Mason Rudolph leads Oklahoma State football past Tulsa in opener
Oklahoma State quarterback Mason Rudolph passes during the first half against Tulsa in Stillwater, Okla., Thursday, Aug. 31, 2017. Credit: AP / Sue Ogrocki
STILLWATER, Okla. — Mason Rudolph threw for 303 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score to help No. 10 Oklahoma State beat Tulsa 59-24 on Thursday night.
Rudolph completed 20 of 24 passes with no interceptions. The senior joined Brandon Weeden as the only Cowboys quarterbacks to surpass 9,000 yards in career passing.
Preseason AP All-American James Washington caught six passes for 145 yards, including touchdown receptions of 77 and 40 yards.
Justice Hill ran for 132 yards and a touchdown, J.D. King had 95 and LD Brown 92 for the Cowboys, who are in the preseason Top 10 for the third time in school history. Oklahoma State gained 640 total yards.
“We have a long ways to go, but we had a good start,” Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said.
Tulsa quarterback Chad President, who got the start over Luke Skipper, passed for 178 yards and ran for 69. Corey Taylor II ran for 111 yards and two touchdowns. D’Angelo Brewer finished with 33 yards on 22 carries.
Oklahoma State led 38-17 at halftime and cruised the rest of the way. Tulsa gained 432 total yards, but much of that came in the second half and didn’t lead to points.
“I like our explosiveness when we started the game,” Gundy said. “And I thought our defense played great.”
The takeaway
Tulsa: The Golden Hurricane are down several notches from the squad that went 10-3 last season and beat Central Michigan 55-10 in the Miami Beach Bowl. Neither quarterback is ready to replace Dane Evans, who broke many of the school’s passing records. The Golden Hurricane showed fight but were outmanned.
Oklahoma State: The Cowboys, wary of home upsets after last year’s stunning loss to Central Michigan, were never in danger in this one. Oklahoma State rushed for 332 yards on 37 carries to balance its dynamic passing attack.
Up next
Tulsa: The Golden Hurricane host Louisiana on Sept. 9.
Oklahoma State: The Cowboys play at South Alabama on Sept. 8. Oklahoma State will play its first Saturday game in Week 3 at Pittsburgh.
