Daily Bullets (January 22)

All the Riches of Bedlam

While Tavarius Dove-Sanders forced Trae Young to swallow nearly all Sooner possessions, it can’t be lauded enough how Mitchell Solomon found ways to help the Pokes win on Saturday.

Solomon’s blood is orange but his collar is blue. He’s been doing much of the dirty work for OSU going on four years. The most valuable person in the Cowboy locker room, coach Mike Boynton says.

You don’t earn such laurel wreaths without some perspiration. And Solomon’s sweat paid off Saturday in Bedlam. Literally.

OSU won for lots of reasons and lots of plays. But don’t forget twice down the stretch, when college basketball’s best player, a ballhandling whiz, lost his dribble to a 6-foot-9 center who is more at home in the post but is most at home when his Cowboys are in trouble. [NewsOK]

Trae Young looked like the (supremely talented) prima donna at the YMCA that likes to bomb from deep but not get his hands dirty doing what it takes to win. Solomon, the opposite.

Want to see the difference between a Freshman and Senior? pic.twitter.com/FEfC37Q8xe

— Alex Budke (@AlexBudke) January 20, 2018

Stitt Happens

One of the reasons why I love the idea of newly-hired offensive analyst Bob Stitt influencing offensive decisions is how his football mind will only evolve the Dana Holgorsen-installed offense at Oklahoma State.

With the outside receivers on the numbers and the slot receivers on the hash or wider, it’s hard to get help covering anyone without vacating the box, as the Bison were forced to do here.

If teams try to widen out and present the Griz with a five-man box, Stitt will hit them with zone runs all day long. Montana will get a blocker on every defender, leaving the backs to run down the middle in space. [SB Nation]

This is obviously just one example but having a former head coach in his 50’s in the west end zone, offensive-coordinator-just-in-case or not, is great for the program.

Our Adam Lunt points out another great reason:

Truly a brilliant move by Gundy to add Stitt to the staff. The biggest issue with the OSU offense was finding ways to stretch offense horizontally. Stitt pretty much wrote the book on new modern screens and fly sweep. Should be fun.

— Adam Lunt (@AdamLunt817) January 19, 2018

OSU and NCAA Notes

TheRinger breaks down Big 12 team’s chances of ending the Jayhawk reign….Game Seven analysis across the Big 12….Missed this a while back – T. Boone’s plans for the future….Brief thoughts on how a new transfer rule could impact college sports….Cowboys looking ahead to Texas Tech this week

When your OU coworker wants to say Solomon traveled:

I’ve had a lot of conversations about The Solomon Slide. It’s not a travel, according to the rule book. #Bedlam pic.twitter.com/DKA293k5wg

— Carson Cunningham (@KOCOCarson) January 21, 2018

It does so appear that Joe Bob bagged another great looking defensive lineman.

Sack by @tylerlacy85 (@CowboyFB)

U-19 @USNFT – 16
Team Canada – 0

Watch LIVE: https://t.co/fZGZJISHoj #EarnYourStars #IB2018 pic.twitter.com/Iko5bZHirB

— USA Football (@usafootball) January 20, 2018

This could be fun – would be nice to see him regularly in the Big 12 footprint playing in Dallas every year.

On 106.7 JP Finlay just said the organization really likes Mason Rudolph @reshmanuel. Implied they might like to trade down and take him later in the 1st round.

— Strick 9 (@Spider_Skinz) January 19, 2018

Court storming is great for everyone except the basketball budget paying the fine – enjoy the moment.

Anytime anyone complains to you about the legitimacy of Court Storming, show them pictures like this. It's a memory players and students will have for a lifetime. pic.twitter.com/aqyXmKc4dx

— Carson Cunningham (@KOCOCarson) January 20, 2018

What You Missed on PFB

• Daniel Cormier defended his lightweight title in UFC
• Porter emptied the Notebook after the big Bedlam win
• Pokes landed another 2018 recruit last night
• Five key plays from the Bedlam win
• Jeff Carroll says Saturday was his biggest win

Other Stuff I’m Reading

• While OU with Mixon, Shannon and DGB should have been a supporting point, this piece by Tramel on Floyd Mayweather Day was fantastic
• Monday motivation here from Seth Godin on filling the gap
• Zach Lowe’s 10 Things keep me up on NBA-nuance

Belichick doesn’t care.

Bill Belichick’s utter contempt for the AFC Championship trophy remains legendary pic.twitter.com/9TDv96qxde

— Jason Schwartz (@JasonSchwartz) January 21, 2018