(STILLWATER, Oklahoma / October 29, 2018) – Oklahoma State quarterback Taylor Cornelius has earned national praise for his performance in OSU’s win over No. 6 Texas Saturday, earning recognition as a Manning Award Star of the Week and as part of the Davey O’Brien Award “Great 8.” He was also named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week for the first time in his career, while punter Zach Sinor was named Big 12 Co-Special Teams Player of the Week.
Cornelius accounted for five touchdowns, including three through the air and two on the ground. He threw for 321 yards on 23-for-34 passing with no interceptions and added 23 rushing yards. Highlight plays included a 40-yard touchdown strike to Tylan Wallace on the opening drive of the game, two fourth-down touchdown passes, a 10-yard touchdown run on third and goal in the fourth quarter and an 8-yard rush on third-and-six to seal the win on OSU’s final drive.
He had eight completions that gained at least 15 yards and five that gained at least 20. He was also 9-of-12 for 102 yards on third down passes, and three times converted third down plays with his legs.
The 321 passing yards marked the fourth 300-yard passing game of the season for Cornelius, as well as the fourth-highest passing total ever by an OSU quarterback against Texas. It was also his third five-touchdown effort of the season.
Cornelius is one of eight quarterbacks on both the “Stars of the Week” and “Great 8” lists. It is his second time to receive each of those accolades, as he was also honored with them following his performance in OSU’s win over Boise State. The organizations will both announce their own national quarterback of the week later this week, and fans can vote for Cornelius to win the Manning Award’s Quarterback of the Week here.
Sinor was also named Big 12 Co-Special Teams Player of the Week after he punted the ball 57 yards in the air to pin Texas at its own 2-yard line with less than 10 minutes remaining and the Cowboys up 31-28. He added another 50-yarder in the second quarter that flipped the field and led to a three-and-out by the Cowboy defense, and he averaged 45.0 yards on four punts in the game.
The honors mark OSU’s fourth and fifth Big 12 Player of the Week awards this season, as defensive end Jordan Brailford was named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week for his performance at Kansas, linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga earned Big 12 Co-Special Teams Player of the Week honors for his performance against Boise State and running back Chuba Hubbard took home Big 12 Co-Newcomer of the Week accolades for his performance against Missouri State in the season opener. It is the first career Big 12 weekly honor for Cornelius and the fifth for Sinor.
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The Cowboys visit Baylor Saturday with kickoff set for 11 a.m. on FS1. The next home game is the home finale on Nov. 17 against West Virginia. Tickets are still available at www.okstate.com/tickets or by calling the OSU ticket office at 877-ALL-4-OSU.
