Tramel's ScissorTales: Ex-OSU quarterback Taylor Cornelius carving out nice career in CFL
Taylor Cornelius’ Canadian Football League career continues. Corndog is the starting quarterback for the Edmonton Elks, who opened the season last weekend with a 17-13 loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Cornelius was OSU’s starting quarterback in 2018, as a fifth-year senior. Cornelius played well that season, after four years mired on the bench, most of them sans scholarship.
In 2018, Cornelius engineered a 38-35 upset of Texas and a near-upset in Bedlam, before the Cowboys fell 48-47.
Corndog, the nickname promoted by Mike Gundy, went undrafted. The 6-foot-5, 230-pounder signed with the Green Bay Packers but didn’t stick. He played for the XFL’s Tampa Bay Vipers in the abbreviated 2020 season, then latched on with Edmonton in the CFL.
In two previous seasons with the Elks, Cornelius has started 20 of his 26 games, completing 57.6 percent of his passes for 4,563 yards, 20 touchdowns and 22 interceptions. Corndog rushed for 502 yards last season.
Against the Roughriders last week, Cornelius completed 13 of 25 for 202 yards, two interceptions and a touchdown. His TD pass to Eugene Lewis covered 102 yards (CFL fields are 110 yards from end zone to end zone).
More: Oklahoma State football to add Terry Miller to Ring of Honor on Oct. 14 vs. Kansas
Here’s a preseason scouting report on Cornelius, from 3downnation.com: “Taylor Cornelius is in his third season, but this is the first time he has had the same offensive coordinator and entered training camp as QB1. In practice and the very few snaps he got in the preseason, he has looked calmer and more poised than in past years.
“Cornelius showcased his ability to escape and run as needed last year. Coupled with the strong running game, that should open up time for tosses downfield to his highly-touted receiving corps. The development of a connection between him and all-star receiver Eugene Lewis will be something to keep an eye on.”
Cornelius was a surprisingly effective quarterback for OSU in 2018. The masses called for Hawaii transfer Dru Brown or true freshman Spencer Sanders to get the reins. But Gundy declared Corndog the starter in mid-summer, and Cornelius answered the bell.
His story is instructive for the 2023 Cowboys, who figure to go with veteran Alan Bowman at quarterback. Bowman was effective in three injury-marred seasons at Texas Tech, then spent the last two years as a third-teamer at Michigan.
If Corndog can rise from obscurity to provide quality quarterbacking for the Cowboys, why can’t Bowman return from obscurity to do the same?
More: Oklahoma State football has three intriguing areas to focus on in summer recruiting
Mailbag: Jordy Bahl
The response has been massive from OU fans over the transfer of superstar softball pitcher Jordy Bahl.
Gary: “I was sorry, and a little sad, to hear that Jordy Bahl entered the transfer portal and is leaving OU, to go back home to Nebraska. She is a generational talent, and I wish nothing but the best for her. It was the same feeling I had when Caleb Williams and Lincoln Riley left; it’s a little shocking at first, then I realized they owe me nothing.”
Tramel: Good attitude, but Gary is in the minority if he feels the same about Bahl as he did Williams and especially Riley.
I’m detecting little rancor from OU fans over Bahl’s departure. Some resented Williams’ exit. Riley’s departure to Southern Cal made him Public Enemy No. 1 in the Crimson Kingdom.
There are some not-so-subtle differences.
Bahl won two national championships, so it’s not like she had unfinished business.
Williams largely was granted a pass for leaving, since he piggy-backed upon Riley. OU fans had little room to lather up against Williams, with too much anger directed at Riley.
Gary is right that Bahl and Williams and Riley owed fans nothing. But Riley at least owed OU something. Bahl and Williams were sensational athletes who could have gone anywhere and done great things. Williams already has at USC and Bahl likely will in Nebraska.
But Lincoln Riley is Lincoln Riley because of the opportunity afforded him by OU. Hired as a 31-year-old offensive coordinator. Handed a ready-made championship team as a 33-year-old head coach.
Riley was the East Carolina offensive coordinator when Bob Stoops called. Riley no doubt was an up-and-comer who eventually would have ascended to a head coaching job. But to a school like OU?
Maybe Riley would have become the head coach at East Carolina or Appalachian State or eventually Texas Tech or North Carolina State? Maybe he would have been a wunderkind and risen fast through the ranks.
But the Sooners put Riley on the fast track. USC is not hiring at $10 million a season the head coach at East Carolina.
More: Tramel's ScissorTales: Jordy Bahl's transfer from OU softball shows home still counts
ACC nonconference schedules impressive
The Atlantic Coast Conference has its problems. Mediocre football below Clemson in recent years. An albatross of a television contract that goes into 2036. Discontent among perhaps half the league.
But give the ACC this. It schedules rather well in nonconference. Of course, you can argue that the ACC should schedule well, since it teams play only an eight-game conference schedule.
Still, it’s refreshing that the ACC plays 44.6% of its nonconference games against fellow Power Five Conference opponents (that figure is just 29.4% for the Big 12).
We continue our series on ranking the non-conference schedule, today with the ACC:
1. Georgia Tech: South Carolina State, at Ole Miss, Bowling Green, Georgia. Playing arch-rival Georgia is bad enough, but Mississippi figures to be a load, too.
2. Louisville: Murray State, Indiana in Indianapolis, Notre Dame, at Kentucky. Indiana is almost always down, but still, that’s a heck of a schedule.
3. Pittsburgh: Wofford, Cincinnati, at West Virginia, at Notre Dame. Most expect UC and WVU to be down this season, but still, that’s a heck of a schedule.
4. Virginia: Tennessee in Nashville, James Madison, at Maryland, William & Mary. Rough assignments for a struggling program. The Volunteers are back in the saddle, Maryland is a Big Ten road game and James Madison is an up-and-coming mid-major.
5. Florida State: Louisiana State in Orlando, Southern Mississippi, North Alabama, at Florida. This Seminole schedule will be even tougher if Florida gets back to its old self.
6. North Carolina: South Carolina in Charlotte, Appalachian State, Minnesota, Campbell. Give the Tar Heels credit. Since Mack Brown’s return, UNC plays a rock-solid schedule.
7. Clemson: Charleston Southern, Florida Atlantic, Notre Dame, at South Carolina. The rising Gamecocks make the Clemson schedule more difficult than in years past.
8. Duke: Lafayette, Northwestern, at Connecticut, Notre Dame. The Blue Devils like to play teams with comparable academic acumen.
9. Wake Forest: Elon, Vanderbilt, at Old Dominion, at Notre Dame. Not a bad schedule; Vandy is about as easy at it gets in the Power Five, but Old Dominion has proven to be a capable mid-major.
10. Virginia Tech: Old Dominion, Purdue, at Rutgers, at Marshall. I didn’t know how to rank the Hokies. Not a great game on this schedule, but no clunker, either.
11. North Carolina State: at Connecticut, Notre Dame, Virginia Military, Marshall. The Wolfpack have not scheduled great over the years. Notre Dame saves this quartet.
12. Miami: Miami-Ohio, Texas A&M, Bethune-Cookman, at Temple. Who is the joker who scheduled Miami-Florida vs. Miami-Ohio. Stand up and be a man about it.
13. Syracuse: Colgate, Western Michigan, at Purdue, Army. The Orange is the perfect example of the slippage of non-conference schedule. In 1997, Syracuse’s non-conference opponents were OU, Wisconsin, North Carolina State, Tulane and East Carolina.
14. Boston College: Northern Illinois, Holy Cross, at Army, Connecticut. Wow, No Power Five opponents. Take away BC, and the ACC’s Power Five percentage is .481.
Games against Power Five foes: 44.6%. Games against Division I-AA foes: 23.2%. Road games: 32.1%.
More: Tramel: Cincinnati football enters Big 12 without Luke Fickell or the momentum he built
The List: NBA champs’ playoff records
The Denver Nuggets completed a 16-4 run through the NBA playoffs on Monday night. They beat the Heat (NBA Finals) and Timberwolves (first round) in five games, the Suns (Western Conference semifinals) in six games and the Lakers (West finals) in four games.
Where does Denver’s dominance rank in NBA playoff history? Since the league went to best-of-seven first-round series in 2003, here’s how the 21 champions rank in won-loss post-season record:
1. 2017 Warriors 16-1: Only Cleveland, with a 137-116 in Game 4 of the NBA Finals, kept Kevin Durant’s first Golden State team from going unbeaten.
2. 2023 Nuggets 16-4: Surprised? Denver has the second-best record playoff record of the era. Did playing teams seeded eighth, fifth, seventh and eighth help?
2. 2007 Spurs 16-4: Seeded third in the West, this San Antonio team is remembered for its West finals victory over Phoenix. Suns Amare Stoudamire and Boris Diaw were suspended for Game 5 for leaving the bench during a skirmish; the Spurs won in six.
4. 2020 Lakers 16-5: Los Angeles was top-seeded in the West but played no home games – the entire playoffs were in the Orlando bubble.
4. 2018 Warriors 16-5: Durant’s second Golden State team wasn’t as dominant, particularly in a 4-3 survival of Houston in the West finals.
4. 2016 Cavaliers 16-5: We sometimes paint LeBron’s ‘16 Cleveland team as some kind of Cinderella. But the Cavs were great even before taking down the 73-win Warriors in a memorable seven-game Finals.
4. 2015 Warriors 16-5: The pre-Durant Warrior championship team already was great, with 67 regular-season wins.
4. 2011 Mavericks 16-5: Dirk Nowitzki-led Dallas was a No. 3 seed in the West but caught fire, including a five-game West finals conquest of the Thunder.
7. 2022 Warriors 16-6: We don’t think of the older Golden State team as being special, but it pales mostly only in comparison with the other Warrior title teams.
8. 2021 Bucks 16-7: The most common number of playoff losses for a champion is seven. Nine of the 21 since the format started. This Milwaukee team’s toughest foe was Brooklyn, in a seven-game East semifinals.
8. 2014 Spurs 16-7: San Antonio struggled with Dallas in the first round (seven games), but knocked out OKC in the West finals in six games and Miami in the Finals in five.
8. 2013 Heat 16-7: Strange, but the Heatles weren’t overly dominant in the playoffs, even though this team won 66 games. Ray Allen’s desperation 3-pointer saved Miami in Game 7 of the Finals.
8. 2012 Heat 16-7: See what I mean. Lots of losses. Except the Thunder took Miami to just five games in the Finals.
8. 2010 Lakers 16-7: Lots of parity in the West. Top-seeded LA won 57 games, just seven more than the eighth-seeded Thunder.
8. 2009 Lakers 16-7: Those Kobe/Pau Gasol Lakers weren’t playoff dominant in ‘09, either.
8. 2006 Heat 16-7: Miami won three of its four series in six games, including the Finals over Dallas.
8. 2005 Spurs 16-7: San Antonio’s toughest series was the Finals, in seven games over Detroit.
8. 2004 Pistons 16-7: Detroit’s toughest series was a seven-game East semifinals against New Jersey. The Pistons beat the Lakers in a five-game Finals.
19. 2003 Spurs 16-8: San Antonio came by its rough road honest – Detroit had the East’s best record, with 50 wins. Four West teams had a better record, and two others matched the Pistons.
19. 2019 Raptors 16-8: The Kawhi Leonard-led team that took advantage of rampant Warrior injuries. Toronto was a 2-seed in the East and beat the 76ers in that memorable conference semifinal in which Kawhi’s series-winner bounced on the rim about 100 times before falling through.
21. 2008 Celtics 16-10: Strange team. Quite revered, with 66 regular-season wins, but Boston needed seven games to dispatch the Hawks and Cavaliers in the first two rounds, then six games to survive the Pistons and Lakers.
Berry Tramel: Berry can be reached at 405-760-8080 or at btramel@oklahoman.com. He can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including FM-98.1. Support his work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Taylor Cornelius carving out nice career in CFL with Edmonton Elks
