As part of the process of performing a deeper evaluation of the play of new Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph its important to look at all of the interceptions he threw during his college career at Oklahoma State in order to contextualize them. Thanks to the magic of YouTube, we are able to do just that and below is a breakdown of all 26 interceptions that Rudolph threw during his college career along with links that will show you every one of them.
The table below includes important data such as the quarter, down, distance, time and score of the game when each interception took place. Additionally, I have added the distance past the line of scrimmage that each intercepted pass was thrown along with a quick summary note of each play.
While perusing the contextualized data below, you might notice that 16 of Rudolph’s 26 career college interceptions that he threw came with Oklahoma State trailing their opponent. Additionally, only three of the 26 interceptions came within the red zone while 10 others happened on plays in which Rudolph threw the football 20 or more yards down the field.
Rudolph reportedly threw quite a few interceptable passes during his college career but I have yet to verify that, but do, however, plan to throughout the remainder off the offseason.
To end this post on a positive note, of the 13 quarterbacks selected in the 2018 NFL Draft, Rudolph posted the lowest interception percentage of the group. What makes that tidbit even more impressive is the fact that only two other drafted quarterback this year attempted more passes during their college careers than Rudolph did.
| # | YEAR | OPPONENT | QRT | TIME | DWN | DIST | LOS | PLAY BY PLAY | PDIST | NOTES | SCORE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2014 | BAYLOR | 2 | 5:57 | 3 | 8 | OKST 37 | M.Rudolph pass intercepted by C.Brence | 5 | Sprint out right & ill-advised 3rd down throw | Trailing 21-7 |
| 2 | 2014 | BAYLOR | 4 | 5:02 | 1 | 10 | BAY 41 | M.Rudolph pass intercepted by O.Stewart | 9 | Under pressure moving backwards makes ill-advised throw | Trailing 42-28 |
| 3 | 2014 | OKLAHOMA | 4 | 3:16 | 3 | 12 | OKST 25 | M.Rudolph pass intercepted by Z.Sanchez | 16 | Baited into making poor throw into small zone area | Trailing 35-28 |
| 4 | 2014 | WASHINGTON | 1 | 5:29 | 1 | 10 | OKST 48 | M.Rudolph pass intercepted by B.Baker | 41 | Nice deep throw MOF and great leaping INT | Leading 7-0 |
| 5 | 2015 | CENTRAL ARKANSAS | 2 | 12:04 | 3 | 17 | OKST 47 | M.Rudolph pass intercepted by T.Smith | 20 | Poor touch throw high and behind WR | Leading 10-0 |
| 6 | 2015 | TEXAS | 3 | 1:34 | 3 | 11 | OKST 28 | M.Rudolph pass intercepted by H.Hill for TD | 14 | Under pressure high throw to tight area – Pick 6 | Leading 24-20 |
| 7 | 2015 | TEXAS | 4 | 13:40 | 1 | 10 | MID 50 | M.Rudolph pass intercepted by D.Haines | 19 | Overthrows open WR MOF | Trailing 27-24 |
| 8 | 2015 | KANSAS STATE | 4 | 12:24 | 2 | 6 | KSU 21 | M.Rudolph pass intercepted by W.Davis | 9 | Off WR’s hands | Trailing 28-26 |
| 9 | 2015 | WEST VIRGINIA | 1 | 9:06 | 1 | 10 | WVU 47 | M.Rudolph pass intercepted by T.Chestnut | 40 | Overthrows WR off double-move deep right side | Tied 0-0 |
| 10 | 2015 | WEST VIRGINIA | 3 | 12:37 | 1 | 10 | OKST 40 | M.Rudolph pass intercepted by D.Worley | 15 | Floats ball to outcutting WR against zone | Leading 17-9 |
| 11 | 2015 | WEST VIRGINIA | 3 | 6:01 | 3 | 5 | OKST 37 | M.Rudolph pass intercepted by N.Kwiatkoski | 21 | Under-thrown deep right side pass contested, tipped, picked | Leading 23-16 |
| 12 | 2015 | TEXAS TECH | 1 | 8:32 | 1 | 10 | OKST 38 | M.Rudolph pass intercepted by D.Allen | 4 | Stared down WR never saw dropping LB on ill-advised throw | Trailing 14-0 |
| 13 | 2015 | OKLAHOMA | 2 | 6:59 | 3 | 10 | OKST 25 | M.Rudolph pass intercepted by J.Thomas for TD | 7 | Under-thrown pass result of hit as throwing – Pick 6 | Training 28-20 |
| 14 | 2016 | CENTRAL MICHIGAN | 4 | 9:40 | 1 | 5 | CMU 5 | M.Rudolph pass intercepted by J.Cox | 12 | Spot throw to corner of EZ after WR slow off LOS | Trailing 24-20 |
| 15 | 2016 | BAYLOR | 4 | 2:36 | 4 | 16 | OKST 40 | M.Rudolph pass intercepted by O.Stewart | 37 | Scrambling ill-advised deep MOF throw on 4th trying to make play | Trailing 35-24 |
| 16 | 2016 | KANSAS STATE | 3 | 8:20 | 2 | 6 | OKST 14 | M.Rudolph pass intercepted by D.Shelley for TD | 15 | High, off-target slant throw – Pick 6 | Leading 21-16 |
| 17 | 2016 | KANSAS STATE | 4 | 11:27 | 2 | 7 | OKST 20 | M.Rudolph pass intercepted by D.Reed | 49 | Avoids pressure, deep throw slightly off target, picked via nice play | Trailing 37-28 |
| 18 | 2017 | PITTSBURGH | 3 | 10:37 | 1 | 10 | PITT 25 | M.Rudolph pass intercepted by A.Maddox | 22 | Baited into nice INT | Leading 49-14 |
| 19 | 2017 | TEXAS CHRISTIAN | 3 | 13:53 | 3 | 17 | OKST 43 | M.Rudolph pass intercepted by C.Bradley | 0 | Screen to RB thrown into congested area, intercepted by lineman | Trailing 20-10 |
| 20 | 2017 | TEXAS CHRISTIAN | 4 | 1:51 | 4 | 1 | OKST 32 | M.Rudolph pass intercepted by L.Collier | 1 | Arm hit from behind while throwing | Trailing 44-31 |
| 21 | 2017 | TEXAS TECH | 1 | 7:42 | 2 | 9 | TTU 19 | M.Rudolph pass intercepted by D.Fields for TD | 13 | High throw to wide-open out-breaking WR – Pick 6 | Leading 7-0 |
| 22 | 2017 | WEST VIRGINIA | 3 | 3:05 | 2 | 10 | OKST 33 | M.Rudolph pass intercepted by K.Robinson for TD | 6 | Ill-advised underneath throw undercut – Pick 6 | Leading 30-17 |
| 23 | 2017 | OKLAHOMA | 3 | 1:14 | 1 | 3 | OKLA 3 | M.Rudolph pass intercepted by W.Johnson | 11 | Ill-advised, off back foot throw to double covered WR in EZ | Trailing 41-38 |
| 24 | 2017 | OKLAHOMA | 4 | 0:00 | 2 | 10 | OKLA 46 | M.Rudolph pass intercepted by R.Barnes | 53 | EOG Hail Mary | Trailing 62-52 |
| 25 | 2017 | KANSAS STATE | 2 | 8:15 | 1 | 10 | OKST 37 | M. Rudolph pass intercepted by D.Shelley | 43 | Deep MOF throw to covered WR overthrown | Trailing 21-13 |
| 26 | 2017 | KANSAS STATE | 2 | 4:00 | 2 | 20 | KSU 41 | M.Rudolph pass intercepted by K.Adams | 22 | High throw to tightly covered WR | Training 21-13 |
