Why Oklahoma State Has Succeeded vs. Ranked Opponents

MEMPHIS – Oklahoma State faces a significant challenge when it takes on No. 23 Missouri in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl on Monday. OSU is viewed as steep underdogs in the contest, but this group of Cowboys has proven itself capable of bringing the fight to a favored opponent.

In fact, dating back to November of last season, the Cowboys have won five of their last six games played against opponents ranked in the Associated Press poll, with the lone defeat coming on the road by a single point. The results of those games:

Date	Opponent	Result	Score
November 11, 2017	at No. 24 Iowa State	W	49-42
December 28, 2017	vs. No. 22 Virginia Tech	W	30-21
September 15, 2018	No. 17 Boise State	W	44-21
October 27, 2018	No. 6 Texas	W	38-35
November 10, 2018	at No. 6 Oklahoma	L	47-48
November 17, 2018	No. 7 West Virginia	W	45-41

Here are some of the reasons why OSU has done well against ranked opponents this year:

Offense

In the four games that OSU played against ranked opponents this season, it averaged 43.5 points and 542 yards of offense and achieved a good scoring balance by passing for 12 touchdowns and rushing for 10.
Quarterback play has been a common theme in OSU's success against ranked opponents this season. Taylor Cornelius completed 102-of-159 passes for 1,403 yards with 12 touchdowns against only two interceptions in those games and added five rushing touchdowns.
- Using ESPN's QBR metric, four of Cornelius's top five performances of the season came vs. ranked opponents. On a scale of 1-to-100, Cornelius had an adjusted QBR of 96.1 against No. 6 Texas, 87.7 against No. 7 West Virginia, 85.0 against No. 17 Boise State and 83.1 against No. 6 Oklahoma.
- He was recognized as the Walter Camp National Player of the Week after completing 30-of-46 passes for 338 yards with five passing touchdowns and adding 13 carries for 106 yards and a touchdown in the Cowboys' win over No. 7 West Virginia. In doing so, he became the first player in OSU history to pass for 300 yards and rush for 100 yards in the same game, an accomplishment that had only been achieved by two other people in Big 12 Conference history prior to Cornelius against the Mountaineers.
- Cornelius set an OSU Bedlam Series record by passing for 501 yards against No. 6 Oklahoma in Norman. He had 304 yards in the first half alone and went on to set career highs with 34 completions, 53 attempts and 501 yards.
All-America receiver Tylan Wallace was also a standout in games played against ranked opponents this season, amassing 32 receptions for 609 yards and six touchdowns in four games played against A.P. top-25 competition. Those numbers translate to averages of eight receptions for 152.3 yards and 1.5 touchdowns per game.
- He had 10 catches for 222 receiving yards and two touchdowns in the Cowboys' win over No. 6 Texas and had an almost identical performance with 10 catches for 220 yards against No. 6 Oklahoma. In doing so, Wallace became the first player in school history to post two 200-yard receiving games against ranked opponents in the same season.

Defense

The Cowboys held No. 17 Boise State 14.4 points below its season average and shut down the run game, limiting the Broncos to 34 net rushing yards. For perspective, Boise State finished the regular season by averaging 167.5 rushing yards per game.
Against Texas, the OSU defense forced the Longhorns to punt on four of their six first-half drives, which allowed the Cowboys to open up a 31-14 halftime lead that proved too difficult for Texas to overcome in the second half.
Facing the nation's best offense against Oklahoma, the Cowboy defense slowed the Sooners down enough (249 yards in the second half) to give the OSU offense an opportunity to take the lead had it been successful on a two-point conversion attempt with 1:03 remaining.
In the home finale against West Virginia, the Cowboy defense held the high-flying Mountaineer offense to just one touchdown in the second half to set the stage for the OSU offense to erase a 17-point halftime deficit and win the game.

Special Teams

Against Boise State, the Cowboys blocked two punts and kicker Matt Ammendola made all three of his field goal attempts.
Against Texas, OSU punted four games, yielding only 13 return yards and kicked off seven times, surrendering only 13 return yards.
Against West Virginia, the Cowboys punted five times and didn't allow a single return yard. Logan Carter busted through the Mountaineer line to block a punt in that contest as well.

The Cowboys go for their fourth win over an A.P.-ranked opponent this season when they face No. 23 Missouri in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl Monday and it's not too late for fans to purchase tickets to the game by visiting okstate.com/tickets or by calling 877-ALL-4-OSU.

Oklahoma State University Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Matt Ammendola

Logan Carter

Taylor Cornelius

Tylan Wallace

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