10 Storylines for the Second Half of the 2018 OSU Football Season

I know what to expect every year, and yet it still catches me completely off guard. The 2018 OSU football season is halfway over, and it feels like it just got started. Such is the college football world — the opposite of the golf world, by the way! — and talk of what will go down in 2018 has already flipped to how OSU can prepare for 2019 (and beyond).

With seven games in the books and a pretty wild first month and a half put away, let’s take a look at 10 storylines for the second half of 2018.

1. QB1?

I know that if I’m sick of it, you’re probably sick of it, too. But reality is reality, and what Oklahoma State does with the QB position over the next five (six?) games is storyline 1, 1A and 1B in Stillwater, USA right now.

There are so many things to factor in — redshirt status, bowl eligibility, readiness, confidence, team morale, hope, 2019 experience and a million other minutia — which makes this pretty easily the preeminent story to follow from now until the clock reads 0:00 against TCU on Thanksgiving weekend.

Mike Gundy apparently hasn’t wavered going into the Texas game, but how long that can last, I’m not sure. At some point, if you’re playing out the string with a lame duck QB and no repercussions for the other two guys playing, you’re doing the entirety of the sphere of Oklahoma State fans, players, media and innocent bystanders a complete disservice.

2. Bowl Game Streak

I might be in the minority here, but I think OSU’s 12-year bowl streak is pretty cool. Look at the list of teams that have been to 10 or more consecutive bowls, according to Mcubed.

Florida State, Georgia, OU, LSU, Alabama, Clemson. That’s a list! At this point I don’t care if it’s the Armed Forces Bowl, the Liberty (and Justice for all) Bowl or the dang Cheez-It Bowl, I just want some late December football!

3. Justice’s Last Stand

Consider this: You (probably!) have just two more opportunities to watch Justice Hill carry the football in Boone Pickens Stadium. This was our No. 1 storyline going into the season, and it remains near the top. The bummer for me is that it’s seemingly going down like Joe Randle’s last year did in 2012 when an elite, All-American back was mired in a below-average situation and exited with little of the fanfare that he deserved. Two more home games for Justice Hill. How fast is the passage of time?

4. What Will Gundy be Like?

Remember how in 2014 Mike Gundy’s demeanor waned as OSU’s season faded into oblivion. That pre-Bedlam press conference was ?, and only a miracle punt return brought him back into the good graces of, well, pretty much everyone.

He hasn’t been like that so far this year, which means we have conflicting trends. Trend No. 1: He’s usually in a sour mood when OSU plays poorly (who wouldn’t be?). Trend No. 2: He’s not in a sour mood this year (I’m not totally sure why this is the case). How he juggles media obligations, the QB situation and trying to squeeze two wins out of an organization that seems stalled will be endlessly intriguing to me as the next five weeks unfold.

5. Top 10 Tylan Season?

Tylan Wallace has 718 receiving yards through seven games this season. If he cracks 1,000 he’s into the top 11 seasons of the Gundy era. If he keeps up his current pace he’s going to end up in the top seven. That’s pretty impressive on this team in this year with this QB. Here are the top 20 individual seasons of the Gundy era, ranked by yardage.

6. Defense Needs to Find Itself

*Whispers*

Oklahoma State is statistically a lot worse right now on defense than it was for the entirety of last year.

*Whispers in a quieter voice*

It hasn’t played four of the top 50 offenses in the country that are still on the schedule.

*Whispers, barely audible*

I don’t think Jim Knowles has done a very good job.

This is not a #FreeGlennSpencer post by any stretch, but I’ve talked to some people who have raised an eyebrow or two (or Anthony Davis-style) at the way Knowles has ingratiated himself into Oklahoma State world. It has been … unconventional by OSU standards (to say the least), and that’s not meant as a compliment.

Of course as Gundy has noted throughout the season, we turn to the negative details when teams start losing, and Knowles and Co. are under (and will be under) a microscope for the rest of the season.

For those wondering … in Spencer’s worst year, OSU gave up 2.25 points per drive and finished No. 79 in the country. They’re currently giving up 2.44 and ranked No. 89 in the country.

With the three best Big 12 teams on deck.

7. Can the OL Mesh?

I thought Rob Allen wrote nicely about the possible OL combinations that could help Oklahoma State improve up front. Though it wasn’t an issue against Kansas State, it likely will be again before the end of the season. I’m intrigued to see if Josh Henson and Mike Gundy trot out any of RA’s suggestions.

8. Freshman Run?

Will OSU get guys like Tyrese Williams, JayVeon Cardwell, Kanion Williams and Sean Michael Flanagan experience in the WVU, OU and TCU games while keeping all of their redshirts intact?

Kyle Boone has been keeping track of which newcomers have been playing right here, and only three freshmen have burned their redshirts so far — Kolby Peel (31), Jarrick Bernard (24) and Tanner McCalister (2). We’re about to see whether OSU utilizes the real effect of the redshirt rule, which is that young players on bad teams can get into mostly meaningless games without wasting years of eligibility.

9. How Do They Change?

I wrote extensively on this earlier in the week, but Oklahoma State badly needs to shake things up. I’m not only talking about the QB situation (although I’m not not talking about that), but I’m curious to see if they start operating as a team that is inferior to the teams they play from here on out. After being favored for their first seven games of the season, there’s a chance OSU won’t be favored in any of the last five. Will Gundy still have them calling plays and running schemes like they’re (pick any year in the last 10) Alabama? Or will they finally start to play like the outmatched team they are on the field on Saturdays?

10. Homecoming Attendance

For that matter, attendance at the last two home games. Will they come by the thousands to watch Spencer Sanders divvy up loaves and fish, or will the orange and black faithful watch from the comfort of their own living rooms where it’s easier to look away if and when it turns dark? It’s certainly not the most intriguing storyline, but it’s an intriguing storyline nonetheless.