cowboys a 400-yard passer, two 100-yard receivers and a 100-yard rusher for the fourth time in program history. Overall, seven Oklahoma State players scored.
"I thought Mason Rudolph was fantastic," Baylor coach Matt Rhule said. "The receivers made a lot of plays down the field. I thought the back was special. I want to make sure I give credit where credit is due. I thought they played an outstanding game."
Baylor, which had shown signs of life with back-to-back competitive games against Oklahoma and Kansas State, fell to 0-6 for the first time since 1969, when it finished 0-10. The Bears are 0-3 in league play.
"I mean, it's awful losing this many games in a row," Bears quarterback Zach Smith said, "but we are going to come back and we are going to get better. I think that has been noticeable that every week we have come back and we have fought. So we are going to keep doing that."
After a fast start and a 7-0 lead by the Bears, it was all Oklahoma State -- with contributions coming from everywhere. Baylor scored first, suggesting a shootout might be in order.
The Bears took the opening kickoff and marched 75 yards in 12 plays. They got a break at the end, when Smith scrambled on third down at the Cowboys 4, was hit and fumbled. But the ball bounced forward into the end zone and into the arms of reserve running back Tristan Ebner for the touchdown.
The 6:37 drive was Baylor's longest for a score this season.
But an offense that had thrived on big plays was soon sputtering. Smith, averaging 326.6 yards per game before Saturday, completed only 11-of-28 throws for 127 yards, with no touchdowns and an interception before being lifted in the fourth quarter. Running back Terence Williams gave the running game a boost with 95 yards rushing on 10 carries, yet Baylor managed only field goals the rest of the way.
"Scoring is what matters," Cowboys defensive coordinator Glenn Spencer said. "16 points, that's pretty stout."
And as the Oklahoma State defense tightened, Rudolph and the offense took control.
By the end of the half, the Cowboys led 35-10, with Rudolph producing three touchdowns -- two passing and one rushing. During the half, he directed five straight touchdown drives. On the first two, he tossed touchdown passes to wideouts Ateman and Jalen McCleskey to send Oklahoma State in front 14-7.
After Baylor closed the gap to 14-10 on a 38-yard field goal by Connor Martin, the Cowboys got three more touchdowns, one on a 79-yard run by Hill, followed by 1-yard TD runs by Rudolph and reserve tailback J.D. King.
NOTES: Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy spent one year at Baylor, serving as the Bears' passing game coordinator in 1996. The coaching staff was fired following that season. ... The Cowboys were without starting C Brad Lundblade, who suffered a foot injury two weeks prior at Texas Tech. ... Entering the game, Bears' receivers led all of FBS in receptions of at least 40 (11 times), 60 (six) and 70 yards (six). Baylor's longest pass play against Oklahoma State was 21 yards, and that came in the fourth quarter.
Top Game Performances
Team Stats Summary
|
Yards |
Scoring |
Defense |
Team |
Tot |
Rus |
Pas |
TD |
FG |
INT |
Sck |
FF |
Baylor
|
387 |
219 |
168 |
2 |
3 |
0 |
0.0 |
1 |
Oklahoma State
|
747 |
276 |
471 |
8 |
1 |
2 |
1.0 |
2 |