Rudolph’s mobility hinders Hokies
Oklahoma State beat Virginia Tech 30-21 Thursday night in the Camping World Bowl, and it was a solid performance, though things got a little hairy late, needlessly, and the grades reflect it:
Rudolph mobility
A Mason Rudolph continued to show he’s not a statue in the pocket. Rudolph consistently evaded the Virginia Tech rush to extend plays. On OSU’s touchdown drive in the final 90 seconds of the first half, Rudolph sidestepped the Hokies to deliver an 11-yard completion to Marcell Ateman. To open the second half, Rudolph scrambled for a 19-yard gain, then threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Dillon Stoner by dashing out of the pocket and throwing on the run.
Tackling
C The Cowboy defense did not tackle well in the first half, when the Hokies rushed for 162 yards. OSU did not contain quarterback Josh Jackson, who scrambled and bulled for precious yardage, and tailbacks
Deshawn McClease and Steven Peoples repeatedly broke tackles. OSU’s tackling improved in the second half.
Pageantry
A College football is supposed to be fun, and the Virginia Tech band did its part. The Marching Virginians broke out into the “Hokey Pokey” — wonder if they spell it “Hokie Pokey?” — complete with tuba players dancing at the front.
Finding Washington
B Biletnikoff Award winner James Washington was a non-factor in the first half. On OSU’s first possession, a Rudolph deep ball barely missed Washington, and the only other pass in the half that came his way was a shovel, for no yards. But in the third quarter, when OSU ran only 12 plays, four of them were passes with Washington as the target. He caught three of them for 91 yards, and OSU scored two touchdowns. Washington finished with five catches for 126 yards.
Matt Ammendola
A The oft-maligned kicker came up big, with three field goals. All were from reasonable distance — 31, 36, 38 yards — but the latter came with the game on the line, OSU clinging to a 27-21 lead with less than three minutes left.
Killer instinct
D The Cowboys dominated the middle two quarters, and when Rudolph hit Washington with a 35-yard deep ball to open the fourth quarter, the game should have been over. But OSU’s next two drives stalled in Virginia Tech territory. A 4th-and-2 pass was dropped by fullback Sione Finefeuiaki, when the Cowboys would have been inside the Hokie 30-yard line. The next drive ended on a fourth-down sack on a play that began from the VPI 31-yard line. That stagnation allowed the Hokies to stay in the game.
Pass defense
B Any time you win a game losing both cornerbacks (Rodarius Williams and
A.J. Green) to injury, there should be no complaints. And for the most part, OSU’s pass defense held up quite well, even considering that Virginia Tech does not pose a fearsome pass threat. But in the Hokies’ final two drives, OSU allowed Jackson to complete 10 of 15 passes for 123 yards. A seven-play touchdown drive midway through the fourth kept the Hokies in the game. Senior cornerback Darius Curry had a big interception in the third quarter, and safety Ramon
Richards moved to back cornerback and made some plays.