Lunt’s Five Takeaways from the 2017 Oklahoma State Football Season

Now that the dust has settled on the regular season, I wanted to provide some thoughts on the 2017 season.

To start I figured I would link my five predictions I made prior to the season (here you go), so everyone could put me on blast.

I think there are some interesting talking points here as the offense didn’t meet some fans expectations, mainly because the expectations are insanely high.  The expectations were even higher than I thought as this offense was a force all season, and somehow still fell short?  Nonetheless the 2017 offense increased scoring output by 20%+, and that is outstanding. We will call this prediction a winner.

The defense didn’t exceed expectations, so that one was a loser.  It was looking good through about six games, and then November cleaned out my bank account.  This was a loser. The Cowboy Back definitely didn’t take a hiatus, although their play made it feel like they did, so maybe that is a push?

OSU finished 16th in the nation in 3rd down conversion rate, another loser.

Summary: Trying to predict things in college football is similar to my jump shot, totally wheels off.

Moving on, here are my five takeaways from the 2017 season:

1. The offensive line is close

I think Josh Henson might be close to building a special unit, given his coaching ability and also recruiting momentum.  As many of you know I took a close look at the offensive line each week, so I have a pretty strong understanding of where they stand.  This scheme and coaching style is definitely structured for more of a finesse blocking style, and for the most part that fits the personnel also.  They showed the willingness to adapt week to week with blocking scheme, which in the past this coaching staff was more rigid on change.  Sacks were down considerably, and the rushing game was as good as it’s been since 2012 maybe?  The unit still struggled with defensive lines with elite pass rushers and physical interior lineman, but in the Big 12 that is something that is pretty rare.  Guys like Johnny Wilson and Tevin Jenkins received considerable playing time, setting up a 2018 line that should be pretty good.

2. Defensive consistency is all over the map

It’s the biggest reason why this team lost 3 games.  In a 2 game stretch, Oklahoma State completely shut down a really strong West Virginia offense at home, and was gashed for 62 points against Oklahoma.  You can even take it a step further and say Oklahoma State was inconsistent from drive to drive within a single game.  In the Oklahoma game the defense forced 2 crucial turnovers (cough cough 3 turnovers), had 5 sacks, and then other drives looked completely kind of lost, kind of like Tre Flowers on this play.

Now Lincoln Riley’s offense will do that to you, but there are other examples outside of that game that support this theory.

3. The young corners were what we thought they were

AJ Green and Rodarius Williams showed flashes of being a strong CB duo, they also showed inconsistency.  Welcome to starting players in their second year on campus, against elite WR competition.  This will ultimately set up for a an experienced group for the next few years, but if you want experience you have to pay the toll.  The toll is Hollywood Brown and Byron Pringle still streaking for TDs in my nightmares for another 9 months.

4. Special teams is a deep rooted problem

I’m sure most people immediately think about Ammendola’s critical misses under 25 yards (Ammendola rebounded very nicely and actually had a good season) or Zach Sinor’s inconsistencies.  Although both had their issues, especially Sinor, that’s only part of the problem.  Ever since Joe Deforest left, Oklahoma State has fallen into special teams mediocrity and in 2017 moved into the embarrassing category.  The return units were so bad, most were willing to accept a simple fair catch with no fumble on a punt return.  A full time coach is needed to turn this unit around, it’s way too important to ignore.  Oklahoma State was 102nd in punt returns, 106th in kickoff returns and 72nd in net punt average.  Yikes.

5. Mason Rudolph finally showed us who he is

It was hard to get a gauge on who Rudolph was because he never had a consistent running game (minus last 4-5 games of 2016), a full WR core healthy and consistent time to throw in previous years.  I was finally able to get a feel for what type of player Rudolph is this season.  My memory of Mason Rudolph will be him dropping an dime on a 15 yard out route from the opposite hash to Marcell Ateman, then the next play him holding the ball way too long and getting sacked.  That 2 play instance is his legacy in a nut shell for me.   He is a great leader, has incredible touch on his throws, and can make just about every throw on the field.  He is a great college QB, a solid pro QB prospect for the NFL draft, but not the elite QB that some thought he was.  There were instances of bad reads, inconsistent throws, and really the worst part is a lack of internal clock in the pocket vs. a pass rush.  Regardless I will have fond memories of him, statistically he will have the best season in Oklahoma State history and I think that is something he should be proud of.