The Top 5 Quotes from Mike Gundy’s Post-Arkansas News Conference

STILLWATER — Mike Gundy has coached in a lot of games in his 20 years leading the Cowboys, but not many were as wild as that.

Oklahoma State beat Arkansas 39-31 in double overtime Saturday. Here are Gundy’s five best quotes after the win. You can watch his full postgame news conference below.

1. On Bowman’s Big Penalty

Alan Bowman made an uncharacteristic mistake Saturday that could’ve ended a lot worse than it did.

After a big completion in the fourth quarter of a tied game, Bowman sent some finger gun shots toward the Arkansas side line that resulted in an unsportsmanlike conduct foul. Here is how Gundy said he handled the matter.

“I waited until we got in the locker room,” Gundy said. “I try to follow through on things I preach to the team … anything that’s negative that can happen in a game verbally, body language, facial expression, attitude, any of that, I don’t need to hear any of that, I don’t want to see any of that. It’s not gonna do anything good. I would ask you the same thing I asked the team: Is there anything that comes good out of negativity or poor body language in life? Probably not, right? At that time, when I wanted to rip his ass, I didn’t. And then in the locker room we discussed it, talked through it. …

“He got exactly what he deserved. What he should’ve done is ran down the field and played the next play because in that situation, he made an unbelievable throw, we made a great catch, we made a big play. You knew it, I knew it, his mom and dad knew it, his girlfriend knew it, his wife knew it, the fans knew it, the other team knew it, everybody knew it. You don’t have to tell them. Everybody knows you made a good play, so he needs to play the next play.”

2. Bouncy Ball Brennan

Brennan Presley was targeted 19 times on Saturday. He caught nine of those balls, had a run and still played in the return game.

With an offense that wasn’t the most fluid, Presley was perhaps the MVP against the SEC Hogs with a receiving touchdown, a rushing touchdown and 98 all-purpose yards.

Gundy compared his senior slot receiver to a bouncy ball, which apparently are relics of the distant past at this point.

“He’s like a little rubber ball, a little bouncy ball,” Gundy said. “You’re too young, but when we were kids, we had a little round bouncy ball that you threw everywhere. That’s what he’s like. He just bounces off everybody, and I keep knocking on wood that he just stays healthy.

“We try to get him out of the game and he won’t come out of the game. We tell him, ‘We’ve got to get you off return team,’ he doesn’t wanna come out of the game. So we just leave him in there and let him play, let him keep going. I don’t know how many catches he had. Nine catches. And obviously there’s not a red flag when we throw to him. We only targeted him 19 times. No secret to that one.”

3. OSU Won’t Get Away with Lackluster Rushing Numbers

With the reigning Doak Walker and myriad sixth-year offensive linemen back, running the ball was supposed to be a hallmark of this Cowboy team. Through two games, it has not been.

OSU ran 26 times for 59 yards against Arkansas on Saturday — that’s 2.3 yards a carry. On the year thus far, OSU is rushing for 3.2 yards a carry. The holes haven’t regularly been there, and Ollie Gordon isn’t taking teams by surprise anymore. Gundy said OSU won’t last running like it did Saturday.

“More than struggling — you’re being nice,” Gundy said. “Got our ass kicked in the running game. We got a lot of work. I will say this, I probably shouldn’t have said that. We got beat up pretty good in it, but we needed to get to the pass quicker. …

“We’re not gonna be able to get away with this much much. Not gonna happen. We’re gonna have to get better at that. We’re gonna have to get to 4.2 yards a carry — period. We’re not gonna be this fortunate as we move on down the road.”

4. Tight Ends Live

The Cowboys bigger player makers got in on the action Saturday.

Tight ends Josh Ford and Tyler Foster combined for four catches for 32 yards, and fullback Jake Schultz had a 63-yard catch-and-run on a trick play.

It turns out, Gundy hears the noise about not using tight ends in the passing game.

“Well, you guys complained about me not throwing it to the tight end, and social media is killing my ass,” Gundy said. “Gage tells me social media’s all over me about not throwing to the tight end, and my old man’s all over me about not throwing to the tight end. So, I said, ‘Guys, we gotta start throwing to the tight end.'”

5. The Wackiness That Was That Game

That game was exciting, that game was dramatic, that game was confusing — that game was college football.

Two overtimes, muffed punts, big plays, Bowman’s finger guns, the game had it all. It also goes in as the latest example of the Cardiac Cowboys being a real thing. Here’s what Gundy said on the craziness of the game.

“You come here, you’re always gonna see a good game,” Gundy said. “That’s one thing — you get your money’s worth here. We’re sold out, and I think people know they’re gonna see a good game here. It’s a lot of fun here. Unfortunately it’s hard on coaches, but there were so many things in that game.

“As I shared with the players, there will be a lot of good teaching and coaching — not only for the players but for the coaches. There’s just a lot of things that happened in that game that were very unusual. … College football, that’s why people love to watch it. Every game matters.”