Daily Bullets (Sept. 24): Unleashing Spencer Sanders (and Gundy)

The end of week four has snuck up on us – we’ll see if anybody leaves to maintain eligibility and transfer (example of it happening elsewhere here).

Also, we’ll take all the 11 a.m. kickoffs in Lubbock that we can get. 

Bullets Rundown

• Unleashing Spencer Sanders
• Unleashing Gundy
• How many Texas players OSU injured

OSU Bullets

• As we continue to digest the Texas game, this seems to be what the game hinged on: unleashing Spencer Sanders. 

As the night wore on, Texas’ defense showed it wasn’t going to let up. The Cowboys ran Hubbard into a wall time and time again and still didn’t alter their attack.

With a dynamic player like Hubbard, teams are going to go all out in trying to stop him. They will dare OSU’s freshman quarterback to beat them through the air.

The good thing for the Cowboys is I think Sanders is up for the challenge.

But it’s up to the coaches to give him the opportunity. [O’Colly]

32 passes and 18 carries doesn’t sound like he’s being limited but I think the feeling derives from the ratio of runs to passes. If seven or eight of Chuba’s 37 carries went to Sanders, I don’t think we’re having this conversation… especially if they were some of those missed opportunities in the red zone.

Now – the obvious caveat is “Hey Bullets, he just started game four. Give it time.” And I’d say you’re probably right… but asking a guy to roll out and make one read: throw it to (take your pick of 6’4″+ receiver) or keep it wouldn’t require an Ivy League degree.

• Something I keep coming back to about Texas is the fake field goal attempt. Gosh, I love that Gundy had the guts to pull the trigger on this but I couldn’t be less impressed with the execution.

I’ll briefly say that I don’t hate a fake field goal at that point in the game, IF it’s one you are confident you can execute successfully. I don’t know what went wrong here but it looked like they drew that up with sticks and rocks in the dirt on the sideline at the last timeout. Who needs a special teams coordinator? [PFB]

Cox tastefully walks that same line – I like it but try to pick a better way to do it. I’d love to see Gundy have some sort of aggressive staple to his teams – going for two when you’ve got a “sure-thing” threat (feels like Spencer Sanders/Chuba Hubbard RPO should be there by November).

After finishing this CFB history book over the last few weeks, coaches at times have had one of these – Chip Kelley liked to go for two for example. Sneak in some onside kicks or fake field goals, develop a sense of mastery to it and develop an edge.

You could probably convince me that the amount on longballs he calls for is up there (circa Tulsa two weeks ago) but I’d love to see a playcall that implies a similar amount of confidence to a grown man with a mullet haircut.

• As the dust clears, the (actual) injuries to Texas’ players after playing the Pokes are coming to light.

Texas coach Tom Herman said Monday that safety Caden Sterns suffered a sprained leg ligament and will miss approximately four weeks, nickelback Josh Thompson suffered a broken foot and will miss “significant time” and cornerback Jalen Green suffered a dislocated shoulder and will miss at least four weeks. Also backup linebacker Marcus Tillman Jr. suffered a sprained knee that will require surgery and end his season. [NewsOK]

The run where Chuba plowed the corner was rough – you could tell homeboy wasn’t faking that shoulder injury.

• More commentary on Mason Rudolph’s debut – he made all the right comments but didn’t take advantage of turnovers his defense forced

• ESPN has the Pokes in the Alamo Bowl against Cal and the Texas Bowl against an old friend after the Texas loss. Also – ESPN has K-State ahead of the Pokes in their power rankings

• Kansas Basketball accused of Level 1 violations plus some special sauce for coach Bill Self *cough* Bring home Bill *cough*

Non-OSU Bullets

• Finished this CFB read yesterday – looking at the most influential teams in history. Great for understanding the history of the game better.

• “Knowing what you’re doing” was a good short-read – feels familiar as I try to decode this OSU football team

• Faith-based look at not being “outrage(d)” online – convicting for a guy like me who tends to get worked up about some of my takes

• Get Chris Paul to Miami – I want Justise Winslow and Dragic (expiring)