Photo Attribution: CoachGundy.com
If you missed it yesterday, here are my first 10 thoughts on the OSU Baylor game as well as a few superlatives. And now we put a cap on another year of Baylor thinking they’re a lot tighter than they actually are. Let’s get to it:
1. I hope [fill in basically any national media personality on ESPN or otherwise here] only looks at the stats for Baylor: 622 total yards, 36 first downs, 39 minutes total possession and continues to say things like “this OSU defense just is quite porous” and “the Cowboys can’t seem to stop anyone” just so we get to see that same defense get pissed for the next five weeks and keep feeling like they have to prove themselves over and over again. That would be lovely. It would also be lovely if I didn’t write 150-word sentences.
2. Speaking of the defense, I felt like RG3 got lit up all over the place (in addition to the Drogba-esque diving). My favorite hit was in the first quarter when Markelle literally flipped him onto his head.
3. Again on the defense (I promise we’ll get to some other things), I feel like one of the biggest differences in this year’s D is how tight they play to the ball. In the past you’d see Andre Sexton and Jacob Lacey playing like, 17 yards off the ball on third downs and now you see corners and linebackers playing really tight to the line of scrimmage.
4. How good is Joseph Randle? 14 for 152 and 4, the TDs and yards both career highs. OSU has only had 19 1,000-yard rushers in its history (not exactly a bad history either), Randle needs 156 more to make that a round 20.
5. When they showed the crystal ball in the east endzone in the second quarter I had to stop looking at it, I was afraid I was going to go blind if I stared at it for too long.
6. This came out of Bob Davie’s mouth in the second quarter: “Phil Bennett (Baylor’s DC) is one of the best defensive coaches in the country.”
7. One trend I’ve noticed in the last few years is that fans and the media love to call OSU something other than “Oklahoma State.” Let’s clarify the acceptable substitutions: OSU, OK State, the Cowboys. The not-acceptable ones: Okie State and the Fighting Gundys. And the “omg if I hear this again I’m going to Plaxico someone” term…..Okie Light.
8. What didn’t Justin Gilbert (JG4) do on Saturday? 4 tackles, 2 pass breakups, a 36-yard kick return, and a 27-yard INT that nearly turned into a “welp, Pistolsguy is dead after Justin Gilbert returned that RG3 INT 109 yards to the house” play.
9. Coming into this game, Griffin had 40 incompletions and 2 INT. He had 17 and 2 against Oklahoma State. But…but…but…the defense isn’t good. Or is it?
10. I’m excited for all the Heisman polls on Monday that have Weeden behind Griffin and Russell Wilson (who lost again on Saturday) even though he embarrassed Griffin in what was supposed to be a revenge game and has thrown 1 pick in conference play.
11. (Bonus) I can’t believe Michael Harrison is a sophomore. Sure, he does some dumb stuff, but he is physically gifted. A big offseason and he could be the #1 guy next year.
12. (Bonus) Bob Wischusen called Kye Staley “Kyle” and Jeremy Smith “Johnny Smith.” And he was by far the best announcer in the booth.
13. (Bonus) I’m sitting in my hotel room as I write this. It’s midnight, Lou Holtz is telling me something about Georgia I can’t understand, my wife is asleep. And there’s this:
It doesn’t even seem real that Oklahoma State is 240 minutes from playing either Alabama or LSU for the national championship. They are though, so buckle up and enjoy the next five weeks because you just might see something you’ll never see again:
Perfection.
Great article (as usual) but your final paragraph gave me tingles
240 min.= 4 hours
?
Oh, I get it. I feel stupid now.
Haha don’t…I was being kind of discreet.
On #6, I literally choked on my beer when he said that.
As you should have. Bob Davie said a lot of dumb stuff during the telecast but that was definitely the dumbest thing.
Isnt that the same Phil Bennett who was the coach at SMU when Rashaun Woods lit them up for 7 touchdowns?
In reference to Michael Harrison, I couldn’t agree more.
The future:
Michael Harrison & CJ Curry on the outside w/ Josh Stewart in the slot. Then there’ll be Randle & Hershel doing stupid things out of the backfield… With how special this year has been, we aren’t going to exactly fall off any cliffs after this year – which is so fun, considering it’s OkState.
PS – Sims EXPLODED out of the backfield for his 50+ yard scamper towards the end. REALLY impressive.
Don’t forget JW (or Lunt) taking snaps. We’ve got a bright future.
Thanks for the “okie State bit. I hate it when some clown announcer, “analysis guy”,or others uses the term.
Awesome stuff, as usual. Let’s shorten the time window to perfection a little…
Beat KState, and the TT game will be for something NEVER before seen at OSU…
10-0…
Great point, Robert.
Did you notice the time of poss. Its such a useless stat that all the tv guys love to bring up. Its also what makes them dog our defense. When the offense scores so fast its easy to see why the defense stays on the feild so long. They had the ball twice as long and couldnt do anything with it. Baylor 38:54, osu 21:06.
Yeah it annoys me when analysts/announcers try to act like TOP means something. It’s a fun stat but, in the end, meaningless.
Would you put money on us having a deeper defense than most Top 10 teams, considering how many get playing time week in and week out?
I think it’s one of the best 15 defenses in the country, not sure I’m ready to put it in the top 10.
You really think this D is top 15 in the country? I haven’t thought about an actual ranking, but that seems high. I love them and everything they have brought this year, but 15 seems high.
Year after year, OSU fans ask for one thing: a defense that can go out and just get a few stops because our offense is so dominate. This year we finally have it and we are testing the theory that you have to have a top 10 defense to win a national championship.
If this D can turn over Landry Jones and the Sooners five times on December 3, that will be the best 3.5 hours of my life. That is, until January 9, 2012 at 7:30 pm.
It’s just another stat leftover from the old “3 yards and a cloud of boredom” days. It meant a lot 30 years ago, but it’s a different game now. The commentary guys will catch up someday. Maybe.
It’s the same type of logic that people use when they look at how many yards our defense gives up and acts like it means something. It’s an archaic, outdated understanding of the game. All that matters now is points.
Some funny stuff!! And yes Phil was the coach at SMU when Woods had 7 td’s lol.. GO POKES!!!
I can’t agree with you more. The term “Okie” is actually derogatory. It’s what they called people who were broke and moved to California for work in the Dust Bowl. It’s insulting.
But then again, people are IGNORANT and in the coming weeks they will know everything they need to really know about OSU.
And about our defense…in all honesty after watching the game this weekend it kind of clicked with me what our D is really good at (at least in my brain, I am sure it’s been mentioned already). Where we are not so good is where the field can be spread, we just don’t have the right personnel to cover the whole field. However, get an opposing offense in a smaller space, we seem to lock into them. I think we got athletes, but I think where they make up for it (especially in the red zone) is showing how smart of a D they are to compensate for their ability to cover a larger field. Putting yourself at the right place at the right time to make big stops and force turnovers consistently is not luck, it’s just being smart.
It was… it has no negative connotation anymore… It isn’t my favorite, but calling us Okie State separates us and means we’re being talked about. It gives us an identity that we otherwise didn’t have…
Amen on #7. Amen.
I seriously got tears of joy in my eye when I read the last part of this. This team is truly special!
BCS Crystal in Stillwater!? Just 240 minutes from the BCS National Championship Game!?
Somebody pinch me! I must be dreaming!
…but man has it been a long time coming. I’m just old enough to remember the Hart Lee Dykes fiasco (when coach was quarterback, coincidentally) and the horror of 0-10-1 in 1991 that followed. We sure have come a LONG way Charlie Brown. I hope we NEVER have to go through that again… and I was sure feeling it for Kansas and their fans on Saturday night too after they only had 46yds of offense for the entire game against Texas… been there and felt that, and it’s not a feeling I ever want again.
Let’s enjoy the ride, and pray it ends in New Orleans, but let’s also not forget where we came from not so long ago!
I didn’t realize the “Okie” term was derogatory. I always thought of “Okie from Muskogee”.
What if people from Oklahoma call each other “Okie”, is that okay? That’s how we talk on the street.
Congrats on a walk in the park win for you guys. Saturday was the beginning of the end for the Art Briles era in Waco. He has been completely exposed as a sensational high school coach who has no place in a BCS Conference.
Bob Davie called him one of the best offensive minds in America, comparable to Gus Malzahn.
Bob has a cool “coachy” voice. Unfortunately he gives Baylor way too much credit for essentially accomplishing nothing other than crawling out of the Big 12 cellar.
Gus has done it at Arkansas, Tulsa, and Auburn. Briles has done it at Stephenville. No offense to those of you reading in the Stephenville area. Please don’t pull your advertisements from pistolsfiringblog.com
Your last line gave me goose bumps as my wife read your post aloud in the car. I can’t believe these are my Oklahoma State Cowboys.
I mentioned this before, but Coach Gundy and Young designed this defense specifically with this offense in mind. Athletic marathon men who can cover and run.
As long as OSU can stop the run, they will be competitive in every game. That’s what makes the KSU game so intriguing. KSU has one receiver who is dangerous, but they can’t throw efficiently to be consistent. I expect OSU to cover and win by 28 points.
Loved this sentence…It would also be lovely if I didn’t write 150-word sentences. Made me laugh out loud literally.