The Rundown: Mike Gundy on Boise State and Upcoming Conference Play

Mike Gundy held his weekly press conference on Monday from Boone Pickens Stadium. At it, he looked back on the Boise State game and shared what he thought went well and how his team played. He also hit on OSU’s prospects moving forward with conference play starting this week, assessed the coaching staff’s performance to date and more.

• “We gave the players off until late in the evening so the coaches could try to get caught up from the travel. Guys are doing good.”
• “We run-blocked much better. We were able to match guys up pretty good. Running back ran well. Defense played very well in the second half. Thought the coaching was excellent. Punter made a big difference. And then Jason Taylor made a nice play by getting his hand on the field goal attempt. Glad to be 3-0. Looking forward to this week’s competition.”
• “I tried to get Cale Cabbiness up there [dancing] after the game. His dancing skills are not good at all. Very stiff, and really shy. But a great moment. I wanted him to be able to enjoy that.”
• “Cale played on Gunnar’s baseball team when he was little. Good kid, does it every day. Perfect example of when a coach tells players they never know when they’ll get a chance.”
• “They’ve had to adapt and overcome a lot of situations this year, different things that are somewhat unusual. Look around the country and you might have 4 or 5 teams playing exceptionally well right now, and everyone else is essentially beating themselves. Our players have understood the things that can really hurt you as a football team.”
• “They missed the call,” Gundy says of the roughing the passer call made against Brock Martin.
• “Bad breaks and crooked refs,” he adds.
• “We’ll know more Wednesday,” he says of health related to receivers.
• “I’ve never started two true freshmen at one position, and I’ve done it several times this year.”
• “We have QB run game. Spencer’s a good runner. He needs to run the ball. There’s times he has to do that based on the scheme we see.”
• “Jason Taylor’s experienced, been around in big situations. Seems to play better in games than people may expect. He’s committed to the team, he’s tough.”
• “Jaylen Warren, the word on the street was that he was a good player, he was unselfish, he was tough. So far it’s held to be true. Blocks like a tight end. Runs hard. He’s very valuable.”
• “He [Jaylen Warren] is going to get his carries.”
• “[Jim Knowles] is smart enough to try and fix something instead of being stubborn. I wasn’t worried [about him early at OSU]. I’ve said this before. He thinks differently than people. He’s a city Philadelphia guy with an Ivy League degree. That’s a little different than what we do in this league on a daily basis. Then he was at Duke. His approach with our players is a little rougher and cerebral than what normal coaches are. He’s a streets of Philly guy, and he’s an Ivy League guy. He’s on those guys all the time. More aggressive than most coaches are today. He has a pretty good mixture the way he gets on them.”
• “Kasey Dunn is doing good. Is it difficult on him? Sure, it is. When you’re in the situation we were last year and then again this year at wideout, you have to give in and go away from some coaching philosophies to try and do what’s best to give the team a chance to win. You play the hand you’re dealt. He’s done a good job. His patience has been really good. It’s difficult to practice, right? You got to be real careful. One more guy goes down and you’re in the full house wishbone.”
• “The offensive line blocked effectively. We had several times in that game where our backs were up at the line of scrimmage and hitting air. From here on out it’s going to be more difficult. Boise State’s depth is not what it is in the Big 12. So each week it gets more difficult for us to rush the football.”
• “Hunter Woodard played good. He was a co-Player of the Game. Played really well.”
• “I thought we rushed the quarterback well and did it consistently [against Boise State]. My message to the team was that Boise is fast starters. They do a good job scheming the first 20 plays of the game. You have to try and match their intensity early in the game and it settles down.”
• “With the way realignment played out for our conference, it couldn’t have played out any better. Period. I know this: In my opinion the schools being brought in will help drive the market up [for the Big 12] based on what it was six months ago.”