Is OSU Going to Start Using Two Quarterbacks Full Time?

Ohio State and Oklahoma State have both been employing two-QB systems pretty much all season to the tune of a 15-0 combined record. That’s pretty impressive. But it’s not what the southern OSU’s coach had in mind. At least he never has before.

“I’ve never been a fan of using two quarterbacks, but I am now,” said Mike Gundy on M. If there’s any friction at all, it can cost the chemistry of your team. But, the team’s never said a word about why’s JW in there, why isn’t Mason in there.”

That begs the question, “is this going to be a long-term thing?” It might be.

#okstate Gundy may consider a two-QB system long-term (a passer + an athlete): “I've never been a fan of using two QBs, but I am now."

— Bill Haisten ?? (@billhaisten) October 26, 2015

And maybe it should be. OSU’s red zone TD percentage in 2014 wasn’t very good. Its TD percentage and scoring percentage when it got into the red zone last year were 50 percent and 90 percent respectively (No. 109 and No. 13 in the country, respectively).

This year, those numbers are up to  64 percent and 94 percent (No. 50 and No. 7 nationally). Clearly, what Mike & Mike are doing is working.

“The reason that we’re able to have success with both of those players to this point is because they’re both great human beings,” said Gundy. “They’re unselfish. They’re team players, and they put the team first. There are young men who say that, but they’re really not. These two guys are.”

That’s pretty cool. J.W. Walsh agrees, even if he’s a little surprised at how efficiently the operation has worked.

J.W. Walsh has 45 plays of total offense this season (rushes+pass attempts). Those 45 plays have resulted in 78 points for #okstate. Wow.

— Gavin Lang (@glang1) October 25, 2015

“We knew we could make it work, but I don’t think either one of us thought that it would work this well,” Walsh told the O’Colly. “I think it’s just he’s played so well, and when I’ve gotten in the game, I’ve played well. I think a lot of it is I’m put in situations where I can succeed fairly easy, going into the game inside the 10-yard line. Mason’s just done a great job of executing plays and getting the ball to his playmakers. So you combine great play calling, great execution, great decisions — that equals points.”

It’s going to be fascinating to see if Gundy continues to do this in the post-Walsh era. To me, Walsh is a pretty special dude who makes the thing hum — I’m not sure you can just re-create that systematically. Maybe you can, but it seems situation-specific. Either way, it’s working perfectly this year.