A week after seeing their in-state rivals score a big win in the state of Ohio, No. 9 Oklahoma State (3-0) traveled north to the neighboring state of Pennsylvania to assert its dominance as an offensive machine in a 56-14 victory over Pittsburgh (1-2). The Cowboys had over 600 yards of offense in the victory and were nearly flawless in their offensive execution all day long.
Mason Rudolph continued to pad his stat sheet against a Pitt defense that was made of Swiss cheese. Rudolph passed for 497 yards and five touchdowns before getting a rest in the second half. Rudolph’s last pass of the day was actually an interception, but the Oklahoma State defense answered the call with a pick-six of Ben DiNucci just two plays later, with Justin Phillips returning a pass 10 yards for a score. Until the Rudolph interception, Oklahoma State had scored touchdowns on all seven of their possessions. The Cowboys were also excellent on third down, going a perfect nine-for-nine before failing on a third down in the second half.
Four different Oklahoma State wide receivers eclipsed the 100-yard mark, with Jalen McCleskey (162 yards, 3 TDs), James Washington (124 yards), Marcell Ateman (109 yards, 1 TD), and Dillon Stoner (100 yards, 1 TD) all getting in on the fun.
The 56 points allowed by the Panthers is the most allowed by a Pat Narduzzi team in his third year as head coach. The Panthers allowed 61 points to Syracuse last season. The Panthers did well in working the clock last week to slow down Penn State on the road until the Nittany Lions found the big plays n the second half, but Oklahoma State never allowed the Panthers to mimic that game plan with any success the entire game.
Oklahoma State now goes rolling right into Big 12 play for the rest of the season after wrapping up a 3-0 mark in nonconference games to start the year. Oklahoma State returns home for the first time since the season opener next week to host No. 20 TCU (playing SMU today). Oklahoma State dominated TCU last year in a 31-6 victory in mid-November.
Pittsburgh will hit the road to open up their ACC schedule next week against Georgia Tech in an ACC Coastal Division matchup. Georgia Tech will be rested after having their Week 3 game against UCF canceled due to Hurricane Irma. Pittsburgh clipped the Yellow Jackets, 37-34 last season.