Oklahoma State quarterback Taylor Cornelius is playing at a high level as the Cowboys battle for a shot at the Big 12 Championship.
Cornelius is No. 5 in the nation with 1,541 passing yards. He is hitting 62 percent of his passes and has thrown 12 touchdown passes (5 interceptions). His quarterback rating is 161.7 (20th in the nation).
No. 25 OSU (4-1, 1-1 in the Big 12) dispatched Kansas 48-28 last Saturday at Lawrence in their first road game of the year and will host Iowa State (1-3, 0-2 in the Big 12) at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in a game televised by ESPN2 and ESPNU. The Cyclones are coming off a tough 17-14 loss to TCU.
OSU is tied with Texas Tech, Baylor and TCU for fourth place in the Big 12 with 1-1 conference marks. Oklahoma, West Virginia and Texas are 2-0 in the Big 12 and another loss would severely damage OSU’s shot at a league title.
“Taylor Cornelius played well and the offensive line blocked better,” OSU coach Mike Gundy said after the game. “We’ve still got a long way to go, but it was better. Defensively, we were actually pretty good. There were a couple of plays where we missed tackles, but the body of work was good.
“We’re giving up big plays at times, which is concerning me. We allowed a long touchdown pass on a fourth down and let them throw a fade at the end of the game, which was about a 30-yard touchdown pass, and then obviously the long run where we missed three or four tackles.
“That running back is pretty shifty, so sometimes that’s going to happen. We got great play from (Landon) Wolf. He did a great job of stepping in and carrying that load. Our running game was existent and that makes a difference for us to stay balanced. Really it’s a simple formula for us moving forward.”
Oklahoma State defensive end Jordan Brailford has been named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week for his performance at Kansas Saturday.
Brailford, who was also named a defensive MVP for the game by OSU’s coaches, finished with career highs in tackles with eight, sacks with 3 and tackles for loss with 5. His 5 tackles for loss marked the most for any Big 12 player in a game this season and tied for the second most in OSU history. His 3.0 sacks tied for third all-time at OSU and is the most since Nathan Peterson had 3 at Baylor in 2007.
“He has been very talented for a number of years and has always been slowed a little bit by health,” Gundy said of Brailford Monday. “ I said this a few weeks ago, knock on wood, but he is healthy, he plays fast, he is energetic.
“I think what people don’t realize is that when you play the game at this level, and you have nagging injuries all the time, you just don’t feel that good. It’s like getting into a new exercise routine – I am going to jog twice a week, I am going to the weight room and do light weights twice a week and when you are sore and don’t feel good, you really don’t want to do it.
“Now he is healthy and I think he feels good, he is comfortable and he is practicing hard and I think we are starting to see those results and we have come up with good plans with moving him around. I like what they are doing.”
Brailford compares well to some of the outstanding defenders who have played for OSU.
“We have had some good ones, but he has been an exceptional pass-rusher up to this point,” Gundy said. “He has a combination of speed and power and he has really good flexibility. Even in the NFL, those guys that are good pass-rushers that can carry a certain speed up till they need to get under the blocks. At this point, [Brailford] has shown that he can accomplish that goal and stay healthy to do it the rest of the year.”
Look for a lot of offense Thursday night as Tulsa travels to Houston for an American Athletic showdown on ESPN at 7 p.m.
The Cougars are 3-1 and have scored at least 45 points in every game. Their signature win was a 45-18 victory over Arizona and their only loss was a high-scoring game against Texas Tech. Houston lost 49-63 in Lubbock.
Houston swamped Texas Southern 70-14 in their last game on September 22.
Tulsa opened with a win over Central Arkansas and then a 7-point loss at Texas started a three-game losing streak. TU is 0-1 in the conference and this is the league opener for Houston. Both are in the West Division of the AAC.
Former Texas quarterback Major Applewhite is in his second year as head coach of Houston. Houston leads the series 23-19 and is 14-9 in Houston.
Tulsa beat Houston last season 45-17 in Tulsa. TU was down by 10 points when quarterback Chad President scored late in the second quarter. The Golden Hurricane scored 17 points in the third quarter and then rallied for three more scores in the fourth quarter. That win snapped a four-game losing streak for TU.
Last week, Houston senior defensive end Zach Vaughan was named a semifinalist for the 2018 William V. Campbell Trophy, presented annually to the nation’s top football scholar-athlete.
The American Athletic Conference’s leading receiver after four weeks of action, Houston’s Marquez Stevenson has been added to the Biletnikoff Award’s Watch List.
Houston defensive tackle, Ed Oliver, is on ESPN’s and the Associated Press’ Preseason All-America teams. He is coming off a sophomore season that saw him become the first underclassman to win the Outland Trophy while also earning consensus All-America honors.