Cowboys indeed will be fun to watch
Tyron Johnson leapt, twisting to shed a helpless defender and turning to catch a deep pass, and when he came down with the ball, kept his balance and sprinted a couple more steps into the end zone, you thought it would be the highlight of the night.
Instead, it was only the beginning.
Next came Mason Rudolph throwing a dart of a pass into James Washington’s waiting hands. Then, a cross-country run right up the gut by J.D. King. Then, a cross-country pass right down the seam, another Rudolph-to-Washington connection.
On and on the Oklahoma State highlights went. Ditto for the fun.
On a night when the result was never in doubt, there was still plenty of fun in OSU’s 59-24 rout of Tulsa. Big plays. Superb highlights.
“I liked our explosiveness,” Cowboy coach Mike Gundy said. “We have a lot of guys that can make plays. That’s not a secret.”
It’s impossible to know where any of this will lead the Cowboys, but man, the journey is going to be fun.
Let us count the ways.
Rudolph and Washington are still really, really good. Rudolph threw for 303 yards and three touchdowns on 20-of24 passing, and two of those incompletions hit a receiver in the hands. Washington had six catches for 145 yards and two touchdowns. Those two picked right back up where left off.
Well, sort of.
The truth is, they are better than they were a year ago, particularly Rudolph. The Cowboy quarterback showed another level of comfort and accuracy. Targets were locked in. Passes were spot on.
Yes, Rudolph had a fumble that led to a Tulsa field goal at the end of the first half. It was a case of Rudolph getting too greedy; he had receivers open short but wanted to go for a home-run play deep. He paid for it.
“He’s got to stay in his world,” Gundy said. “That’s not his world. He knows that.”
Other than that play, though, it was difficult to find fault with anything Rudolph did.
Same could be said for Justice Hill. The sophomore tailback talked this preseason about how he understands the offense more than last season, about how that knowledge allows him to react quicker now. He proved it Thursday with one run.
Early in the second quarter, Hill had a 13-yard run that showed a bit of everything. Tackle-breaking power. Ankle-breaking agility. Catch-me-if-youcan speed. There was a juke in there that was even a little, dare we say it, Barry Sanders like.
Hill finished with 132 yards and one touchdown on 15 carries.
Thing is, Rudolph, Washington, Hill — those are known commodities. The Cowboys clearly have some impact newbies, too, namely Johnson and King.
All that Johnson, the transfer receiver, did the first time he touched the ball as a Cowboy was haul in that leaping, lunging 44-yard touchdown. That was his only catch of the night, but the athleticism and the skill he showed on that one play was big time.
“I like him,” Gundy said. “Golly. I feel really good about his ability to make a play.”
King, the true freshman tailback, showed some serious physicality. He had six carries for 95 yards and one touchdown, and on nearly every carry, he
bulled his way into, over or through a defender. He ran hard. He played tough.
No wonder he won the backup battle.
King’s style is reminiscent of Chris Carson, who was rough and tumble as Hill’s backup last season. That gave the Cowboys a tough one-two combo out of the backfield, the shiftiness of Hill with the power of Carson.
Sure looks like it could be the same this season with Hill and King.
Unless, of course, LD Brown steals some of King’s carries. The third-string tailback was electric, too. He amassed 92 yards and one touchdown on only five carries, highlighted by a 73-yard romp down the sideline that came up just short of the goal line.
Fun stuff.
A lot of things were Thursday night. Sure, the Cowboys will face tougher opponents this season. Yes, the challenges will be greater in coming weeks. But this night was a reminder that these Cowboys are stacked. Loaded. Talented.
And lots and lots of fun.