Oklahoma State clobbers Pitt 59-21; Northern Illinois stuns Nebraska-AD Upset; Memphis dumps UCLA in early action

Oklahoma State will move up in my rankings later in the week as they have shown that the Cowboys belong with the Top Five teams in the country after their 59-21 clubbing of the Pittsburgh Panthers Saturday afternoon.  Mason Rudolph passed for over 500 yards and five touchdown passes in two and one half quarters as the nation’s best offense rolled to an easy rout.  Four receivers had over 100 yards in pass catching as the Pokes lead at the half 49-14. Jalen McCleskey caught seven passes for 162 yards and three touchdowns. James Washington added 124 yards receiving. Marcell Ateman (109) and Dillon Stoner (100) also reached the 100-yard receiving mark, the first time in 12 years a team has had four 100-yard receivers in a game.   Reserves finished out the game as OSU could have scored at will if they had wanted. 

Cowboy Head Coach Mike Gundy of Mason Rudolph today: 

He made some big plays today at crucial times and you see the importance of having a quarterback that can make plays. He just made a lot of plays. He got out of his box one time, and when he did, he made an interception.

Nebraska took a loss as Northern Illinois won against a Big Ten foe for the fourth time in the last five meetings, taking a 21-17  loss to the Huskies on the home field at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln. 

Husker coach Mike Riley on the loss:

We have to prove who we are. We’ve been, I would say, inconsistent at best. That’s not even probably accurate. That’s been us, and I don’t like that. We’ve got to have a better identifying quality than being like we’ve been as a football team.

Another notch on the downward slide of a former great football program.  Hope you love the Big Ten Husker fans. Your program continues to digress into mediocracy. 

Nebraska athletic director Shawn Eichorst is not happy about the Cornhuskers’ 21-17 loss to Northern Illinois Saturday.

“I’m angry, I’m frustrated, I’m disappointed,” Eichorst said following Saturday’s game, via ESPN. “At the end of the day, we have to stay together. It’s still early in the season, and we need to find ways to win games like this. I want to continue to show our support, but I also understand there is a lot of frustration out there when you don’t win games like today.”

UCLA lost to Memphis in the Liberty Bowl in a 48-45 shootout.  The Bruins show that their lack of defense will hinder them as a possible PAC 12 title contender. 

Feature Photo:  Jalen McCleskey scores for OSU in today’s action in Pittsburgh  (Matt Freed, Post-Gazette)