Photo Attribution: US Presswire
1. Lunt looked a lot more antsy than in any of his previous outings. I know it’s tough to get antsy against Savannah State but he looked so smooth and relaxed in his reads against Arizona; that wasn’t the case in the TCU game and he still threw for 324 and a touch.
2. Gary Patterson might sweat more than Kevin Garnett. It was like 55 degrees and he was going through white towels like it was game six of the Eastern Conference semis.
3. It was honestly kind of strange to be as pumped as we all were to get back a QB who was 0-1 against D-1 teams.
4. Somebody in the media texted me yesterday and said “is it bad that I had no idea who Lyndell Johnson was until Saturday?” Well no, not really, because he’s only played in three games. I still contend that he was the best player on the field against Savannah State (not saying much, I know) and will be a huge factor if OSU does anything involving the words “stopping” and “Klein” this weekend.
5. Why did our DBs treat TCUs receivers like they were the Jamaican National track team? I’ve never played football so obviously I don’t know how these things work but it seems like giving a guy a 19-yard cushion when he needs to gain four yards for a first down is a bad idea.
6. I really liked the stat Fox Sports offered up about Gundy and Patterson being their schools’ all-time winningest coaches. Both schools are in the prime of their collective football histories right now and it seems like for both that trajectory is still pointed up.
7. How about the Paddle People giving the Big 12 office a big middle finger and absolutely hammering the walls while Boykin was at the line? The refs didn’t seem to care either.
8. Is the field at BPS more slippery than the fields at other Big 12 stadiums? Because every week it looks like somebody clips Justin Gilbert’s spikes and dips his shoes in canola oil. Speaking of Gilbert, he’s fully entrenched in “I’m gonna run around real fast and jump and dive at the air and hope people think I’m hustling” mode. Hope he snaps out of it for the next four games.
9. Anybody glad Lunt’s first game back was on a Saturday afternoon in Stillwater against TCU instead of on the road in Manhattan at night? [raises hand]
10. You might have missed this on TV (and definitely did if you were at the game) but there was a really cool moment at the end of the 3rd quarter when TCU had a big 3rd down coming up near the west end. Fox Sports cut to a shot of Cooper Bassett standing at the line, lazily gazing up into the endzone crowd, a crook at the edge of his mouth, drinking it all in.
He never spoke a word and the shot only lasted two or three seconds, but it conveyed everything we all love about college football. His face, the expression on it, just said “there’s nowhere else in the world I’d rather be than in this stadium on this cool afternoon with my friends, our maniacal fans, and this purple team staring at the huge Big 12 title banner hanging 70 yards behind me.”
His face said, “this is why I came to Oklahoma State.”
That, my friends, is why we watch sports.
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Welcome to Pistols Firing
#10 – Definitely caught the Cooper moment on TV as well. Was straight out of a movie. Super cool
#8 is so hilariously true…that boy just needs to run down the field. and i second #9. knew he would be rusty and unsure….but the kid showed a lot of mental toughness to hang in there and come back like he did. he’s something special.
#5 is my biggest complaint with our D. Maybe we just don’t have the DB’s to cover man to man but we are just giving them the first down on plays like that.
Great post Kyle.
#5- I think we tried to play more man coverage at the beginning of the season and it didn’t work, so they’ve gone back to playing a soft zone. As a fan it’s frustrating, but as a coach, you would rather give up a six yard first down than a forty-six yard first down. Give them some cushion. Tackle them and make them snap it again. Statistically speaking, they will make a mistake on their own more often than not.
Random question.. has Blake Jackson ever been tackled by one guy? Seems every catch is followed by an initial hit and scrum of 4-5 guys moving 10-15 yards before taking him down.
#5 – AAAAAMMMMMEEEEENNNNN!!!!! This is my biggest frustration. Our DBs are 8 yards off the ball and before the ball is snapped, they begin to back up. It is no wonder that when the opponents are 3rd and long it is like they are 3rd and inches. We give them WAY too much space. I HATE IT! I DON’T UNDERSTAND IT! Seems that if we bump and run, you have a chance to throw the timing of the play off. If Gilbert is as fast as everyone says he is, then he shouldn’t get beat on a streak. BILL YOUNG!! Please reconsider this approach. It is awful! This really hits on a nerve.
War Paddle People!!!
Nice Post.
#5: This is DC Young’s defensive philosophy in the modern age where teams pass first, run second. Young wants to put pressure on the QB with the front seven and everyone else just “keep the play in front of you”. I have heard him say this in interview after interview. Force them to go down the field in 10 plays or more and pounce on the mistake when it happens. Press coverage isn’t normally going to be part of the plan. Personally, it makes me crazy. But it can lead to lots of turnovers and that’s what happened last year. If the turnovers start again people will simmer down.
I doubt it will be successful against KState as they are far more disciplined than anyone else on the schedule. Going 12 plays without a mistake is in their DNA, so I have anxiety about Saturday.
Great Post..Great Observations..Yes, caught the Cooper moment also, glad you commented on it..thought it was great moment and you could just feel his enjoyment.
Need a photo of #10.
Dude…got misty reading #10 and watching the video.
#10 is why I read your articles! You sure know how to give a poke chills… Just like ABC and their OSU/Kstate commercial!