Photo Attribution: US Presswire
Hold on, give me a second. [puts down brown paper bag with 99% CO2 in it, fans self with OSU baseball hat, looks at rest of schedule, cries, comes back to computer] OK I’m back, let’s get to the 10 thoughts.
1. That was less than fun. Kansas has won two Big 12 games since 2008. Two. And OSU tried to make itself number three today. I don’t care if you have Alex Cate behind center, to come within six of Kansas with the running game you have and this supposed turnover-creating machine (more on that shortly) is an embarrassment.
2. OSU has now created four turnovers in five games and has a -5 differential in the turnover department. I was wavering between “it’ll return to the mean” and “we’re just not very good” this week but I think I was given my answer.
3. Why does J.W. Walsh look like he’s trying to throw a 12-lb. football?
4. Great stat here by Anthony Slater: Kansas came in giving up 5.58 yards per rush. Joe Randle came in averaging 7.1 yards per rush. So it makes sense that he would finish averaging 2.8 today. Total sense.
5. One of the few positives of today was the improvement of the gray helmets. We went from G.I. Joe/Lego helmets to something straight of the Oregon uniform catalog. Like I said on Twitter, if I was giving these a harder thumbs up you’d be calling me Phil Mickelson.
6. I don’t know who specifically was the problem but the playcalling/pass routes were horrendous. Walsh was trying to heave throws across the long side of the field and we got Randle into open space about as much as we got me into open space.
Part of me blames Monken (because of how much better the plan was against Texas) but maybe it’s partly Walsh’s fault? Either way, whatever was left of the absurd “do we have a QB controversy?!” question was buried and eulogized in Lawrence today. Lunt will be back for Homecoming next week.
7. Was this the first time a channel has ever put our team’s name in black on the top graphic? I thought that was so odd, like we were the Raiders or something.
8. Just throwing this out there: OSU was a 27-point favorite in Ames last year. OSU was a 27-point favorite today.
9. We like to giggle and chuckle about Quinn Sharp being our most valuable player but today he honestly was. 4/5 touchbacks, 2/3 field goals, 5 punts with an average of 54 yards, a potential-TD-saving tackle on a kick return, and exacerbating the last roughing the kicker penalty which sealed the game. Sharp4Groza.
10. How hurt is this team right now? Walsh was throwing outs to Austin Hays during huge drives late in the 4th quarter. My unofficial count on injuries was Brodrick Brown, Tracy Moore, Caleb Lavey (though he looked fine), and Isaiah Anderson who apparently hurt his fingers which is crazy because nothing ever touches them.
Also, Lunt and David Glidden didn’t play which meant we were back to the Barnum and Bailey’s stuff on punt returns.
[takes deep breath, remembers OSU is one of only three teams in the Big 12 that still fully controls its own destiny]
More coverage coming throughout the weekend.
That was rough. I think the running game struggled due to Walsh’s inability to throw the ball. KU was able to put 8-9 defenders in the box basically every play and OSU just continued to try running the ball.
At least this will end the whole “We can keep resting Lunt because his backup is playing so well!” talk.
I overheard Tracy Moore say after the game he has a high ankle sprain. He hopes to be back next week or the week after.
I think No 6 is on the money analysis. Looked to me like nobody game planned KU on the off week. Coaches looking past them to ISU & TCU?
I’ll concede that the weather was going to jack up our offense, but expected a lot better execution than what I saw today.
Headlines of OSU’s season so far
1. Wes Lunt Injured against ULL
2. Defense has forced 1 turnover since Savannah St. (the unforced fumble w/ 8 seconds to go before half against ULL was a gift, doesn’t count) That’s 1 turnover (int aganst TU) in the last 328 defensive plays. We led the nation in this catagory last year for the love of pizza!
3. Fumblegate against TU
4. Freshmen all over the field.
5. Defense is yet to stop anyone on a meaningful 4th quarter play this season. (No exception today, Quinn Sharp for an Oscar)
Not that they deserve any respect after their performance today, but I believe you mean UT*
Thank You.
That was awful. We got beat soundly in the trenches — both sides of the ball — by Kansas.
A pretty distressing day all the way around. In addition to our own game, the OU-Texas and WVU-Tech games cause some less-than-positive re-interpretation of the OSU-Texas game and of OU’s scariness.
Prior to today, I was still really optimistic about our chances to defend the title. I’m not in full panic mode, but ….. (I’m not sure how to finish that sentence). Maybe we’ll all look back at this game and laugh: “remember when we got all scared after that Kansas game?”
I’d say Squinky is in full control of our destiny, and he’s out for vengeance.
Bingo!
What is with the huge cushion they give the receivers every down? They allow them to catch all 8-10 yard passes and also they sit in the mid level zones all day. They had one series where they blitzed like madmen and got 2 or 3 sacks and then go back to the soft stuff for the rest of the game. I don’t get it.
Play-calling on both sides of the ball was horrific. When KU can figure your gameplan out in 3.2 seconds and manage to shut you down, there’s a problem. Why didn’t we stuff the box? It’s clear that Gundy, Monken and Young don’t trust their players and that is clearly translated to their play. If this situation doesn’t improve by next week…we’re in for a long season. (though I think there is definitely a chance to improve–not hanging up my Orange or anything) Also–S/O to the OSU fans who braved the weather in Lawrence and stayed throughout the game…taking two forms of punishment is to be commended.
(can I borrow that paper bag?)
How can I feel worse after a win (Kansas) than I did after a loss (Texas)?
I get that we went to Lawrence with less than a full complement of players. I get that we “dumbed down” the play book for Walsh. Heck, he couldn’t even hit a receiver 20 yards beyond the line of scrimmage. After 4 or 5 incompletions, Monken quit calling for those plays. I also get that, at times, KU played 7 – 9 “in the box” to stop the run since we couldn’t throw the ball down field more than 10 yards.
But what I don’t get is that when I can count 8 and 9 defenders within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage, why can’t Walsh see it and throw a slant pattern to one of the two receivers running pass routes?
What happens to a spread team when you can’t spread the ball out or around?
We saw that in Lawrence.