The Top 5 Quotes from Mike Gundy’s Monday News Conference Ahead of Tulsa

STILLWATER — Mike Gundy said his team was “fortunate” to get out of Saturday’s game with a win, and it’s hard to argue against that based on almost every stat except for points scored.

Oklahoma State beat Arkansas 39-31 in double overtime on Saturday in Boone Pickens Stadium. The Cowboys will take their unbeaten record east on the Turnpike for a game against Tulsa at 11 a.m. Saturday.

Gundy held his weekly media luncheon on Monday. Here are five things he said that stood out. A video of his full news conference is below.

1. OSU’s Defensive Woes ‘Fixable’

Bobby Petrino and his Razorback offense torched OSU’s defense to the tune of 648 yards of total offense.

Arkansas ran for 4.9 yards a carry and Taylen Green had 416 passing yards. Gundy said after the game the Cowboys got outschemed and that OSU “wasted the first half.”

He reiterated those points Monday, but gave OSU fans some hope by calling the defensive woes “fixable.”

“A majority of the problems we had in the first half is we got outcoached,” Gundy said. “Then we got our players put in the wrong positions. We have to fix that, which that’s on us. Then we have to get our players in the right position based on giving them the best chance. That’s the simplest way I can put it. …

“The good news is it’s fixable. And I know everybody’s going, ‘Hmm, didn’t look like it was fixable to me.’ It is fixable. If players don’t have schemes that give them either an equal opportunity or a better opportunity to your opponent, you’re exposed. And then if the other guys have schemes that are better than yours, you’re really exposed. There’s been a lot of times in my career here that we have had better schemes than the other coaches, I just don’t talk about it. But because they had better concepts than we did, and then our players got out of position, it made it look really bad.”

2. ‘Gonna Be A While’ on Oliver

Collin Oliver started a momentum-swinging play in Saturday’s win against the Razorbacks in what could’ve been his last snap of the season.

Oliver got pressure on Green and even partially deflected one of his second-quarter passes. OSU corner Kale Smith ended up intercepting the ball and returning it for a touchdown to put a stop to Arkansas’ momentum and get OSU on the board. But Oliver started the play.

INT TO THE HOUSE 😤😤

📺: ABC pic.twitter.com/W4BC3hCKFT

— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) September 7, 2024

Oliver went to the locker room after that play and later returned to the sideline on crutches. Gundy said after the game that he thought Oliver would be done for the rest of the season. Here is what he said of Oliver’s status Monday, and Gundy also mentioned linebacker Justin Wright, who has missed the Cowboys’ first two games.

“Nothing more than what they told me,” Gundy said. “It’s gonna be a while, so very unfortunate. Justin Wright and Collin both now are in that category that might miss a considerable number of games. Hardest thing for a coach, but there wouldn’t be anything to update for at least a month or so.”

3. Tackling Machine Trey Rucker

OSU safety Trey Rucker leads the nation in total tackles.

Rucker brought down 17 Razorbacks on Saturday, bringing his season total to 32. That’s four more tackles than Mississippi State’s Isaac Smith, who is second in the country in tackles. Sixteen tackles a game would be a ridiculous thing to keep up. Rucker would finish the regular season with 192 tackles. OSU’s record for tackles in a season is Mike Green’s 1982 total of 183.

“He’s playing good,” Gundy said. “There’s a couple times based on the concepts we had in the first half where he got out of his place in coverages, which is not all his fault. But he’s playing really well, and he’s been reliable. And he’s been a physical player for our team.”

4. ‘Kendal’s Getting Better’

OSU struggled to stop the Razorbacks from running the ball most of Saturday, but when Arkansas needed only a yard to extend the game in double overtime, Kendal Daniels made a bone-crunching hit to stop Rodney Hill and make the Cowboys 2-0.

Hill took a handoff on 4th-and-1 at the OSU six-yard line. Daniels, in a new role playing linebacker, filled the hole, laid the lumber and ended the game. He stayed down for a bit after the play while his teammates were celebrating around him, but he was OK enough to come do media after the game.

Most electric game of the weekend so far! pic.twitter.com/k5Kh7fzyHc

— Old Row (@OldRowOfficial) September 7, 2024

“That was a big-time stop,” Gundy said. “He only had a four-yard movement, and the back had a six-yard movement. And, I mean, he stoned him right there. It was really, really a tribute to him and (strength and conditioning coach) Rob Glass at that point. …

“Kendal’s getting better — sure is. And he should improve. He’ll continue to get better and better.”

5. Calling for Consistent Officiating

Gundy wasn’t thrilled with how Saturday’s game officials handled a few scenarios late in Saturday’s game, but he said he isn’t upset with the game’s officials. His questions go higher up.

One issue Gundy took umbrage had to do with the clock. The more obvious one came during OSU’s last drive of regulation when Dalton Cooper was called for a false start after OSU motioned, and a Razorback defensive lineman jumped off side. Gundy said they do that motion all the time and haven’t been called for it before. Monday, he gave a hypothetical example that if OSU was playing a game with ACC officials and if they called the game different than how Big 12 officials called it, it would be unfair. He said he just wants some uniformity, and that starts with Steve Shaw, the national coordinator of officials.

“I’m gonna call the director of the SEC — it’s not his fault,” Gundy said. “It’s Steve Shaw’s fault. He runs the officials, so he’s in charge of all this. He needs to get everybody in one room and say, ‘This is the rules. This is how we’re calling it.’ …

“I’ll play by the rules. I just need to know what they are.”