PFB Roundtable: Debating the Mullet, 2019 Season Outcomes and More

Oklahoma State is 3-0 and kicks off Big 12 play in Austin this Saturday. So we thought it was high time that we convened to discuss the state of this year’s team and our thoughts thus far.

Here’s a peek into the PFB editors’ Slack conversation as we delve into everything from our expectations for 2019 (and whether they’ve changed) to our real thoughts on the mullet.

Hope you enjoy.

Kyle Cox: Did you come out of the Tulsa game glad Spencer went through growing pains and OSU was still able to come out with the win, or has your confidence in his freshman Heisman campaign waned after his up-and-down performance?

(If you can think of a longer question, let me know)

Kyle Boone: (Obviously) glad they got through some early struggles, but I think it throws up some caution flags that, maybe, he’s not going to be the GOAT immediately. Against real defenses, teams are going to dare him to throw, show him unique coverages he’s probably never seen before, etc. The TU game was just a reminder that as a collective there needs to be patience as he grows.

Cox: I’m somewhere in between. I think growing pains are going to happen and better to have them and get the win, but I want to see he, and the passing game, improve and be more than just great catch-and-runs by Tylan.

Marshall Scott: Yeah, I think it was probably a little foolish to think he would handle every defense he faced this season like he did Oregon State. It’s just part of it. He’ll show glimpses of what he can do all year, but consistency will probably only come with more experience.

Kyle Porter: It feels like he’s a sophomore because he’s been around for a bit, but that was his third game. I’ve seen almost nothing to deter me from believing that he’s going to go down as a top-five QB in OSU history. All the tools, all the moxie, all the stones. All the way in.

Cox: I think it’s easy to just anoint someone the next great QB and completely forget the learning curve that virtually every QB must face.

Meaning, I think he can be great, but we shouldn’t expect 13-0 in Year 1.

Boone: Yeah, what’s the stat Gundy throws out? 2,000 games before a QB feels comfortable in college? That Sanders has been this productive with relatively no stumbling speaks to just how high his ceiling is.

Scott: I mean, Saturday was definitely a bit of a stumble.

Cox: Someone always has to be the Debby downer.

Boone: By stumbling I mean a loss. He could go 0-for-28 with 5 INT’s for all I care as long as they win.

Scott: Gotcha, gotcha.

Boone: They’d probably bring out the ChubaCat before it got that bad.

Porter: Does Gundy think Chuba is a Canadian bot built for him to collect Big 12 title No. 2?

He approached a top-10 all-time number of carries in a single game against Tulsa. TULSA!

Boone: I feel like that might say more about where he stands with RB2 as opposed to his belief in RB1.

Cox: That was going to be my next question — How scared are you that Gundy will run Chuba into the ground?

Boone: Not scared. Chuba is a thoroughbred.

Porter: I mean he doubled Justice’s non-conference touches from last year so kinda concerned. Although Justice went 299 in his sophomore year so I’m not going to panic.

Chuba is Secretariat.

Boone: American Pharoah… Canadian Pharoah

Porter: Haha yes!

Cox: I think Gundy realizes he squandered Justice last year (limiting his best player’s touches), just for him to get hurt and leave early.

Scott: I think it’s crazy to us because we haven’t seen anything like it in a while, but he isn’t even leading the country in carries. It will definitely look dumb if he gets hurt that he had the ball 66 times in the noncon, but it hasn’t looked to slow him down yet.

Porter: How angry are we that we didn’t come up with Rudolph the Red Zone Reindeer?

Cox: Infuriated.

Porter: It’s so good!

Boone: Pretty bummed. I haven’t slept in 48 hours thinking about it.

Cox: We had like six years.

Scott: Probably because any time they got to the red zone, JW got in the game.

Cox: Tru… Even in 2016.

Porter: The Non-Red Zone Reindeer.

Boone: I think we learned early on that Rudolph hated the reindeer jokes so we tried to accommodate. We should’ve done it for the #brand.

Porter: How about Carson comparing Chuba to Barry in the pod?

Cox: I honestly think you slipped him that note across the table.

Scott: I mean, through three games the stats aren’t miles apart.

Porter: When Gundy said before the season started, “He’s as pretty as they get.” I thought that was such a weird way to put it. Now I’m not sure there’s any other way to put it.

Cox: I will hold off on my Goat-Chubacabra comparisons until at least November.

Boone: Chuba is good, but Barry would be putting up Chuba’s same stats in half the time … I am prepared to pump Carson’s brakes.

Porter: I’m still a Joe Randle truther. A birdie once told me that a certain QB1 around that time responded to somebody bemoaning Kendall Hunter’s departure with, “Wait until you see the guy following him.” Another convo for another day.

Cox: I’m a Kendall truther.

Boone: Was that birdie Joe Randle? Don’t answer that.

Cox: So, how good (or meh) can this defense actually be? Do we have any idea?

Porter: I think the defense is what it is. The big thing for me is how consistent are you. You don’t have to be good, but you do have to be consistently average. That is, it’s better to average giving up 30 PPG by giving up 30 points every game rather than 50 in six games and 10 in six games.

Cox: I’m not quite ready for cautiously optimistic. I think I’m cautiously observant.

Porter: Also, create a turnover?

Cox: Yeah, okay would be the goal, I think.

Scott: I agree with consistency being important. I have no idea how good OSU’s defense is right now.

Cox: What’s a turnover?

Porter: They had 3x as many in 2011 as they’ve had in two seasons with Knowles. Not great, Bobs.

Boone: If the defense can just not be abysmal I think this team can be good. I’m just not confident the defense can be anything other than abysmal.

Cox: I like shutting out Tulsa the final two quarters. Also, I don’t like getting smoked for the whole second quarter by Tulsa.

Porter: I do think it’s funny that we come into every year with these expectations that the defense is suddenly going to hold teams under 20 a game. Yeah, no. Have to change expectations. Expect turnovers and big stops in key moments. Don’t expect LSU redux.

Cox: I think TOs are huge but I also think they are more based on luck than we want to admit.

Porter: Are they? Spencer engendered 25+ every single year.

#HireSpencer

Two Spencers.

Boone: I’m here for #SpencerGang2019.

One on O, one on D and we’re going to the natty.

Cox: He forced 14 turnovers in ’14.

Porter: I knew you would look that up.

Scott: Nothing that happened in 2014 counts.

…

Except Bedlam.

Boone: Don’t use facts plz @cox.

Cox: *whispers and 24 in 2017

Porter: Two a game!

Cox: Not saying there’s no skill in them, they’re just not all planned.

Or at least, they’re not all a result or planning.

Porter: Knowles has had four games of two. Everything else is one or zero. Turnovers are the opposite of Chick-fil-A. So underrated. Flip a field on somebody and you change the game early when you’re up 21-7 or 24-10 or something. It’s massive.

Cox: If Rudolph had bigger hands, the TO margin would have been better.

Porter: The roundtable has officially started.

Boone: I’d just like to add before we get too far off topic that Vernand Morency’s junior year should at least thrust him into the Joe Randle-Kendall Hunter convo. Carry on.

Cox: To your point, Spencer was plus-2 in the turnover margin Saturday.

Porter: Glenn not Sanders.

Boone: I side with @porter — turnovers aren’t some serendipitous stat. I really feel like some coaches can teach it, and other coaches have the name Jim Knowles.

Porter: Hahaha

Cox: I want TOs more than sacks, I’ll agree.

Boone: Text from Mike Gundy to Bill Young: “Hey Bill, u up?

Cox: Okay, if you could change it, would your predicted win total for OSU (whatever it was) go up, down or stay the same after three games?

I believe I went 9-4. I think I might be tempted to go 8-5 but pride would lead me to stand pat.

Porter: I think I picked nine, and I’ll stay with nine. We get prisoner-of-the-moment-y after halves like at Tulsa on Saturday where it doesn’t feel like OSU can win six games. But they’ll go to Austin and beat Texas and get to 7-0 and top 10 in the country or whatever before finishing 9-3. It’s who they are.

Scott: I think stay the same. I thought they’d be 3-0 to this point, and they’re 3-0. Sure, that second quarter Saturday didn’t look great, but a covered dub is a dub.

Boone: Yeah I’m staying put with my 9-win prediction. But I feel less orange-koolaid-y and more confident about it than I did three weeks ago.

Scott: I think I said 10. Yikes. But I won’t back down … yet.

Cox: Okay, Marsh isn’t the Debby downer.

Boone: It’s not crazy. I feel like @ UT and home vs. OU are total toss-ups that could shape how we view the whole season.

Cox: OU is a toss-up?!?!?! I’m all in.

I do think UT will finish like 4th in the Big 12 though.

Boone: Running quarterbacks give OU fits …

Porter: By the way … win nine games, Iowa State.

One time.

Scott: Running quarterbacks also give OSU fits.

Cox: ?

Boone: Oh here we go. Next we’re talking about Chick-Fil-A’s standing in the overrated/underrated pantheon.

Cox: My ISU pick to make it to Arlington has aged well.

Porter: Matt Campbell beats Kansas three times in a row and he’s Matt Lombardi. Gundy wins nine games in like eight of 10 seasons and he’s a hick with a perm.

Scott: Iowa State might stink.

Porter: Come at me.

Boone: Ready to admit it — Iowa State stinks! I was wrong!

Cox: Same!

Boone: They literally tackled their chances of beating their rival. If OSU lost to OU that way, I’d be calling for Gundy to shave his mullet.

Porter: Hahaha

Cox: I’m calling for it at the first loss this year.

Porter: Boone pushes his way onto Jim Rome’s show on a Monday morning screaming for Gundy’s wife to Sampson him in the middle of the night!

(didn’t know that’s where that sentence was going when I started it)

Cox: Someone needs to stop this thing before it goes completely awry.

(Also, that’s how half of my posts start.)

Boone: What happens if a player joke-shaves him during a film sesh? Or if his son pulls a prank and mixes his Pantene with, like, hair reduction product?

Cox: Pulled scholly.

Boone: IDK, maybe I just realized I’m over the mullet.

Cox: I’ve been over it

Can we even publish this?

Porter: I love it.

Boone: Lol let’s end this.

Porter: Both the mullet and this RT.