Oklahoma State University Athletics
Photo by: Bruce Waterfield
10 Reasons Why OSU's Win Over Tulsa Mattered
September 01, 2017 | Cowboy Football
STILLWATER – The No. 10 Oklahoma State football team rolled to a 59-24 win over Tulsa in Thursday night's season opener. The Cowboys finished with 640 yards of offense with 332 rushing yards and 308 passing yards to push Mike Gundy's career record in home openers to 13-0. Some other key notes on the win:
The Oklahoma State win…
• Marked its sixth-straight win over Tulsa and its 10th win in the last 12 meetings with the Golden Hurricane.
• Improved OSU's all-time record in season openers to 70-41-5, all-time record in season openers at home to 49-7-4 and all-time record in home openers to 83-28-5.
• Gave the Cowboys wins in nine of their last 10, 12 of their last 14 and 29 of their last 37 season openers.
• Marked OSU's 22nd-straight win in a home opener and 42nd win in its last 48 home openers.
• Improved Mike Gundy's record in non-conference games to 42-11 and his record against Tulsa to 3-0.
• Improved OSU to 25-5 in its last 30 non-conference games.
• Gave OSU wins in nine of its last 10 games overall.
• Improved OSU to 53-6 in its last 59 games against unranked opponents, dating back to 2010.
• Made OSU 33-7 at home since the start of the 2011 season.
• Improved quarterback Mason Rudolph's career record as a starter to 23-6, tying him with Brandon Weeden and Zac Robinson for the second most wins by a starting quarterback in school history.
Standout performers included the following:
Offense
Mason Rudolph | Quarterback | 6-5 | 230 | Senior | Rock Hill, SC
· Went 20-for-24 passing with 303 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions, and did not even play in the fourth quarter.
· Finished with a passer rating of 230.6.
· Added a one-yard rushing touchdown.
· Completed four passes for at least 40 yards, including gains of 77 (TD), 49, 44 (TD) and 40 (TD) yards.
· Was 4-of-5 passing for 67 yards and a touchdown when throwing on third down.
· Directed three touchdown drives that each took less than 33 seconds.
· Improved his streak of passes without an interception to 147, ranking as the third longest in school history and the second longest of his career.
· Increased his career touchdown pass total to 58 to pass Mike Gundy for third place in OSU history.
· Joined Brandon Weeden as the only two players in OSU history to surpass 9,000 career passing yards.
· Increased his career completions to 617 to pass Zac Robinson for third in OSU history.
Defense
Kenneth Edison-McGruder | Linebacker | 6-0 | 220 | Junior | Houston, TX
· Returned a Tulsa fumble 82 yards for a touchdown near the end of the third quarter to effectively seal OSU's 59-24 win over TU.
· That marked the fourth longest fumble return in school history and the longest since a 93-yard return by T. Robinson at Kansas in 2002.
· Also broke up a Chad President pass attempt for Nigel Carter earlier in that drive.
· Sacked Tulsa quarterback Chad President for a loss of 11 yards in the second quarter to force a third-and-21 which subsequently stopped the TU drive.
· Finished with five total tackles, including four solo stops, a sack and tackle for loss.
Special Teams
Matt Ammendola | Kicker | 5-9 | 195 | R-Sophomore | Lansdale, PA
· Tulsa never started past its own 25 yard line on any of Ammendola's nine kickoffs.
· Kicked off nine times with six touchbacks.
· His hang time and direction on the three kickoffs that did not go into the end zone allowed the coverage unit to pin Tulsa deep in their own territory.
· Tulsa's starting field position on those three kickoffs its own 7-, 17- and 22-yard lines.
· Tulsa average starting field position from Ammedola's kickoffs was its own 21.8 yard line.
· He also handled all of OSU's placekicking in the game, going 8-for-8 on PAT attempts and adding a 24-yard field goal.
· Scored 11 points in the game.
Newcomer
J.D. King | Running Back | 5-11 | 205 | Freshman | Fitzgerald, GA
· Rushed for a 71-yard touchdown on his second career carry.
· That marked OSU's longest rushing play since Herschel Sims had an 81-yard touchdown against Baylor on Oct. 29, 2011.
· Finished with 95 yards and a touchdown on just six carries.
· Averaged 15.8 yards per carry.
· Rushed three straight plays in the third quarter to bulldoze his way from the TU 20 to the TU 1 to set up a 1-yard Mason Rudolph touchdown run and help seal the OSU win over Tulsa.
The Oklahoma State win…
• Marked its sixth-straight win over Tulsa and its 10th win in the last 12 meetings with the Golden Hurricane.
• Improved OSU's all-time record in season openers to 70-41-5, all-time record in season openers at home to 49-7-4 and all-time record in home openers to 83-28-5.
• Gave the Cowboys wins in nine of their last 10, 12 of their last 14 and 29 of their last 37 season openers.
• Marked OSU's 22nd-straight win in a home opener and 42nd win in its last 48 home openers.
• Improved Mike Gundy's record in non-conference games to 42-11 and his record against Tulsa to 3-0.
• Improved OSU to 25-5 in its last 30 non-conference games.
• Gave OSU wins in nine of its last 10 games overall.
• Improved OSU to 53-6 in its last 59 games against unranked opponents, dating back to 2010.
• Made OSU 33-7 at home since the start of the 2011 season.
• Improved quarterback Mason Rudolph's career record as a starter to 23-6, tying him with Brandon Weeden and Zac Robinson for the second most wins by a starting quarterback in school history.
Standout performers included the following:
Offense
Mason Rudolph | Quarterback | 6-5 | 230 | Senior | Rock Hill, SC
· Went 20-for-24 passing with 303 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions, and did not even play in the fourth quarter.
· Finished with a passer rating of 230.6.
· Added a one-yard rushing touchdown.
· Completed four passes for at least 40 yards, including gains of 77 (TD), 49, 44 (TD) and 40 (TD) yards.
· Was 4-of-5 passing for 67 yards and a touchdown when throwing on third down.
· Directed three touchdown drives that each took less than 33 seconds.
· Improved his streak of passes without an interception to 147, ranking as the third longest in school history and the second longest of his career.
· Increased his career touchdown pass total to 58 to pass Mike Gundy for third place in OSU history.
· Joined Brandon Weeden as the only two players in OSU history to surpass 9,000 career passing yards.
· Increased his career completions to 617 to pass Zac Robinson for third in OSU history.
Defense
Kenneth Edison-McGruder | Linebacker | 6-0 | 220 | Junior | Houston, TX
· Returned a Tulsa fumble 82 yards for a touchdown near the end of the third quarter to effectively seal OSU's 59-24 win over TU.
· That marked the fourth longest fumble return in school history and the longest since a 93-yard return by T. Robinson at Kansas in 2002.
· Also broke up a Chad President pass attempt for Nigel Carter earlier in that drive.
· Sacked Tulsa quarterback Chad President for a loss of 11 yards in the second quarter to force a third-and-21 which subsequently stopped the TU drive.
· Finished with five total tackles, including four solo stops, a sack and tackle for loss.
Special Teams
Matt Ammendola | Kicker | 5-9 | 195 | R-Sophomore | Lansdale, PA
· Tulsa never started past its own 25 yard line on any of Ammendola's nine kickoffs.
· Kicked off nine times with six touchbacks.
· His hang time and direction on the three kickoffs that did not go into the end zone allowed the coverage unit to pin Tulsa deep in their own territory.
· Tulsa's starting field position on those three kickoffs its own 7-, 17- and 22-yard lines.
· Tulsa average starting field position from Ammedola's kickoffs was its own 21.8 yard line.
· He also handled all of OSU's placekicking in the game, going 8-for-8 on PAT attempts and adding a 24-yard field goal.
· Scored 11 points in the game.
Newcomer
J.D. King | Running Back | 5-11 | 205 | Freshman | Fitzgerald, GA
· Rushed for a 71-yard touchdown on his second career carry.
· That marked OSU's longest rushing play since Herschel Sims had an 81-yard touchdown against Baylor on Oct. 29, 2011.
· Finished with 95 yards and a touchdown on just six carries.
· Averaged 15.8 yards per carry.
· Rushed three straight plays in the third quarter to bulldoze his way from the TU 20 to the TU 1 to set up a 1-yard Mason Rudolph touchdown run and help seal the OSU win over Tulsa.
Players Mentioned
K
/ Cowboy Football
LB
/ Cowboy Football
RB
/ Cowboy Football
QB
/ Cowboy FootballThursday, July 30
Tuesday, July 28
Monday, July 27
Tuesday, July 07
