Daily Bullets (Sept. 30): Getting Spencer Sanders on the Field

Pokes are back in the top 25 (for the first time this season) – good stuff.

Bullets Rundown

• Getting Spencer on the field
• Concluding why Pickens’ would choose to “megaboost”
• OSU third in the Big 12 pecking order

Scores

• Soccer: OSU 1, TCU 1
• Softball: OSU 10, Wichita State 4
• Golf: OSU in 2nd (-8) at Nike Collegiate

OSU Bullets

• When you think about how OSU is offensively calling plays, this by far is the best take I’ve heard.

A smarter take is that Gundy, who’s been crafting elite offenses with 3-star players in Stillwater for a decade or so now, is running the sorts of plays and gameplans that allow a young athlete like Sanders to get on the field faster and before he has the system mastered like 2017 Mason Rudolph. [Concerning Sports]

I think Gundy would have liked to play Dru Brown – generally, count on fewer mistakes being made by a veteran. But it’s easy to understand why he’d have a hard time keeping Spencer Sanders off the field.

• This piece on T. Boone Pickens’ status as a “megabooster” was… different. By observing, I do think they were able to hone in on a big reason why Mr. Pickens did what he did.

Affection for the old school can’t explain Pickens’ driving need to push expectations at Oklahoma State. Jerry Jones, of all people, might have provided an actual insight here as to what fuels the rest, both for Pickens or for any other megabooster happily and seemingly irrationally writing checks to pay for things they can never really own.

Jones — himself a big donor to University of Arkansas athletics, and a good friend of Pickens’ — told ESPN in Pickens’ obituary that the man simply couldn’t stop competing. He was to the end pathologically ambitious in almost everything he did. [EDSBS]

Personally, I chafe against the language and the strong push away from sentimentality. But I do think the depiction of Pickens’ strong desire to compete, to win, to excel is exact. I don’t think it has to be divorced from his affections for Oklahoma State either – I’m sure there were plenty of other options for him to buy into an athletic team.

• Word-for-word – I think this is the best description of OSU’s place in the pecking order Big 12 to this point in the season.

OSU is for real – or Kansas State is not, though the former is much more likely, since the Cowboys played tough in Austin, losing 36-30 a week earlier, and the Wildcats won at Mississippi State. [NewsOK]

The above article from Berry Tramel has the Pokes at third in the Big 12 power rankings – a fair place and where I suspect the Pokes wind up when it’s all said and done.

In support, ESPN’s latest bowl projections have the Pokes in the Alamo Bowl – generally held for the Big 12’s third-best team.

• This number is crazy to think about – Chuba is having one of the top five seasons (at this point) since 2000. 36 yards back from LT!

Most rushing yards through 5 games, all FBS players since 2000:

1. 1,181 – Garrett Wolfe, Northern Illinois (2006)
2. 1,088 – Bryce Love, Stanford (2017)
3. 974 – Ladainian Tomlinson, TCU (2000)
4. 938 – @Hubbard_RMN, #okstate (2019)
5. 928 – Ryan Moats, La Tech (2004)#GoPokes

— Gavin Lang (@glang1) September 29, 2019

• Pokes earned a commitment from a stud-2022 offensive line commit

• Chuba Hubbard made PFF’s national team of the week (duh), Marcus Keyes made one of the backup guard spots.

The Eckrich National Team of the Week for Week 5 is LIVE! You can see the full team below!https://t.co/uIaUYU5EJY pic.twitter.com/e8PEGHMgTC

— PFF College (@PFF_College) September 29, 2019

Non-OSU Bullets

• Why it’s ok to feel bad about yourself – interesting discourse on masculinity

• Plenty of things in life are learnable

This one’s for all the Friday Night Lights fans – Scott Frost = Landry (“Lance”) Clarke. Fun fact – Landry was the only actor on the show who actually played high school football!

Landry Clarke from Friday Night Lights grew up to be Scott Frost pic.twitter.com/qUEf1fctDB

— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) September 29, 2019