The Oklahoma State Cowboys beat Virginia Tech 30-21in the Camping World Bowl. Here are three takeaways from the win.
The Mason Rudolph and James Washington era of Oklahoma State football is officially over.
Randolph threw for 351 yards and two touchdowns in the 30-21 Camping Bowl victory over Virginia Tech Thursday, surpassing Brandon Weeden on the school’s all-time list in passing yardage and career touchdown passes. The victory was the 10th of the season for the Cowboys, and the third straight double-digit win season for Randolph as a starter, helping him become the winningest quarterback in program history.
Washington, the reigning Biletnikoff Award winner, was on the receiving end of five passes for 126 yards and a TD, also capping an incredible career. His partner in the receiving corps, Marcell Ateman, who will also be playing on Sundays in 2018, hauled in five passes for 107 yards, including an important 50-yard bomb that set up a one-yard run by Justice Hill to give Oklahoma State a 13-7 halftime lead it would never relinquish.
The game got off to a somewhat shaky start. Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy made an uncharacteristically conservative decision to kick a field goal on the Cowboys’ first offensive possession. The unit looked like the well-oiled machine it had been all season gaining 61 yards on eight plays, but after coming up short on 3rd-and-3, Gundy sent Matt Ammendola on for a 31-yard field goal and settled for a 3-0 lead instead of putting the pressure on by going for the first down and touchdown.
Ammendola added two more field goals, including a game-clinching 38-yarder just inside the right upright late in the fourth quarter.
Gundy’s early decision to kick looked even more suspect as Virginia Tech marched 76 yards in eight plays, the last of which was a 13-yard option keeper by Josh Jackson, to take a 7-3 lead. The Hokies nearly increased their lead to 14-3 on, but on the 18th play of an 82-yard drive that took more than 10 minutes off the clock, Jackson fumbled the snap on 1st-and-Goal at the one-yard line, which Oklahoma State recovered to grab momentum. Three plays later, the Cowboys were in Virginia Tech territory and Oklahoma State put three more points on the board to cut the lead to one point midway through the quarter.
The Cowboys nearly took the lead on an inadvertent pass from Johnson shortly before the half, but Ramon Richards couldn’t haul it in. Nevertheless, Oklahoma State still managed to jump ahead after a quick scoring drive set up by Ateman’s long catch and ended with Hill’s TD run.
Though the Hokies kept the game close in the second half, the Cowboys controlled the rest of the game, and sent Rudolph and Washington off as winners. What else can we take from the game? Here are three takeaways from the Camping Bowl victory.
Oklahoma State wins Camping World Bowl: 3 takeaways
1. Virginia Tech head coach Justin Fuente had a good game plan…
His players just failed to execute it to perfection.
Fuente made his reputation as an offensive-minded coach as a coordinator at TCU and head coach at Memphis, and he has had a positive impact in Blacksburg after the Hokies grew stagnant offensively in the final years under Frank Beamer.
However, Fuente and his coaching staff took a deliberate, keep-away approach to the Camping World Bowl, letting the play clock wind down into single digits on before most snaps in the first half. The plan worked swimmingly early as Jackson and Deshawn McClease kept the Hokies moving on the ground. McClease gained 124 rushing yards on 18 carries and Jackson ran for 50 yards and two scores.
It was only after miscues and failed opportunities allowed Oklahoma State to take control that the Hokies adapted and picked up the pace. The offense hit a snag when the Hokies missed a golden opportunity to take a two-score lead on the fumbled snap at the one-yard line. Virginia Tech also failed to turn a successful fake punt into points in the second half.
2. Oklahoma State RB Justice Hill should be in the 2018 Heisman mix
The Cowboys are really going to miss Rudolph, Washington and Ateman in 2018, but Gundy will welcome Justice Hill — one of the best running backs in the nation — back to Stillwater.
Running with straight-line speed, lateral quickness, and added strength gained during his first two years on campus, Hill led the Big 12 with 1,347 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns during the regular season and added 120 yards on 23 carries and a touchdown against the Hokies. With the offense likely to focus more on the running game next year, if Hill stays healthy, he could push the 2,000-yard mark, which would then push him into the Heisman Trophy conversation.
3. Virginia Tech should be an ACC title contender in 2018
One of 10 teams we highlighted earlier this month capable of taking the next step in 2018, Virginia Tech looked the part early in the Camping World Bowl. Though the Camping World Bowl outcome was a disappointment, and the Hokies must replace a lot of talent on defense, there is still plenty to be excited about.
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Jackson, a freshman, completed 22 of 41 passes for 248 yards with one touchdown and one interception. McClease is a sophomore and Steven Peoples, who gained 56 rushing yards on 10 carries, is a junior. All three should be back in full force in 2018 to lead the Hokies offense, as will sophomore receiver Eric Kumah, who stepped in for leading receiver Cam Phillips to record 72 receiving yards and a touchdown on five catches, and freshmen receivers Phil Patterson (who made a game-high seven catches) and Hezekiah Grimsley (who caught five passes for 63 yards).
All told, Fuente can expect to return a lot of offensive skill next season, and assuming legendary defensive coordinator Bud Foster returns to work his usual magic, Virginia Tech should compete with Clemson, Miami and Florida State in the ACC in 2018.