A FREE MASON: Gundy Burns Rudolph's Redshirt in Pokes Loss

  As the Vegas betting booths were closing down, one person sat down at the bar and took another sip of his drink. He had put most of his money on the Baylor Bears to beat the Oklahoma State Cowboys in Waco by more than 32 points. Unfortunately for him, with only a little over 5 minutes in regulation, the Cowboys had the ball, and were only down by 2 scores, 28-42. The reason? Mike Gundy had burned the redshirt on the freshman phenom, Mason Rudolph, and the young man had looked poised all night long in the pouring Waco rain. It was first and 10 at the Baylor 41 yard line, and Rudolph was looking to cut the Baylor lead to 7, but the young gunslinger misread the defense and was intercepted by the Bear's Orion Stewart to pretty much end any hope any Cowboy had in a miracle upset. In the end, the final score was 28-49 in favor of the Bears, and the Pokes were now down to one last shot at becoming bowl eligible. The only two words in any Oklahoma State players, fans, or coaches minds was, "Beat OU".

Freshman qurterback for OSU, Mason Rudoph (10), had his redshirt burned
in order to try and preserve the Cowboys' hopes for a bowl birth. Rudolph
had one of the best debuts for an OSU freshman QB that came only 2nd to
former starter, Daxx Garman, earlier this season against Missouri State. Pokes
still lost to the Baylor Bears, 28-49, and are still 1 win short of being bowl eligible.

  Yes, the Cowboys must travel to Norman in two weeks to face the Sooners, but all hope may not be lost for fans of the orange and black. Trevor Knight, the starting OU quarterback, is still fighting off concussion-like symptoms and the transient quadriplegia he suffered two weeks ago is still bugging him. Backup QB for OU, Cody Thomas, has played decently, but the only part on his body that should be sore is his elbow, because he just keeps handing the ball off to the outstanding running back the Sooners have, Samaje Perine. Perine broke the NCAA record just a week after Wisconsin's running back, Melvin Gordon, broke it, and ran for 427 yards against the woeful Kansas Jayhawks. For Perine, that marks the third game of the season where he has rushed for over 220 yards. The only reason he hasn't put up those type of number more often is because his number of carries have been limited with the return of some of his other fellow running backs off of injury. So if OSU can stop the run game, the will be forcing Cody Thomas to throw the ball. Another good thing for the Pokes is that the Sooners top wide receiver might still be out with a groin injury. Oklahoma wideout, Sterling Shepard, was Trevor Knight's go-to guy all year long, and is one of the best receivers in the country. Without him, Thomas will have to rely on the other wide receivers, who haven't really been impressive or productive, to move the ball through the air. When passing the ball with Thomas, the young freshman quarterback has gone 13 of 33 for 172 yards, 1 touchdown, and 4 interceptions. For OSU, Mason Rudolph played much better than Thomas' last two starts combined! Further more, Rudolph was playing against much better competition, as well, because Thomas has only played against Texas Tech and Kansas. This will mark one of the more rare occasions where Oklahoma State will have the edge at quarterback when facing the Sooners. Even more unique, the Bedlam game could feature two true freshman quarterbacks on opposing teams for the first time in what will seem like forever for lifelong fans of either team. With OU having the injury issues it has, and OSU finally gaining some offensive firepower behind center, is it enough for OSU to pull the upset on December 5th? That question, indeed, cannot be easily answered.
  For the Cowboys, their defense must improve vastly against the run and remain attentive to the fact that OU might run the ball 9 times in a row and then try and trick the defense by running a play-action pass. With the young secondary that OSU has, it could be easier than anticipated to throw the ball, and the last thing the Pokes need is to just let the Sooner offense go crazy and run Oklahoma State out of the building. The worst fear for anyone who has orange running through their veins instead of red, is not being competitive at all in this contest and leaving without becoming bowl eligible. As stated in previous articles, it would be the first time in almost 10 years that OSU might end the season with less than 6 wins. That's just something to think about, as the Pokes prepare for a hard-faught, always chippy, rivalry game against the Sooners in two weeks. Kickoff time and TV channel have yet to be announced.