Daily Bullets (Sept. 6): Lots of Ceiling/Floor Talk for 2019 Cowboy Football

Short weeks (because of vacation) are the best – happy Friday everybody.

Bullets Rundown

• Potential ceiling for Cowboy Football
• …what’s likely to limit OSU from reaching that ceiling
• Hovland = most exciting rookie on tour

OSU Bullets

• I’d hate to pull a Gundy and say “we’ll know more in a few weeks” but I think this assessment of the ceiling for Cowboy Football in 2019 is fair.

I would think the Alamo is the ceiling. Next step is the Sugar Bowl, which seems unlikely. That defense didn’t look any better, and last year it was sixth or seventh in the Big 12. Hard to finish first or second with a sixth or seventh defense. OU did it in 2017, I suppose, but that’s not really sustainable. [NewsOK]

That bit on having the sixth or seventh-worst defense is probably the demarcation line for the year (and the reason for that third place ceiling).

If the defense trends down toward eighth or ninth, middle of the road (fifth to seventh) is probably the high point. Improve to fourth or fifth in the league and we’ve got dark horse status for a title game appearance in play.

• Continuing from the above, here are some specific thoughts on what the offense is up to this fall.

Teams will need to figure out how to stop OSU’s run game from finding space without giving up easy reads and throws to Tylan Wallace. Pretty tough but doable. This is exactly the sort of offense that I spent the offseason arguing that TCU could use to win 10 games if they could find a QB to execute it. OSU can run that offense, their issue is that they don’t have a D of TCU’s caliber. [Concerning Sports]

The article the excerpt was pulled from had more detail on the offensive scheme employed (with some juicy tidbits on Charlie Dickey-added plays). This offense is really special and to be enjoyed but to get into the double-digit wins, the defense has to prove it’s capable of more than it has under Knowles.

• The PGA thinks Viktor Hovland is the most exciting rookie on tour next year.

1. Viktor Hovland. The star-in-the-making out of Oklahoma State was one of the top storylines this summer after turning professional. Along with Matthew Wolff and Collin Morikawa, Hovland became a household name over the last six weeks of the PGA TOUR Regular Season, highlighted by a fourth-place finish at the Wyndham Championship.

Unlike his compadres, Hovland failed to earn a TOUR card prior to the FedExCup Playoffs and proceeded to the Korn Ferry Tour Finals. It didn’t take the 21-year-old long to join Wolff and Morikawa, however, as he finished T11-T2 in the first two Finals events to solidify his TOUR status. [PGATour.com]

• Davon Dillard surfaced at a HBCU and had some thoughtful remarks in this Atlantic piece on why that’s been a good fit for him

• Update on O’Brate Field/Stadium being ready – here’s the element in question:

#okstate Holder on whether O'Brate Stadium will be ready by the start of the 2019 OSU baseball season: “The (stadium) will be ready probably in January or early February. It’s the playing surface that is the unknown."

— Bill Haisten ?? (@billhaisten) September 5, 2019

• Can’t wait to see what this guy looks like against Texas – may be tough to keep up that 90 percent (adjusted) completion rate.

Spencer Sanders was absolutely electric for the Cowboys in Week 1. pic.twitter.com/pF4PmN2c3r

— PFF College (@PFF_College) September 4, 2019

Non-OSU Bullets

• This golf writer’s story on losing weight was good

• This “Light” phone looks like a great option if you’re looking to unplug from data

• What a cool idea – the Texans are partnering with Rice on a pro franchise course for students – if the Thunder partners with OU, I’m out