Daily Bullets (Jan. 1): Happy New Year’s, We’ll Cross Notre Dame’s Goal and Sing Oklahoma State

The Daily Bullets are brought to you by Hoboken Coffee: Get 20% off your first order. 

Three Thoughts

• Pokes have lots to play for today:
– National recognition (per HCS)
– A chance to unseat a blueblood at it’s pinnacle (per Berry Tramel)
– Beating one of the five most recognizable helmets in college football (per Gundy)
– Vindication for Spencer Sanders (per Tulsa World)

• Loved this piece getting to know OSU staffer Beni Tonga – had the same exact response he did as a boy watching people eat salad

• Excellent gameday content for consumption:
– TV information and previewing the game
– Picks and predictions for the game

Two Quotes

• Sort of interesting – Gundy has his three most tenured defensive assistants calling plays in Phoenix:

Oklahoma State’s coach announced Friday that defensive line coach Joe Bob Clements, corners coach Tim Duffie and safeties coach Dan Hammerschmidt would combine to call plays against Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl, which is scheduled to kickoff at noon central time Saturday.

[PFB]

• Something we’ll all be chewing on if the Pokes today – if we squinted our eyes, could we see a bit of cigar smoke wafting over the postgame celebration?

Asked this week if OSU defenders might light up as a postgame tribute to their former coordinator, defensive end Brock Martin said: “I didn’t pack any cigars. I’m sure if I can get my hands on one we will. I don’t know if we would do that to commemorate Knowles or what, but I think it could happen.”

[TulsaWorld]

One Question

• After watching last night’s playoff games, would you have had interest watching OSU play Georgia or Alabama?

Most Viewed of the Week

• No. 1 Three things the Irish coach said about playing the Pokes

• No. 2 Five things to know about Mike Gundy’s new contract

• No. 3 Joe Bob Clements has DC aspirations

• No. 4 What Gundy had to say at his first Fiesta news conference

• No. 5 Bullets from the day after Christmas

Non-OSU Bullets

• Here are a couple of solid New Year’s planning tools I like: Jon Acuff’s finish calendar and a New Year habit planner
• The danger of nostalgia (faith-based)