The Oklahoma State Cowboys continued their undefeated start to the season with their win over the West Virginia Mountaineers on Saturday, but one cause for concern as they look ahead will be the play in that game by quarterback Mason Rudolph. Rudolph has had a solid year for the Cowboys, earning a top-20 ranking in our QB grades and playing a key part in the Cowboys’ 6-0 start, but with big games against undefeated TCU, Baylor and one-loss Oklahoma to come in the second half of the season, it was disappointing to see him post a grade of -1.3 versus WVU — his lowest of the year so far.
Coming into the game, Rudolph had completed at least 60 percent of his passes and thrown at least one touchdown in every game. Against the Mountaineers he completed just 50 percent and failed to throw a touchdown pass. Making matters worse, he threw three interceptions. Going downfield on passes of 20-plus yards, he went just 2-for-7 for 43 yards and two interceptions, with both of those picks coming on throws down the right sideline.
The positive to take away here is that they were able to survive a poor game from their quarterback and still come away with the win in overtime, but this was definitely not the sort of performance Cowboys' fans wanted to see as they begin to dream of the College Football Playoff. They don't play this week, before hosting a struggling Kansas Jayhawks team on Oct. 24, which should give Rudolph the chance to rebound and prep for a tough closing stretch.
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