It hasn’t been a good bowl season for the Big 12 Conference.
Outside of the TCU Horned Frogs’ impressive Peach Bowl performance, the league came up short in five other bowl games. However, the Oklahoma State Cowboys are doing their best to restore the Big 12’s jilted pride.
The Cowboys built an impressive 24-0 halftime lead over the Washington Huskies in the TicketCity Cactus Bowl.
It’s a surprising effort after the Cowboys required a 38-35 overtime victory over the Oklahoma Sooners on the final day of the regular season to secure a bowl bid. The team lost its previous five games.
However, a switch at quarterback has made all the difference.
FYI, Oklahoma State was DEAD LAST in the Big 12 in conference scoring before Mason Rudolph took over at QB. #CactusBowl
— Jake Trotter (@Jake_Trotter) January 3, 2015
In his third career start, the freshman quarterback threw for 198 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He had a little help, though.
Freshman wide receiver James Washington ensnared a tremendous 28-yard touchdown toss to provide an early 14-0 lead.
OSU James Washington's One Handed TD Catch https://t.co/Q8lVgFshPp
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) January 3, 2015
As the half neared, the Cowboys weren’t content with a 17-0 lead.
Rudolph dropped a beautiful 47-yard pass to Brandon Shepherd, who juked a pair of defenders and crossed the goal line with only 48 seconds before the intermission.
While the Cowboys amassed 293 total yards through two quarters, the Huskies struggled to move the ball. Chris Petersen‘s offense managed only 113 yards.
Lotta factors but I think it’s hard to describe Washington’s offense as anything other than disappointing in Chris Petersen’s first season.
— Bryan Fischer (@BryanDFischer) January 3, 2015
Due to Washington’s inability to generate anything on offense, the Huskies defense will be required to step up in the second half by creating pressure on Rudolph. Since it was incapable of doing so through 30 minutes of play, it’s probably too much to ask them take over the game in the second half.
Despite a 6-6 overall record, the Cowboys’ bowl effort should build momentum for the program as they get ready for the offseason.
