OSU Spring Game: Black Beats Orange 23-7

Cowboy fans got a small taste of football season on Saturday as Oklahoma State played its annual Spring Game on Saturday afternoon with the Black team beating the Orange team 23-7. 

"The scrimmage went well for us from a health standpoint. We were able to tackle and had a physical scrimmage," head coach Mike Gundy said. "We had 100 plays and I was pleased, I thought the defense played really well. Some guys made plays and we were able to run some of our offense and have a good day. I thought we kicked the ball, I thought we punted the ball well."

The Black team jumped out to an early 7-0 lead after Taylor Cornelius hooked up with Jhajuan Seales on a 75-yard score in the game's first play, but OSU's actual starting quarterback was ready with a quick response for the Orange team. Mason Rudolph scored on a 7-yard scamper to finish off a nine play, 43-yard drive to tie the game at 7-7.    

While the first quarter featured two touchdowns, Matt Ammendola stole the show in the second quarter by drilling 50 and 40-yard field goals to give the Black team a 13-7 lead. Ammendola didn't stop with two, as he put his third field goal through the uprights in the game's final seconds.

Cornelius capped off his 192 yard performance on the day with a 28-yard touchdown pass to Chris Lacy with 1:15 left in the third to give the Black team the nearly two touchdown cushion it needed to hold on for the win . Cornelius is competing for the backup quarterback position with John Kolar, who only complete one pass for 15 yards. 

"We really haven't decided. Throughout the spring John [Kolar] and Taylor [Cornelius] both have played well," Gundy said about the backup quarterback competition. "There's been scrimmages where John has run for close to 100 yards, so I mentioned to the staff that after the first week in August we need to establish who our No. 2 quarterback is, just from the standpoint that it's really difficult to get three guys ready to play in a game."

Phillip Redwin-Bryant totaled four catches for 62 yards while Rennie Childs led the Black team in rushing with 38 yards. Devante Averett notched eight tackles while linebacker Justin Phillips added seven of his own as the Black team held the Orange team scoreless for the final three quarters. 

Rudolph completed 17-of-23 passes for 105 yards as nine different players caught a pass for the Orange team. Marcell Ateman was the team's biggest playmaker with four catches for 47 yards and Jeff Carr finished with 24 rushing yards on eight carries.