Penalties Plague Kansas at No. 14/12 Cowboys, 58-10
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STILLWATER, Okla. – It was a somber mood at Boone Pickens Stadium following the tragedy that took place Saturday morning in Stillwater, Oklahoma, at the Cowboys’ annual Homecoming parade. Despite the morning’s events, Oklahoma State and Kansas still kicked off where the Jayhawks found themselves out-matched in a 58-10.
Kansas (0-7, 0-4 Big 12) racked up 102 yards on penalties, the most since 105 yards in 2011 against Kansas State, and mixed that with the two turnovers, to make it near impossible to match the Cowboys (7-0, 4-0 Big 12) in every facet of the game.
The Oklahoma State offense combined for a season-high 583 yards with quarterback Mason Rudolph completing 20-of-26 passes for 305 yards and one touchdown. Wide out James Washington was on the receiving end of that touchdown, finishing the day with six catches for 103 yards. Quarterback J.W. Walsh posted a perfect 5-for-5 effort in the air for 68 yards and two touchdowns, while scampering for three other scores on the ground.
Senior wide receiver Tre’ Parmalee led Kansas with a career-high 115 yards on 6 catches, averaging 19.2 yards-per-catch. Freshman wide receiver Steven Sims, Jr., caught one pass, KU’s lone touchdown on the day, a 33-yard strike from fellow classmate Ryan Willis. The rookie quarterback finished the day 12-of-31 for 191 yards and two interceptions to go along with his touchdown pass to Sims.
The Cowboys scored 28-unanswered points to start the game with help from a pair of rushing touchdowns by Walsh and a 13-yard blocked punt return for a touchdown by cornerback Miketavius Jones.
Kansas found its first points of the game after Willis connected with Parmalee for 46 yards down to the OSU eight-yard line. A big 15-yard personal foul penalty forced KU back and resulted in a 40-yard field goal attempt. Sophomore kicker Nick Bartolotta lined up and drilled it straight through the uprights, 28-3.
Oklahoma State answered on the ensuing drive, taking it the distance in four plays and 1:24 to increase its lead, 35-3. Rudolph connected with Washington for 43 yards to set up the score, where he hit Washington again for eight yards in the corner of the end zone.
With 4:58 left in the first half, Willis and the Jayhawks marched down the field to close out the quarter with their first, and only, touchdown of the game. Faced with third down and eight, Willis hit freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Booker for 27 yards to pick up KU’s fourth first down of the day. On the next play, Willis found Sims, for the 33-yard touchdown strike, the second of Sims’ career, to cut into the Cowboy lead, 35-10.
Kansa tallied 153 total yards in the first half compared to the 331 yards the Cowboys gained. Willis headed into the locker room just 6-of-18 for 123 yards, while KU’s ground game netted just 30 yards.
The second half mimicked the first, in that Oklahoma State scored 23-unanswered points to close out the game, 58-10. Twenty-one of those 23 points came at the hand of Walsh, who rushed for one score and connected with wide receiver Chris Lacy for the other two.
Kansas mustered just 68 yards of offense in the second half against the No. 1-ranked defense in the Big 12 Conference. Willis threw for all 68 of those yards and was hit for an intentional grounding penalty in the end zone for a safety and round out OSU’s scoring on the day, 58-10.
The Jayhawks return home for their annual Homecoming game as they play host to No. 17/15 Oklahoma, Saturday, Oct. 31. Kickoff is slated for either 2 or 2:30 p.m., and can be seen on Fox or Fox Sports 1.
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