Notes on Mike Gundy’s Kansas State Postgame Press Conference

A disappointed Mike Gundy addressed the media on Saturday evening after Oklahoma State’s 45-40 loss to Kansas State in Stillwater. He talked about slow starts, home woes, Mason Rudolph’s performance and that final drive.

• Opened honestly: “For whatever reason I can’t figure out what I’m doing or not doing that keeps us from showing up in the first half of our home games, and I shared that with the team. We all need to look at ourselves and figure out what’s going on because we, for whatever reason, we’re not showing up and we get in a hole. And then today we were in an unbelievably deep hole.

“Quite honestly I don’t know how we got back in it at the point to where we had a real chance to win in the end and then couldn’t execute. We couldn’t throw we couldn’t catch, which chances of that happening were slim in my opinion.”

• “We just didn’t play very good today, and that’s disappointing. It starts with me. I must not have done a good job of getting them ready this week.”

• Turnovers are killer and so is special teams TD.

• OSU worked “extremely hard” all week on special teams because “that’s where Kansas State makes a living.”

• 3 for 13 on third down is not like OSU for the most part.

• “Mason did not play good in the first half.”

• “I’m disappointed in their play, and I’m disappointed in our coaching. Their plans were better than ours, and their players played better than we did.”

• “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. It’s not always that way but in my opinion that’s the way I felt.

“So I give them a lot of credit for what they brought in, for rallying, for making plays in the end. They made the last plays out here and we didn’t. I told the team that too, that’s exactly what I told them, is that, ‘You should’ve won this game, and that’s not you as players. That’s coaches and players as a group. We as an organization should’ve played well enough at home to win the game.’ But that’s why we play the games, it doesn’t always fall that way.”

#RealTalk

• Doesn’t remember having bad games like Mason because he “tried to forget” them.

• Doesn’t feel like there was lifelessness from the team. “We just weren’t making any plays.” Is puzzled why with unbelievable home crowds why OSU can’t perform better in the first half. Said it’s an issue and that OSU has to fix it.

• Mentioned several three and outs on defense, “but then we gave up big plays.” Have to minimize big plays on offense against a team like Kansas State.

• Have to play man against a QB run game. Mentioned all the ways OSU got beat in the secondary. Double moves, pick, wheel route, etc.

• Said OSU got what it wanted with Rudolph and Washington on the final drive. “They can do that blindfolded. We had the perfect play called. We got what we want. They’re human. I love both of those kids, but we didn’t play very well on that drive. That part was surprising. The overall concept of what happened today for me was disappointing.”

• “You keep throwing it in and stirring it up, and it didn’t taste any good.”

• Told team they’re playing better and minimizing mistakes better on the road than at home. “It’s an unusual situation.”

• Said he told team, “Why don’t you try getting ahead by 20 and see how that feels.” Why we’re starting slow at home, I’m not sure. We’ve got to get rolling at home.

• Rudolph just “missed a couple throws.”

• Felt like they were going to win with two minutes left.

• Said culture will keep morale up. “They have a lot to play for. They have a responsibility each week to get ready to play. I don’t care who we play. If they don’t feel that way then they shouldn’t be here.” Said the bouncing back doesn’t concern him — the trying to start better does.