Don’t Let the Mullet, Cursing and Win Divert You, Oklahoma State Has Some Serious Issues

AUSTIN, Tex. — After Oklahoma State’s 13-10 win in Austin on Saturday over Texas, Mike Gundy held court at an all-time press conference. Most of Gundy’s media gatherings have become must-see TV, but this was something special.

Gundy talked about why he didn’t dance, why he needed a respirator during the Ramon pick, when he asked Mike Holder for a raise (on the way to the locker room) and how this was the best defensive performance by any Oklahoma State team that he can remember. He also cursed and said he was going to buy beers for media members.

Gundy! ??? pic.twitter.com/AjOgnQ7SQP

— Pistols Firing (@pistolsguys) October 21, 2017

? on Gundy pic.twitter.com/4WGNGqaf7r

— Pistols Firing (@pistolsguys) October 21, 2017

It was awesome.

It was also a diversion.

Don’t let Gundy’s hair and demeanor fool you, he coaches at times like he’d rather rock a crewcut, high-waisted tight-fitting coaching shorts, a whistle and eschew the forward pass altogether. That’s what it felt like at times in Austin on Saturday, and it wasn’t the only issue Oklahoma State has for the rest of the year.

Before we go on. It goes without saying that nobody who is not directly affiliated with the Oklahoma State football program has benefitted more from what Mike Gundy has done in Stillwater than I have. This blog might not exist and certainly wouldn’t be thriving like it is if not for Gundy. My cards there are on (and have been on) the table for a long time. Gundy is awesome, but he was not awesome on Saturday and neither was OSU, despite that lights-out presser.

There are three main issues that I took away from Saturday’s game. Let’s start with the visor-toting chain-wearing man at the top of the food chain.

1. More conservative than a Ted Cruz-Rand Paul ticket!

Oklahoma State played for overtime in the 4th quarter on Saturday. I don’t know how else to say that. They just did. And it almost bit ’em in the ass. I get that you don’t want to throw a pick-six or do something stupid, but Oklahoma State twice needed to gain just 40ish yards with under five minutes to get within striking distance for Matt Ammendola. And twice they handed the ball to J.D. King and Justice Hill more than they threw it to their All-Americans out wide.

Some of this is schematic of course (we’ll get to the injuries at offensive line in a minute), but from my viewpoint there didn’t seem to be a whole lot of giddyup behind that elite offense during bucket-gettin’ time late in the game. I don’t know who to point the finger at there specifically, but ultimately that falls at the feet of Gundy.

Even worse was what happened at the end of the first half. Oklahoma State gained a first down to stop the clock with ~30 seconds left and the ball in Texas territory on the 47-yard-line. You presumably need to gain 7-8 yards to get into Ammendola range. OSU got sacked for 9 on the next play so what did they do? Call their last timeout and try to gain 15-16 and get out of bounds for the Ammendola try?

Nope, they let the clock run, called timeout with a few seconds left and tried a hail mary. That was absolutely inexplicable to me.

I keep going back to the Iowa State-OU game in Norman. Cyclones get the ball on their own 31 down 14 with 26 seconds left in the first half. In 10 of 10 times that happens to Gundy, it’s right knee for Rudy and off to the locker room. Instead the Clones took it to OU, got a field goal and set the tone for the second half.

You’re Oklahoma State, you have the best offense in the country and one of the best offenses in recent college football history. I get that you don’t want to get too loose with that, but momentum and mental swings matter. Texas is on cloud nine if they know you don’t even want to try and take them on.

It honestly just felt like a lack of swagger on OSU’s part.

2. Futility in adjustments

This was the only game this year in which OSU has not adjusted well for the second half. Even in the TCU game, OSU only punted once in the second half. You figured after Texas tossed a different look in Q2 against the Pokes, they’d come out ready after the break. Nope.

The Pokes had 41 yards and four first downs in Q2, and two of those four were from Texas penalties. Gundy owned up to it after the game, and I don’t know how much of this to put on him vs. Yurcich vs. the players, but it was bad.

“We’ve got to make better adjustments,” said Gundy. “Our players are too good on offense. We gotta find a way to move the ball.”

The problem here is that based on personnel (again, getting to that) I’m not even sure OSU is capable of adjusting. Theoretically, you should be able to run on what Texas was throwing at you, and for whatever reason, OSU wasn’t.

“They play a lot of cover two,” said Mason Rudolph. “Taking away the deep ball and a lot of our bread and butter stuff. It just called for running the ball effectively. We kind of struggled at times. We had our right guard go down briefly. We didn’t finish drives.”

Thankfully, Texas runs three plays on offense and Glenn Spencer’s unit played like their scholarships were on the line. That’s probably not going to be the case against OU and West Virginia.

3. Offensive Linemen down

This is the one Oklahoma State can’t really help. They finished the game with players on the OL who aren’t even on the depth chart.

“We had a few issues with new guys, some things we could and couldn’t do, so I’m not saying that wasn’t a factor, but I thought our adjustments, they were not good,” said Gundy.

“It’s like Gene Hackman on Hoosiers when he started looking on the bench for a replacement player, and there was nobody there, that’s kind of what happens for us now when you are looking for an O-linemen. Turn around, there’s nobody there. Those guys are going to have to find a way to make a play.”

DAVE: "Holy smokes."

ROBERT: "You got two third-team guards in there now."#okstate

— Hunziker Bot (@HunzikerSays) October 21, 2017

Regardless of blame on that one (there isn’t any), it’s still a problem for the Pokes. If teams are going to load up the secondary and force OSU to run and they can’t do it because they’re playing third-teamers then they have no chance at somehow making it to the Big 12 title game.

So there are your three big issues I saw on Saturday in DKR. I don’t think Gundy should trim his locks or change his ways off the field. I think it’s fun and great, and I think any coach taking his shirt off in a basketball arena for 10,000 people is good for college football. I do think it’s fair to critique the way Oklahoma State seems to tuck its tail offensively and plays to get to the end of halves and games.

Part of that cannot be helped. Injuries pile up, and there’s little you can do. But some of it can be, and we all know where this seems to bite Gundy on an annual basis. Bedlam is in two weeks — if you thought Gundy and Co. coached tight, didn’t adjust and played not to lose on Saturday in Austin, what’s his first game against Lincoln Riley going to be like?