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

STILLWATER — Mike Gundy’s Cowboys lost again.

Oklahoma State fell to Texas Tech in a 56-48 shootout on Saturday in Boone Pickens Stadium. The Cowboys fell to 3-8 on the year and 0-8 in conference play.

The most interesting thing Gundy discussed in his postgame news conference was his future. We have that covered here. But here are five more quotes from the Cowboys’ coach.

1. On OSU’s Third-Down Defensive Struggles

You could point to the high snap or myriad special teams blunders, but where OSU consistently lost this game was on third down.

Texas Tech converted on 64% of its third-down attempts on Saturday, going 14-for-22. For good measure, the Red Raiders also converted a pair of fourth downs among the eight occasions they were stopped on third. One of those fourth-down conversions was a 40-yard touchdown run.

Poor third-down defense has been a consistent theme this season, as opponents have converted 46% of their third downs against OSU.

“There’s times we didn’t get pressure,” Gundy said. “There’s times they hit throws. I would just be careful to really answer that until I look at the video. But most of the time that we have these conversations after games, we’re talking about 10 or 11 third downs in the game, not 22. Too many.”

2. On Why Maealiuaki Smith Didn’t Play Sooner

True freshman quarterback Maealiuaki Smith made his first career start on Saturday, and he looked great.

The 6-foot-4 Californian threw for 326 yards and a pair of scores while completing 72% of his passes. He also ran for a touchdown and led the OSU offense to 508 total yards. It’s a move many have been hollering for over the past month. So, Gundy was asked what took so long?

“Well, he’s only been practicing with us for a month,” Gundy said. “There could be questions about that. He started the year on the fourth team. Whether we know if he could be or not, you’ll never know. That’s something that’s not ever going to come through. You’re not going to take a true freshman and start giving him reps with the ones or twos when he walks right in from high school.

“Without watching the video, I thought he competed. He sat in the pocket. If the pocket started to collapse, he stayed in and made throws down field. He missed some throws. We saw that, right? Three or four times we had guys that were running open and he missed the throw. Overall I liked his poise and thought he ran the ball effectively.”

3. How Smith Changed the Offense

OSU’s offense looked like it was supposed to all season on Saturday.

Ollie Gordon ran for 156 yards and two scores. Rashod Owens and De’Zhaun Stribling each eclipsed 100 receiving yards. Brennan Presley had 10 catches.

Gundy was asked if this was the blueprint for what OSU’s offense was supposed to look like.

“We had the fear of a quarterback that could keep the ball and move around a little bit,” Gundy said. “Defenses are going to play you a little bit different. I would say what you’re saying is pretty accurate. …

“We had some throws down the field. Last game or the game before we didn’t get any big plays. Well we got some big plays today. Some big runs, some big throws, we had several — I’m going to throw a number out — we had five or six catches for over 18 yards probably. That’s what this offense has always thrived on forever.”

4. ‘The Crowd Was Awesome’

Gundy’s relationship with the OSU fanbase has been in an interesting spot as of late.

He didn’t necessarily mention fans when going on his tangent about how “in most cases” people voicing negative opinions “can’t pay their own bills,” but that’s how a lot of OSU fans took it.

Boone Pickens Stadium wasn’t full on Saturday but considering the Cowboys entered having lost seven in a row and the students’ Thanksgiving break had started, it was still a fairly good college football atmosphere.

“The crowd was awesome,” Gundy said. “The walk was awesome. The walk was the most supportive that it’s been. I mean, it’s as good as it’s ever been. People were coming out wanting to high five and touch. The walk was awesome, and the crowd and everybody was loud. Orange Power was going a couple timeouts. I could hear it. They did a great job.”

5. Texas Tech Threw More Than Anticipated

The gameplan for attacking OSU’s defense hasn’t seemed all that complicated this season: turn around it hand it to a running back.

But Tech, in classic Tech fashion, came out throwing. Stud tailback Tahj Brooks finished with 28 carries, but he had just three through the Red Raiders first two drives (both quick touchdowns). At the half, Tech had 17 rush attempts to 34 pass attempts.

West Virginia was able to beat the Pokes 38-14 despite throwing only 16 passes the entire game in early October.

“I thought they would hang their hat more on Brooks,” Gundy said. “He had 28 carries, but they had like 90 plays. They threw the ball more in my opinion that what I thought they would, particularly in the first half.”