Oklahoma State Football: Taylor Cornelius creates cause for concern

A five touchdown effort from Oklahoma State football quarterback Taylor Cornelius against Missouri State may not be as good as it appears on paper.

In a blowout victory in Week 1, Oklahoma State took care of business like it should’ve against the FCS Missouri State Bears. As a 44-point favorite entering the game, the Cowboys were looking to get the offense in rhythm and get going just two weeks before hosting the top 25 ranked Boise State Broncos.

For an effort in which the Pokes won by the final score of 58-17, senior quarterback Taylor Cornelius had an up and down night. Cornelius completed 24 of 34 passes for nearly 300 yards and five touchdowns with only one interception. By all indications from the stat sheet, it was a huge game for Cornelius.

However, Cornelius missed on quite a few of his 10 incompletions by a lot. In the second and third quarters, Cornelius just missed a lot of his open receivers sometimes high and sometimes behind them. Throwing off his back foot and missing a few deep routes got the Oklahoma State offense out of rhythm.

Ultimately, this is the first start in the career of Cornelius. There’s a lot of pressure tied to replacing a quarterback like Mason Rudolph in a season opener. It could just take him some time to get comfortable, as some of the fundamental mistakes he made were not on every play.

The concerning factor for Cornelius moving forward is the level of competition. Oklahoma State has one more easy opponent before the competition ramps up later in September. In Week 3, the Pokes battle star quarterback Brett Rypien and the Boise State Broncos at home. Oklahoma State then has another tough defense to face in linebacker Dakota Allen and safety Jah’Shawn Johnson and the Texas Tech Red Raiders.

If Cornelius can match his hot start that he had against Missouri State, where he completed eight of his first nine passes, for most of the Week 2 matchup against the South Alabama Jaguars through and through, this offense will be fine. Yet, the concerning factors of Cornelius missing some wide open receivers and having some poor fundamental plays are worrying signs that could continue to linger for the rest of the season.