Notebook: Oklahoma State Flips the Switch Way Too Late vs. Kansas State

In classic Oklahoma State fashion, it was close late.

The Cowboys couldn’t finish of their 29-point comeback against Kansas State, losing 45-40, so let’s look at why.

• For the second straight week, OSU shot blanks out of the gate on both sides of the ball, and coach Mike Gundy opened his postgame press conference on that.

“I didn’t think it was lifeless, I just am a little puzzled why, in the first half playing at home with the crowds we have that are unbelievable, why we can’t perform better in the first half. The only way that I know to clean something up and fix it is to address it and say, ‘I think this is an issue, let’s fix it.’ Otherwise, it doesn’t go away, and that’s why I was saying that. Not so much lifeless but I’m not sure, there are just a lot of little things that kept going; that when you threw it all in there and stir it up, that’s why you got beat.”

• Mason Rudolph was erratic early to say the least, and the defense had given up 28 points by halftime to a third-string quarterback.

How to light up OSU: play anyone at QB who isn’t your 1st string QB.

— PFB_Nate (@PFB_Nate) November 18, 2017

• Rodarius Williams had a shot to really put a dent in the Wildcats’ sides with an early interception, but the ball rattled off his hands. OSU would have started about the K-State 35-yard line. Instead, K-State punted, and the Cowboys didn’t even sniff the end zone on the ensuing possession.

• A couple of the PFB staffers have taken issue with OSU’s coin flip strategy: If the OSU offense is so outstanding, why defer until the second half, especially if K-State has trouble coming from behind? Take the points, however you get them, and hold on.

“We will address (the poor starts). Mike (Gundy) mentioned it there, and he’s right,” said Glenn Spencer. “Why the same calls that we called after that first series that stopped them … maybe it was a missed tackle, a miss hit, they aren’t ready for the game … I’m not sure, but we’ve got to address it and get that problem fixed. We can’t start off behind like that. You lose all the home momentum, and they catch up.”

• Rather than taking the ball first, the Pokes let the Wildcat offense drive 71 yards on 10 plays for a score on the game’s opening drive, and on OSU’s first touch of the second half (what they decided was more valuable), Zach Sinor came on to punt after stalling at the K-State 49.

• Byron Pringle took a kickoff 89 yards the other way, ironically the first time that has happened to an OSU special teams unit that has struggled all season.

• The real problem in the first half was Rudolph’s right arm though. He tossed two interceptions in Saturday’s loss, and there could have been more. Somewhat infuriatingly, he still threw for 425 yards and three touchdowns, but he did not in any way look like a contender for the Heisman Trophy. Then again, neither did the Oklahoma quarterback today.

Baker Mayfield didn't feel like taking the high road today pic.twitter.com/30Q5UFk264

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) November 18, 2017

• There were so, so, so many times Rudolph looked to James Washington, couldn’t get it to him, scanned across the middle, couldn’t find a target, dropped the ball to his waist and did one of these:

• And on so many more, he had receivers open but hurled the ball far over their heads. He panicked, and that’s nothing new for him against K-State.

Mason Rudolph now has five interceptions in three starts against Kansas State. He has 19 in his other 36 starts. #okstate

— Nathan Ruiz (@NathanSRuiz) November 18, 2017

• During the ESPN broadcast, a commentator said he talked with Mike Gundy before the game. Gundy told him the Wildcats have been running basically the same defense since he was quarterbacking in Stillwater about 30 years ago. And if that’s true, shouldn’t the Cowboys be the most well-prepared group against a Bill Snyder-coached team because Gundy is still there, too?

• Rudolph pulled the Cowboys back from nothingness in the fourth quarter, but his play through three was what did them in. Even with the Wildcats’ third-stringer putting up 28 at half, OSU didn’t put up that many points until there were fewer than five minutes left in the game.

• All that brings me back to one point. OSU flipped the switch about 45 minutes too late. Rudolph went through a stretch early in the second into the third, going 9-of-20 for 59 passing yards, -12 rushing, two sacks, a pair of interceptions and a fumble.

• But I guess he turned it around in the fourth.

Fourth Quarter

• Probably unfortunately for Glenn Spencer, his defense’s performance in the fourth quarter will go unnoticed, but it woke up, too. The K-State column of that chart is absolutely astonishing for an OSU defense in the fourth quarter. Add in a clutch turnover, and that’s mind-blowing.

• None of that will matter though, and it shouldn’t. OSU was outclassed despite trying to get its act together when it realized it needed to. And if you don’t believe that narrative, here are the comparative stats through the first three quarters (75 percent of the game).

First Three Quarters

• Mike Gundy summed it up well: “In my opinion, we should’ve won that game just based on talent from top to bottom. It’s got nothing to do with Kansas State. I have all the respect in the world for their staff, all the respect in the world for their players. But we should’ve played better and we should’ve done enough to win the football game.”