Reader Thoughts: How Loud is BPS and Questions on Our Headlines

I got some fun emails over the last seven days both pre- and post-Boise State win. Let’s jump right in.

Non-conference Scheduling

I used this year’s pre-season FPI rankings from ESPN to rank each non-conference team. I put a ranking of 131 for all FCS opponents. The main takeaways from the information I gathered are as follows:

• OSU is dead last in opponent average ranking at 95.5 (FPI)
• OSU is dead last in top opponent ranking at 36 (Boise State)
• OSU has filled 14 spots and has 25 spots left to fill
• OSU plays 3 FCS teams
• OSU hasn’t filled any spots from 2024 on

The main purpose of presenting these facts is that I am underwhelmed by the lack of scheduling minus Boise State, Oregon State, and Arizona State series. I do not personally know the process it takes to schedule non-conference opponents, but in my opinion TCU is excelling in scheduling top teams for meaningful games.

I know there are many arguments to this topic and that we have to schedule some lower end teams, but we should really push hard at scheduling some top talent from 2024 on if we want to continue to get noticed around the country. -Barret R.

I could not agree more!

How loud are BPS and GIA?

I recently attended a Dallas Cowboys’ game and during most third downs they’ll tell you to get loud and show the dB rating for just how loud the crowd can get.

The highest I observed the big board showing that night was 104 dB. I can easily google and find that Gaylord Memorial topped 110 dB last season against TCU, and I know the Seahawks and Chiefs routinely have crowd noise above 130 dB.

Maybe my search engine Fu is weak but I am unable to ascertain how loud our home crowds are, aside from being The Rowdiest™️ and some stories about lightbulbs blowing out. So, How loud are BPS and GIA? -Daniel R.

How about this from 2012 on BPS registering at 119 dB during the Texas game. I couldn’t find anything specific on GIA, but I did find this gem from 2005 about how GIA could be even louder.

Here’s a scary thought construction crews could have made Gallagher-Iba Arena even louder. Portions of the metal roof deck 80 feet above Eddie Sutton Court contain holes that absorb sound. Other metal plates reflect sound. If officials had installed more reflective panels during a $55 million renovation project, the noise level … well you can just imagine.

“There was a point we could not go, but we took it right up to the limit, said Richard Boner, vice president of Boner and Associates, an Austin-based acoustics firm hired for the project in 2000. “We chose to make the sound as loud as we could without compromising intelligibility for other events like assemblies and graduation. [NewsOK]

More Scheduling Issues

Something interesting to think about after WVU failed to play Week 3.

Let’s say there are only two teams in the Big 12: WVU and Oklahoma State. With Hurricane Florence interrupting WVU’s season at Week 3, while they should have had a matchup with NC State, and Oklahoma State proving doubters wrong with a BIG win against Boise State at BPS, how does the end of the season look with WVU down one game in the total column?

What if I told you ….WVU runs the table, including a win at BPS, solidifying a “perfect” 11-0 season; while The Cowboys win all games except for WVU at BPS and wrap up the season at 11-1?

How do fans react? The AP Poll? The Coaches Poll? And most notably, the CFP Committee? Who comes out on top? -Barrett R.

Two questions from my guy BR this week!

Because it’s a non-conference game against another Power 5 team, I would think the only implications are on the national level, mostly for the College Football Playoff. Measuring inequitable data points, which I totally trust the CFB Playoff committee to be very good at based on their recent history.

But in that scenario, the two teams would actually play again in the Big 12 title game, and I would imagine whichever team won that game would come out on top in both of the polls as well as the playoff rankings (outside the top four, of course).

It does beg the question of whether or not this is a good thing for a team like WVU as it relates to the playoff (which they won’t have to worry about anyway). Would you rather schedule a FCS team and win or a Power 5 team and not play? I would think the latter, especially after they already beat a bigger-name Power 5 team earlier in the season.

On Headlines

Long time reader of the blog and a proud contributor. I was reading some of the posts today and had a thought … I bet Gundy hates seeing (hyperbolic) headlines. Today has been exceptional in how the headlines can make a grown man’s head get larger than life for his football team, let alone a player who the articles are actually about.

I mean I was drunk on orange koolaid before the season started but this morning I officially drowned in it. For crying out loud some person somewhere said we have a chance to win the whole thing!

Meanwhile Gundy has been preaching to his players to ignore all these kind of headlines since Sunday morning. I just wonder if the blog should strike a balance between sensational headlines highlighting the success of the team after a major win and also taking things one week at a time and acting like we have been here before.

I say this mainly because we have been here before a ton in the Gundy era. You guys have to know players read your articles, it’s just a product of your success! That means you can help influence the focus of the team in some small way, at least in my opinion.

I know more big headlines during successful times can mean more clicks and more ad dollars and you are running a business now so that matters. However one reason I have always loved this blog is because it is run foremost by people who care deeply about OSU and not strictly on growing a platform to gigantic proportions. So that leaves me asking you: What would Gundy do?

Thanks for obliging my thoughts! Go Pokes!! -Wes S.

This is a good and fair question. As you saw yesterday, we try to not tie ourselves to the OSU program as fans in a way that some other folks can and do. It would make us untrustworthy as a source of news, information and entertainment.

I literally had a conversation with myself yesterday about whether we should break the Michael Weathers news. Kyle B. did a great job collecting it, nobody else had it (that I know of) and I knew it would be “bad” for OSU. But if we buried stuff like that then what are we all doing here? If we sit on bad news then should you trust us with the good stuff?

As for the outrageous headlines, my question is never, “What will a player or coach think of this?” but rather, “Is this sensational, and would a reasonable OSU fan or reader of our #content think this is stupid?” We try and toe that line, but we don’t always nail it. Do we publish headlines that we shouldn’t? Yep. Will we do that again in the future? Absolutely. There will be errors.

But the thing I am proud of our team for is that they’re always pushing things forward. They’re always trying new stuff out. They’re always attempting to bring in new readers without alienating old ones by producing high-quality, fun, intriguing stuff.

I totally understand where you’re coming from, and it’s a tricky balance to strike because we are necessarily invested in the success of OSU on both a business and personal level. But ultimately we have to make calls based on what is reasonable and right for our site without tethering ourselves to OSU in an unrealistic way.

That doesn’t mean you come in guns blazing and bury QB1 after two drives or anything like that, but it does mean that it’s ok to post a headline about how Justice Hill’s Heisman odds or OSU’s title odds are changing. That’s a reality, and if a team can’t handle its own success because of our site then they probably weren’t going to handle it very well anyway.

On Texas Tech

In total, Houston had 31 pass completions and 40 running plays. Against Houston, here are the Texas Tech defensive players making the most tackles …

Four TT CBs and one safety: 18 tackles and 10 assisted tackles
Four TT LBs: 15 tackles and 8 assisted tackles
Three DTs: 3 tackles and 7 assisted tackles
Three DEs: 3 tackles and 7 assisted tackles
Ten lline and LB personnel: 21 tackles and 22 assisted tackles

Assume there were two Texas Tech players in for each “assisted tackle.” That gives 39 solo tackles and 16 “group” tackles = 55 total. So, Texas Tech stopped around 55 of 71 Houston plays. The remaining Houston plays went out-of-bounds or into the end zone.

What’s wrong with this picture? The TT defensive secondary is having to make too many tackles. My take on their issues: TT linebackers are big and slow. Much heavier, slower, and much less “active” than OSU linebackers. Texas Tech defensive linemen are what they are: big and slow. The game video that I watched showed TT with no blitz or effective pass rush. One TT linebacker was credited with a sack against Houston.

Can the OSU offensive line negate whatever meager pass rush the TT defensive line and linebackers mount? Definitely yes, I think. Can the OSU offensive line face up and “move” the TT defensive linemen, creating gaps so that OSU runners can make their “cuts” as they pass the slow, slow TT linebackers? On running plays to the outside, definitely yes. On interior running plays, maybe.

In conclusion: Cornelius is not going to be chased from the pocket. And probably won’t have to give up a tackle for a loss. And perhaps no need for him to carry the ball, except near the goal line. This game could be a blowout for the OSU running game. I’m thinking OSU 52, TT 21. (I’ll be having lemonade, rather than orange Koolaid.) -John C.

I am concerned about the Tech game, not because I think Tech is that good but rather because OSU hasn’t always been great coming off big wins, and most OSU fans (raises hand) can’t see anything but a three-TD victory this weekend. That always makes me …