Notes and Thoughts on Mike Gundy’s Pre-Bedlam Press Conference

Mike Gundy previewed Bedlam, looked back at the Baylor game and talked a lot about his team’s lack of discipline so far this season. Here are some notes.

• On Kyler Murray: “He’s really good, we all know that.” The player you have a hard time accounting for is the QB. Said Murray is a bigger home run running threat than Baker was.

• Hasn’t seen a spy on Kyler work very well. “Would have to be with somebody who’s really fast … You have to have a good plan and a good reason for it.”

• On penalties: “We’ve had that issue the majority of the year.” More than they’ve had in years. Said he didn’t do the math but it seems like it. He’s right.

• Pointed out that OSU was still ahead by 10 points with eight minutes left in Waco.

• He’s preached playing smart, disciplined football “over 100 times” this season.

• When OSU gives games away, that’s what “keeps me from sleeping at night.” Has a problem with giving games away and not playing smart football. Not taking away anything from Baylor. OSU not doing a good enough job coaching discipline and structure.

• How do you discipline players for penalties? Take them out of the game and not put them back in.

• “I don’t know what other options we’re faced with at this particular time because what I’ve been doing is not working. That’s just the way it is.”

• Hasn’t been faced with this issue for 14 years.

• Worries that he talks too much to players. “At some point they just quit listening to you.” Kids these days aren’t tough like when Gundy was growing up. You can’t stay on them.

• “There comes a time when you have to have real accountability.” Enthusiasm was awesome on Sunday night.

• Two kind of goals in an organization: short and long term. “You have to make short-term decisions that have to benefit the long term of the organization or they’re not beneficial.” Has tried some short-term answers and it hasn’t worked out.

• The leaders on the team — guys like Emmanuel Ogbah — have to make sure that other players are doing the right thing. “The peers are way more powerful than the coaches.”

• Illustration they got against Baylor from players is that they aren’t very disciplined. Also didn’t sound that mad about how OSU played overall other than not stopping the rush and the punt block (and the discipline).

• “I don’t have all the answers. If I did I would have already done it.”

• Players haven’t tuned out the conversations about discipline. Doesn’t see frustration or animosity. “I don’t think they’re tuning us out, we’re just not getting results so the penalty has to be a little more strenuous and maybe we can get some results.”

• Went on a mini rant about his kids not taking out the trash and not cleaning up their laundry after he’s asked them to is the equivalent of OSU playing great one week against Texas and not great the next week against Baylor. He was pretty fired up about it. Kids asked him how they can be so inconsistent.

• Overall number of leaders on the team has been down. You don’t just step up and lead, there are other things that go into it. Said Darrion Daniels is a huge leader for OSU’s defense. Bringing him on road trips to help lead.

• Hard for Tylan to be the leader he will be eventually because he’s so young and doesn’t have much experience.

• This week is “a special week for everybody.” Thinks that works to OSU’s benefit.

• Tries to get players to buy into the idea that playing in front of 100,000 people should look the same as playing in front of nobody. Otherwise you shouldn’t have signed up for what they’re doing.

• “I can’t change. I can’t be on an emotional roller coasters. It’s too hard. It’s a long season. I have to stay even-keeled the best I can. I try to coach the coaches and let the coaches coach the players.”

• Most important thing is to control what you can control. OSU doesn’t have anything to do with what Kyler and Lincoln are doing. Can only control what they’re doing in Stillwater.

• Said it’s tough to motivate themselves at the highest level every single week for 12 weeks. “They have to motivate themselves. They have to buy into the culture of the system to do it.”

• I think he called Herbstreit “the blond-headed guy” calling the games.

• Has to be self-discipline among the team to police undisciplined football. It all ties in together.

• “One thing about young people nowadays, they’re soft. They’re not as tough as they used to be. But they know what’s going on. You can’t trick ’em like we used to be able to trick ’em. They got everything going on. They know what’s happening.”

• “If you don’t want to play hard I don’t know what to tell you. Probably should do something else.”

• Taylor played “good,” Missed a couple throws but he made some throws too on a windy day. His decision-making … he was good. Made a lot of throws on third downs.

• Said the throwback pass to Taylor looked good every time they practiced it.

• Taylor has been leading by toughness and example and playing better, but “he’s not going to talk.”

• “What is it, introvert and outrovert?”

• They put different trick plays and stuff in every week that they discard before the game. Made the fart noise again.

• Why OSU has struggled against OU throughout the years: “I think they’re good.” Everybody has struggled against them. True.

• Defense looks like they have fewer schemes on defense. They stay back, keep people in front of them and “catch us if you can on offense.”

• Don’t have a lot of guys who are vocal leaders. Tyron is up there. J.D. is doing a better job. [dog starts yelping] Justice is doing a good job.

• Said 72 is a good vocal leader, too.

• Tre Flowers, Chad Whitener and Mason Rudolph carried guys with the way they talked and were vocal leaders.

• “Pettigrew was the absolute best. Pettigrew is the one who started this program. He enforced everything. He took care of it all. He was old school.”

• Tylan is becoming a leader because “he feels good about what he’s doing.”

• Doesn’t sound like he plans on playing anybody who is going to redshirt late in the season. Not in a position to get anybody’s feet wet late in the year.

• The penalties on Tylan concern him. Said he’s doing it the right way but “I would like it to be about 12 inches lower.” Can’t afford to lose him for the game.

• OU is a different team now than they were in 2014. Doesn’t compare OSU teams. “To make comparisons is unfair.”

• Said nobody on his team watched the Ohio State-Penn State game via a very long-winded story about James Franklin. They’re on their phones and the “world they live in.”

• Two months ago they made everybody sign up and be eligible to vote.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVDn2a8LmdI