Photo Attribution: US Presswire

Well that did not go as planned.

Box Score

1. Certainly when your rush yards and penalty yards are similar (and you rushed for 196 yards) that’s not a good thing¹.

One person on Twitter said this was as undisciplined as he’s ever seen a Gundy team play and I agree. It’s weird too, you’d expect that in 2006 or 2008 but it feels like we’ve progressed enough as a program that discipline issues wouldn’t be your main focus going into week three. Yet here we are.

2. The wide receiver drops reminded me of the Missouri game last year. I don’t know if we have a receiver that DIDN’T drop a ball tonight. And the thing that mad it worse is that Lunt was on point over and over again. “Dropping dimes” as one Twitter follower put it.

Even the triple coverage flea flicker that the Pac-12 announcers nearly broke down over hit Tracy Moore in the hands.

3. Kevin Calabro² said “157 penalty yards ought to take your breath away if you’re a coaching staff.” That’s a direct quote, no elaboration. I would think it would make you want to take your players’ breath away, but maybe that’s just me.

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The kid is a kid. His contemporaries are probably the same age as your kids, younger even. And after 11 passes against Savannah State we already have people crowning him king of Stillwater.

How about we let him find the endzone before we try to find another metaphor for his greatness.

Here are some quotes from a few articles this week. First from Jenni Carlson of the Oklahoman:

The thing is, the way Lunt played would’ve been impressive regardless of the opponent. Heck, the Cowboys could’ve been running their plays against no one, and you would’ve come away impressed with Lunt.

See: Griffin, Robert III combine workouts.

He was probably too efficient for his own good.

Right.

If he handles it like he did Saturday, if he doesn’t get burned, the youngster might just be in line for a nickname. Cool Hand Lunt.

The humanity.

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Watching the game this weekend on local TV isn’t looking real great for Oklahomans right now. I just received this internal talking points memo from a Cox employee. This is what they’ve been instructed to tell maniacal OSU fans who call in wondering why they won’t see the Pokes play Arizona.

Obviously everything (and everyone) has a price — Larry Scott won’t say no if Boone offers him a 20% stake in the inheritance, but my guess is that the backlash Cox is receiving isn’t enough to warrant paying the price the Pac-12 network wants.

It’s not like if you unsubscribe from Cox, you’ll be able to see the game on U-Verse, so it’s kind of a win-tie situation for Cox instead of a win-lose situation.

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Here’s a stat for you:

Jeremy Smith has played 25 football games for Oklahoma State in his career. 14 times he has rushed for more than 35 yards, 11 times he has not. In games when Smith rushes for more than 35 yards, OSU is 14-0, in games when Smith does not rush for more than 35 yards, OSU is a more pedestrian 8-3.

The level to which Smith’s importance to this squad goes overlooked really astounds me.

I’d go as far as to say that the fate of the Big 12 could res on the broad shoulder of #31 this season.

That’s not to say the defense isn’t important. That’s not to say Wes Lunt isn’t important or that Joseph Randle is a throwaway. Obviously all of those pieces are vital to OSU’s success as a squad this season.

But Smith does something none of those guys can do: he opens up the field on offense, he’s a nightmare for other teams.

Todd Monken knows this,

What makes Jeremy what he is is ‘I run downhill, I break tackles, I’m a one cut guy,’ You are what you are. That is what you are, be damn good at that.

Just look what he did against Texas and OU last year: 17 carries for 259 yards and 4 TDs.

In fact, here are your career rushing TD leaders against OU and Texas in the last 10 years.

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Arizona blogger Kyle Kensing (@kensing45) joined me to preview the Oklahoma State game on Saturday night. You can find his work at Arizona Desert Swarm.

1. Transitions are always difficult, what is going to be the most difficult part of Arizona’s from Stoops to RichRod?

The end of the Stoops era took a sharp turn from the direction it had been headed, especially on defense. Recruiting on that side of the ball, injuries and transfers mounted the last few years, so retooling is a major undertaking for the new staff. That’s almost beneficial since they are starting from scratch with scheme, but means taking some lumps early on.

2. A three-man front like Jeff Casteel runs isn’t something OSU is used to, how effective can this scheme be against an air raid offense like OSU’s?

Arizona had major pass defense problems last season, largely because it couldn’t establish a consistent blitz. UA is paper-thin up front, so the 3-man front tries to compensate with speed.

A smaller and faster defense should hypothetically match-up well against a team heavy on receivers, since it utilizes the corners, the Bandit, and has that additional, versatile look from the Spur. Of course, if the stunts and blitzes aren’t catching the linemen it’s a moot point since the quarterback isn’t being pressured.

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Photo Attribution: US Presswire

Welcome to the first BlogPoll of 2012. What is the BlogPoll? Glad you asked…

1. Every Monday I (along with hundreds of other college football bloggers) submit my top 25 poll to SB Nation who then creates a composite ranking based on other bloggers’ polls.

2. From Monday-Wednesday you guys (my readers) get to weigh in via the comments section to tell me what I had wrong. Don’t think Texas should be that high? Light me up. Clemson is underrated? Let me have it.

3. On Wednesday I (along with hundreds of other college football bloggers) re-submit my poll for an official composite ranking later that week.

This is supposed to be different than the AP and Coaches polls because bloggers (theoretically) see more games than the voters from those two groups.

We also vote the way voters should vote, based on on-field performance.

Because the season is still young (and OSU basically had an off week last week) I’m goign to rank teams by using some blend of the following three factors (with as much weight as I can on #1):

1. You’ve proved it on the field – see: Bama over Michigan

2. You looked like a top 25 team even though you played a crappy team or REALLY crappy team – see: OSU and Baylor

3. If two teams are close in resumes, I look and see if I think team X would beat team Y 51 out of 100 times on a neutral field – see: OSU being ranked ahead of Missouri.

Again, this not necessarily a power poll of which team I think is better than the next team, it’s more of an indication of who did what on the field on Saturdays…which is what polls should be (and why I didn’t fill out a preseason poll). 

Because that’s how I vote, the Michigan States and Clemsons of the world will level out once other teams start playing quality opponents. It’s hard to penalize them for being two of the only squads to schedule anybody worthwhile in week 1 though.

Let’s get to the poll…

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