Notes on Mike Gundy’s Pre-Iowa State Press Conference

Well, Press Conference Gundy remains spectacular. The head ball coach delivered an all-timer on Monday after the Bedlam game. I took notes. Let’s jump in.

• Said Boone Pickens’ tweets were really nice. Said they butt heads a lot but they do think a lot alike and have a common goal.

• Called Robert Allen and Co. “homers … (people) get tired of listening to y’all.”

• “The gameday environment … was fantastic. Fifteen years ago as an assistant, even as a head coach we had a goal to make the game day environment in Stillwater like it is at a SEC school. We like to talk about Big 12-SEC, their gameday environments are through the roof. We’ve tried to get that environment here. Our fans were fabulous.”

• “One of the few times I’ve ever run out of the tunnel and looked at the crowd. When I got halfway on the field and looked out and saw everything. It hit me in how far we’ve come. We get tweets from Mr. Pickens, and he started the thing. He’s always said ‘I want to compete,’ and that’s what we did. The overall concept of what we — Mr. Pickens, Coach Holder, myself and the organization — have been striving for, that’s what we got Saturday.”

• Would change a few things — couple things different defensively and a few different play calls.

• Wants to keep quality coaches and continue to recruit quality kids.

• “That game, arguably, could have been the most important game in the history of Oklahoma State football. In my opinion. So I couldn’t be any more proud of everybody.”

• If they would have hit the last pass and won the game, you still have to get over it. ISU might not look as flashy on tape … but they don’t make a lot of mistakes. Well coached. Building an organization — very similar to the things OSU says — “I’m just an outsider looking in.”

• “Iowa has capability of scoring more points this year than they ever have.”

• Doesn’t want to hear about throws, dropped coverages etc. from his players re: Bedlam.

• “Here’s our mentality: We’re gunslingers, we’re not scared, we’re going to throw it deep, we’re going to play fast. Slowly but surely, we’re building a defense that can play with our team. It’s going to get better and better and better and better. We’re not going to change who we are.”

• “I do Sirius Radio, I’m sure you guys don’t listen. Probably listening to SpongeBob or something.”

• You can always look back as a playcaller. You can always look back and change things. Wishes they would have hit the last play but wouldn’t change anything about the game.

• “I think our defense is pretty sound.” Sometimes it looks like the Steel Curtain then you give up 700 yards and say “who is this team?” Still has confidence in defense.

• “It’s both sides, we just ran out of time. It was a hell of a game. People ask, ‘How do you live through that?’ It’s pretty entertaining for me, honestly. I sit back and couldn’t be more proud of what’s been built. Especially now, we have our No. 1 donor in the history of this school that at times has not always been fired up with me. I’m hard-headed. He has a right to be hard-headed. He’s 91 years old. For him to feel good about it makes me feel good about it.”

• “We have very few runs. We have a lot of reads.” Mason has become “fantastic” at putting them in the best play. Said looks at the end of the game dictated passing instead of handing it off to Justice.

• Doesn’t want to go slow because that’s not fun to him. They want to be who they are. His goal has been to get people to change the channel, see OSU and not change it back.

• “I don’t question anything Mike (Yurcich) does. I think Mike was through the roof in plays he called in this game. He was fantastic. I don’t think anybody, even as smart as you guys are, had a clue what plays he was going to call. I shut up and stayed off the mic because he was rolling, and he was feeling it.”

• Said on the Washington TD, Gundy almost intervened but let it ride. “I’m learning to be a good head coach. I’m shutting up.”

• James Washington is in a boot. Will try to get him back in practice middle of the week.

• Evident Tyron was going to make plays early in the year. He’s maturing and learning the culture. Had a bump early in the year, “forgot where he was.” He’s 100 percent in now, though. Going to make a lot of plays in Stillwater as long as he stays bought in.

• Had some great gameday environments but not like this one. Called it a prize fight. If it was Rocky 8 it was Rocky 8. It never stopped. Here’s the full rant.

Gundy is every #okstate fan ever. “You gotta be sh****** me.” pic.twitter.com/vATJ6aj6pa

— Pistols Firing (@pistolsguys) November 6, 2017

• Said Pickens wants to win every game, but he’s also a businessman. Said Pickens (and Gundy) wants to keep putting money into coaching, recruiting etc. “More than ever.” OSU will have those options now.

• Got two phone calls on Sunday morning from prominent OSU people: “You just tell us what you need, we’re going to make this happen.”

• Whether OSU people like it or now, OU is a top 10 team in the country since 1950. Over the years, it’s been toe to toe. “We started building tradition in football about eight years ago.”

• Said he won’t be able to finish out building to where OSU is a top 10 team year in and year out.

• Said OSU can go against anyone in the country in a neutral site game and play with them.

• Said Matt Campbell is “tremendous for this league.” But nobody could have predicted they’d go on the road and beat OU. “He’s an up and coming guy.” Said their AD is an awesome guy, too. “He’d better ante up.”

• Said ISU is humble and unselfish. Play hard and are in the right spot.

• Steals offensive plays from everybody. Studies mental health. Reads a lot about other coaches. “(Campbell) may say I’m crazier than a snake hunter.” This press conference is unbelievable.

• Got an email from a guy who said “If you’re a real snake hunter, you’d do it barefoot. I’m not a real snake hunter.”

• Didn’t feel great about West Virginia game. Regardless of how he feels, important to instill importance of the next game.

• Pulled out a sheet with numbers on it. Compared Oklahoma State to Ohio State. “They’re a good team. They have a big time coach. They’ve won a lot of games. Everybody likes them.” Said OU had 11 possessions against Ohio State. Had 16 against Oklahoma State (really 15) but said Ohio State would have given up 50 if they’d defended 16 possessions.

• Started talking Moneyball and A.J. Hinch, “the numbers tell you (Ohio State-OU) would have been a 50-point game. How would the national media have taken that if they had that information?”

• Said OSU and OU have fantastic quarterbacks but both QBs made mistakes.

• Went home on Saturday and had Diet Cokes and some chicken and watched games. Said national media was talking how the defenses didn’t show up. “That’s why I wanted to do this (points per drive) study.”

• Baker has been “the most difficult player for us to defend.” On a busted play, compared him to Vince Young. Said he’s at his best when a play breaks down.

• “I’d like for somebody to show me a better running back than five. Anywhere. I’m just saying. He’s pretty good. I can say it for him. He’s not going to say it. He’s too humble, and he doesn’t hardly talk.”

• Iowa State is like Kansas State. Tries to get in the perfect play. “Outsider looking in. They understand who they are and what they’re trying to accomplish.”

• ISU has two guys who ought to be playing for the basketball team.

• Doesn’t think defense got caught up in how good everyone was saying they were. “We weren’t out of place. Had guys there, and they didn’t make the play.”

• Said evaluates focus based on if people are where they were supposed to be, and they mostly were.

• Gundy wrote Joel Lanning a note earlier this year. Said him playing both ways is “old school stuff … that’s awesome.” Said he’s pretty intelligent and that he’s been around for 100 years.

• “If there’s a guy to copy, (Bill Snyder) is a good one.” Said he won’t copy him by coaching when he’s 79 years old. Gundy learned writing letters from Pat Jones. Said he was in on that because he can’t type anyway.

• “You have an ACL and a PCL. Y’all want me to give you a biology lesson?” Said knees used to be repaired with shovels and pick axes. Said in the late 80s, OSU was playing Kansas State and had his leg wrapped because he tore his PCL. Looked like the kid from Christmas Story. Larry Coker called a speed option. OSU won. Snyder sent him a note. Amazing.