10 Observations from OSU’s Upset Win over #6 Texas

Posted on October 28, 2018

By Michael Doutey

ONE: Taylor Cornelius

Corn was the man of the night. He’s been heavily criticized by everyone, including myself, nearly all season, especially since his performance at Kansas State two weeks ago. I had a feeling that his leash was going to be fairly short this game. If he really struggled, I wouldn’t have been surprised to have seen Dru Brown replace him at some point. But Corn responded in a huge way. From the opening jump he was dialed in. As the game went along, his ability to run the football on zone reads sealed OSU’s victory. One came on a 3rd-and-Goal from the 10 and Corn rumbled his was through defenders and into the end zone. The other was on a 3rd-and-six where OSU needed to pick up the first down to run the rest of the game clock out. Corn kept the ball and made something out of nothing. He was tough as nails all game. He’s a tough competitor and played his best in the biggest moment of the year, potentially saving the season and getting OSU back on track. Corn finished the game with 321 yards on 23-34 passing, three touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns.

TWO: Tylan Wallace

Wallace has been a stud all season long. But tonight was his national coming out party. Texas had no answer for Wallace all night. He made big catch after big catch and did it in a variety of ways. He made many catches over the middle, skying for balls on slant and post routes. Then he made one of the best plays of the entire season, out-jumping a Texas defender on a jump ball on a 4th-and-one play where he brought down the pas and ran into the end zone sending Boone Pickens Stadium into a frenzy. Wallace caught 10 passes for 222 yards and two touchdowns. With his performance on Saturday, he has entered some rare company. In the Mike Gundy era some of the biggest and best wide receivers have gone over 200 yards receiving. Wallace joins players like Adarius Bowman, Dez Bryant, Justin Blackmon and James Washington who have crossed the 200 yard threshold. That is rare company Wallace has added his name to. It seems as if Wallace might be the next big star receiver at OSU.

THREE: Mike Yurcich

This offensive game plan was really good. It was a big game for the team, but especially for the offense. But the game plan was excellent. They played two running backs at the same time and it took Texas a few drives to adjust. The offensive line was blowing the Texas defensive line off the ball in the first half. The were really good. That really helped Corn settle in as he didn’t have the weight of the offense all on his shoulders. Yurcich did a good job calling plays where Corn was most comfortable, they used him in the run game and then they still called deep balls but picked and chose when to do so. It was a great game plan and the team executed it really well.

FOUR: The Punt

Senior Zac Sinor hasn’t been great this year. I thought he wasn’t good in this game until his punt in the fourth quarter. He flipped the field and Texas’ returner fielded the ball and was downed at the Texas two yard line. That was the spark OSU needed. The defense forced a punt and OSU got great field position, starting at the Texas 35 which lead to OSU’s game clinching touchdown by Corn. But OSU was in danger of heading to another blown lead to Texas like we saw in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2007. But Sinor’s punt was the spark the team needed.

FIVE: Defense

I know OSU gave up 35 points, but the OSU defense was pretty good Saturday night. They held Sam Ehlinger to 22-42 passing for 283 yards and two touchdowns. He averaged 6.7 yards per completion. OSU also did a nice job of stopping the run, holding Texas to just 119 yards on the night. I thought the guys did a really good job. Even when Texas made big plays, guys weren’t out of position. It was more that Ehlinger made the perfect pass and the coverage was still good. Sometimes you just have to tip your cap and go to the next play and that is what OSU did. This was the best the defense has looked since Boise State.

SIX: AJ Green

This was Green’s best performance of the season. He’s been a little bit of a let down in his junior season. He showed some signs of turning into a really nice player after Bedlam and Iowa State games last year. But Green played excellent yesterday. He was physical with Texas’ big outside receivers, he was rarely out of position and made some big tackles. He was called for two pass interference calls, but the first one was completely bogus in my opinion. Maybe AJ is turning the corner coming down the stretch of this season.

SEVEN: Chuba Hubbard

We’ve been begging for more Hubbard this season. He can be a difference maker. This was the first time you could tell he was really added to the game plan. And boy, he showed up in a big way. He is so quick. He gets to the second level so fast. It feels like when he takes two steps and gets down hill, that he is already to the linebackers. He is so fluid and fast. It feels like he isn’t even running hard. That is just is track background. He is a great runner. He was perfect tonight, other than dropping the quick pitch from the I-formation at the one yard line. He would have walked in for a TD on that play. Hubbard finished with nine carries for 80 yards, good for an awesome 8.9 yards per rush.

EIGHT: I-Formation

One of the more creative things OSU did was going under center. They used Taylor Cornelius in the quarterback sneak, they ran the ball out of the that, they showed that they might use it more with a pitch to Hubbard. When OSU gets to 3rd-and-short situations, those sneaks and runs out of the I-formation could be a big development. These plays will be quicker and will help the offensive line. It was a nice adjustment, especially with Barry Sanders and the War Pigs in the house.

NINE: OSU Played Hungry

It has been awhile since we’ve seen OSU play like this. We saw it some against Boise State, but this was a different feel. It felt like OSU knew their season was on the line. They came out like they were backed into a corner. They came out swinging and they outlasted a really solid Texas team. From Mike Gundy down, everyone played and coached with an edge. We saw Mike Gundy go for it on multiple fourth downs. He showed he was going to go for a fake punt which drew Texas offsides. It was a really good night for the Pokes. The attitude OSU played with in this game hopefully will bleed over to the rest of the season.

TEN: OSU’s Dominance Over Texas

Before 2010, OSU hadn’t beat Texas since 1997. Until 2016, OSU hadn’t beat Texas in Stillwater since 1997. Now OSU has owned Texas over the last nine years. OSU has won seven of the last nine games over Texas, including winning five straight in Austin. This is an unprecedented amount of success for OSU to have over a program like Texas. Even in a down year, OSU continues to win over the Longhorns. This is something fans should never take for granted. It is really hard to accomplish what OSU has done against Texas over the past couple of seasons. It is one of the most impressive accomplishments that Mike Gundy has produced.

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