Malcolm Rodriguez key to Oklahoma State’s Bedlam victory
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Juan Lozano, Sports business columnist
- November 29, 2021
Matt Corral adds to Heisman resume
Malcolm Rodriguez and the Oklahoma State Cowboys are primed for the Big 12 title game. He was one of the Latino standouts of the last weekend of the FBS regular season football.
Rodriguez will be one of several Latinos – whether coaches or players – participating in conference championship games.
On Friday Oregon head coach Mario Cristobal’s Ducks will seek revenge on the University of Utah in a rematch of the Nov, 20 meeting the Utes won 38-7. A day later, Utah State defensive coordinator Ephraim Banda and the Aggies face San Diego Statefor the Mountain West Championship
Wide receiver Jesse Matthews and punter/kicker Matt Araiza have made significant contributions to the Aztecs’ 11-win season.
Baylor coach Dave Aranda will try to beat Malcolm Rodriguez and Oklahoma State in the Big 12 championship game.
Latino Offensive Player of the Week, Matt Corral
Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral completed 26 of 34 passing attempts for 234 yards with one touchdown in the Rebels’ 31-21 Egg Bowl victory over Mississippi State. Corral added another score on the ground, finishing with 45 yards on 12 carries.
Latino Defensive Player of the Week, Malcolm Rodriguez
In his final Bedlam game, Oklahoma State senior linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez saved his best for last. Rodriguez was dominant in a 37-33 victory over the Oklahoma Sooners. He finished with 11 tackles, including two sacks and a pass defended.
Other memorable Latino defensive performers were defensive lineman Elijah Garcia of Rice University and David Perales of Fresno State University.
Garcia completed his Rice football career in winning fashion. In front of the home crowd, Garcia’s seven tackles helped the Owls defeat the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs, 35-31.
In a 40-9 win over San Jose State University, Perales was disruptive against the Spartans’ offense. In addition to four tackles and 1.5 sacks, Perales forced a fumble and notched a quarterback hurry and a pass defended.
Latino Special Teams Player of the Week, Donny Navarro
Illinois punt returner Donny Navarro shone against Northwestern. Leading by seven with 6:43 left in the first quarter of the in-state rivalry game, the senior Navarro returned a punt 15 yards to the Illini 49- yard line.
Two plays later, a 39-yard touchdown pass gave the Illini an insurmountable two-score lead in an eventual 47-10 llini destruction of the visiting Northwestern Wildcats.
The Illini ended the Wildcats’ seven-game stranglehold on the Land of Lincoln Trophy, awarded to the winner of the rivalry game.
Navarro combined for 66 yards on three punt returns.
At Our Esquina, where we amplify Latino voices and stories, we have tracked weekly contributions for every Latino player and coach in college football. If we missed one, please email JuanLozano@ouresquina so we can add that person to our tracker.
| LAST NAME, FIRST NAME | TEAM | POSITION | STATS | TEAM RESULT |
| Alcoser, Joe | Houston | DFO | W, 45-17 UCONN | |
| Alonso, Mandy | Virginia | DL | 2 tackles, 0.5 sacks, 0.5 TFL | L, 29-24 Virginia |
| Araiza, Matt | San Diego St. | P/K | FG-2/4PAT- 3/3Punting average- 47.5 2 of 6 punts inside the 20 | W, 27-16 Boise State |
| Aranda, Dave | Baylor | Head Coach | W, 27-24 | |
| Arias, Daniel | Colorado | WR | 1 rec., 9 yds. | L, 28-13 Utah |
| Arroyo, Elijah | Miami (FL) | TE | NO STATS | W, 47-10 Duke |
| Arroyo, Marcus | UNLV | Head Coach | L, 48-14 Air Force | |
| Avalos, Andy | Boise State | Head Coach | L, 27-16 San Diego St. | |
| Aybar, Wilfredo | Stanford | LB | NO STATS | L, 45-14 Notre Dame |
| Banda, Ephraim | Utah State | Def. Coord/Safeties | W, 35-10 UNM | |
| Barr-Mira, Nicholas | UCLA | K | FG- 2/2PAT- 4/4 | W, 42-14 California |
| Borregales, Andrés | Miami (FL) | K | FG- 4/4PAT- 4/4 | W, 47-10 Duke |
| Calzada, Zach | Texas A&M | QB | 20-35, 242 yds., 3 TD | L, 27-24 LSU |
| Canales, Mike “Chico” | Maryland | Analyst | W, 40-16 Rutgers | |
| Cardenas, Oscar | UTSA | TE | NO STATS | L, 45-23 North Texas |
| Cavazos, Lejond | Ohio State | CB | NO STATS | Michigan |
| Chavez, Isaiah | New Mexico | QB | NO STATS | Utah State |
| Coley, James | Texas A&M | TE Coach | L, 27-24 LSU | |
| Corral, Matt | Ole Miss | QB | 26-34, 234 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT12 rushes, 45 yds, 1 TD | W, 31-21 Mississippi State |
| Corrales, Beau | North Carolina | WR | NO STATS | W, 34-30 NC State |
| Cristobal, Mario | Oregon | Head Coach | W, 38-29 Oregon State | |
| Cropper, Jalen | Fresno St. | WR | 7 rec., 76 yds, 1 TD2 rushes, 24 yds., 1 TD | W, 40-9 SJSU |
| Cruz, Gunner | Arizona | QB | NO STATS | L, 38-15Arizona St. |
| Diaz, Manny | Miami (FL) | Head Coach | W, 47-10 Duke | |
| Echevarria, Jesus | Washington St. | DL | NO STATS | Washington |
| Escobar, Alex | NM State | RB | 5 rushes, 17 yds. | W, 44-27 UMASS |
| Escobar, Ivan | NM State | DL | NO STATS | W, 44-27 UMASS |
| Figueroa, Nick | USC | DL | 2 tackles, 0.5 TFL | L, 35-31 BYU |
| Flores, Joah | New Mexico | WR | NO STATS | L, 35-10 Utah St. |
| Flores, Reynaldo | UTEP | RB | 1 rush, 2 yds. | L, 42-25 UAB |
| Garcia, Albert | Fresno St. | DPP | W, 40-9 SJSU | |
| Garcia, Cole | Rice | OL | Total yards- 429 yards | W, 35-31 LA Tech |
| Garcia, Elijah | Rice | DL | 7 tackles0.5 sacks1 TFL1 QB Hurry | W, 35-31 LA Tech |
| Garcia, Jake | Miami (FL) | QB | NO STATS | W, 47-10 Duke |
| Garcia, Julio | UNLV | OL | Total offense- 214 yds. | L, 48-14 Air Force |
| Garcia, Xavier | Temple | Def. GA | L, 38-14 Navy | |
| Garcia- Castaneda, Isaiah | NM State | WR | 4 rec., 67 yds. | W, 44-27 UMass |
| Gonzalez, Billy | Florida | WR/ Passing Game Coord. | W, 24-21 Florida State | |
| Gonzales, Christian | Colorado | CB | 6 tackles | L, 28-13 Utah |
| Gonzales, Danny | New Mexico | Head Coach | L, 35-10 Utah State | |
| Gonzales, Paul | TCU | Safeties Coach | W, 48-14 Iowa State | |
| Gutierrez, Daniel | UNLV | K | FG- 0/0PAT- 2/2 | W, 48-14 Air Force |
| Infante, Gabe | Temple | RB Coach | L, 38-14 Navy | |
| Jackson, Jim | Rice | TE Coach | W, 35-31 LA Tech | |
| Loya, Logan | UCLA | WR | NO STATS | W, 42-14 California |
| Madrigal, Anthony | San Jose St. | LB | NO STATS | L, 40-9 Fresno St. |
| Maldonado, Dino | NM State | QB | NO STATS | W, 44-27 UMass |
| Maldonado, Gunner | Arizona | Safety | 4 tackles | L, 38-15 Arizona State |
| Martinez, Adrian | Nebraska | QB | NO STATS | L, 28-21 Iowa |
| Martinez, Cameron | Ohio State | SAF | 1 tackle | W, 42-27 Michigan |
| Martinez, Willie | Tennessee | CB coach | W, 45-21 Vanderbilt | |
| Mateos, Eric | Baylor | OL | W, 27-24 Texas Tech | |
| Matthews, Jesse | San Diego State | WR | 9 rec., 133 yds., 1 TD | W, 27-16 Boise State |
| Mejia, Christian | Washington St. | DL | NO STATS | W, 40-13 Washington |
| Mirabal, Alex | Oregon | OL Coach | W, 38-29 Oregon State | |
| Montano, Abraham | Fresno State | K | NO STATS | W, 40-9 SJSU |
| Montero, Antonio | Rice | LB | NO STATS | W, 35-31 LA Tech |
| Morales, Kamari | North Carolina | TE | 2 rec., 26 yds. | NC State |
| Navarro, Jaime | San Jose St. | OL | Total yards- 324 yards | L, 40-9 Fresno St. |
| Navarro, Donny | Illinois | WR | 3 punt returns, 66 yds. | W, 47-14 Northwestern |
| Nunez, Jay | Eastern Michigan | Sp. TeamsAssoc. HC | L, 31-10 Central Michigan | |
| Olave, Chris | Ohio State | WR | 7 rec., 88 yds. | W, 42-27 Michigan |
| Ortega, Josh | UTEP | DE | NO STATS | L, 42-25 UAB |
| Ortega- Jones, Julian | Texas St. | WR | NO STATS | W, 24-22 Arkansas State |
| Pacheco, Isaih | Rutgers | RB | 14 rushes, 80 yds. 2 rec., 4 yds. | L, 40-16 Maryland |
| Padilla, Alex | Iowa | QB | 6-14, 76 yds. | W, 28-21, Nebraska |
| Perales, David | Fresno State | DL | 4 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 1.5 TFL, 1 pass defended, 1 QB hurry | W, 40-9 SJSU |
| Ponce, Frank | Appalachian State | Offensive Coordinator | W, 27-3 Georgia State | |
| Ramirez, José | Eastern Michigan | DE | 3 tackles | W, 31-10 Central Michigan |
| Regalado, Marco | Washington State | Director of On-Campus Recruiting | W, 40-13 Washington | |
| Restrepo, Xavier | Miami (FL) | WR | 2 rec., 30 yds., 1 TD | W, 47-10 Duke |
| Rivas, Eddie | Texas State | OL | Total Offense- 301 yds. | W, 24-22 Arkansas State |
| Rodriguez, Chris | Kentucky | RB | 16 rushes, 121 yds., 1 TD | W, 52-21 Louisville |
| Rodriguez, Jacob | Virginia | RB | NO STATS | L, 29-24, Virginia Tech |
| Rodriguez, Joel | FIU | OL coach | L, 37-17 Southern Miss | |
| Rodriguez, Juan | Fresno State | TE | 5 rec., 35 yds., 1 TD | W, 40-9 SJSU |
| Rodriguez, Justin | UTSA | RB | NO STATS | L, 45-23 North Texas |
| Rodriguez, Malcolm | Oklahoma St. | LB | 11 tackles, 2 sacks, 3 TFL, 1 pass defended | W, 37-33 Oklahoma |
| Rodriguez, Oscar | Akron | Interim HCAssoc. HC/ ILB | L, 49-14 Toledo | |
| Rodriguez, Robert | Arizona St. | DL coach | W, 38-15 Arizona | |
| Santa Cruz, Victor | Hawaii | Defensive Ends coach | W, 38-14 Wyoming | |
| Santana, Bryce | New Mexico | DE | NO STATS | L, 35-10 Utah State |
| Santana, JuanCarlos | Tulsa | WR | 4 rec., 45 yds. | W, 34-31 Tulsa |
| Segura, Justin | NM State | DL | NO STATS | W, 44-27 UMass |
| Silva, Cesar | Fresno State | K | NO STATS | W, 40-9 SJSU |
| Small, Seth | Texas A&M | K | FG- 1/1PAT -3/3 | L, 27-24 LSU |
| Sori-Marin, Mariano | Minnesota | LB | 7 tackles , 0.5 TFL | W, 23-13 Wisconsin |
| Steele, Chris | USC | CB | 3 tackles, 1 sack, 1 TFL | L, 35-31 BYU |
| Stone, Jr., Ron | Washington State | LB | 3 tackles, 1 TFL | W, 40-13 Washington |
| Umana, Orlando | Ole Miss | OL | Total offense- 388 yds. | W, 31-21 Mississippi State |
| Velazquez, Alonzo | Wyoming | OL | Total offense- 305 yds. | W, 38-14 Hawaii |
Juan Lozano
Sports business columnist
Juan Lozano, a native of San Diego, is an attorney who represents coaches and sports executives. He has been in the business of sport in various capacities for more than 20 years. He possesses first-hand knowledge of the collegiate athletic landscape after working for various FBS and FCS college football programs.
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