Top 10 Comments: Thoughts on Cowboy Football after a Bad Loss to Iowa State

The Pokes lost to Iowa State Saturday, and it was very evident in the comments. Lets dive into the Top 10 Comments of the week.

1. Let’s Talk Yurcich

Matt Haffner: “No. 15 in the country in offensive points per drive”

Let’s keep in mind that this is who we’ve played so far: Kansas (terrible), Texas Tech (historically terrible defense), Boise State (Ok, but maybe worse than everyone thought), South Alabama (terrible), Missouri State (not a team). No team plays all power 5 schools in their first 5 games, but plenty of other teams have played much, much, tougher schedules. We should not be celebrating the glories of MY based on that figure.

I just don’t get it. And hear me out – I am not in the “Fire Yurich” camp (honestly, I don’t think many fans are). But I don’t get why he is immune to criticism. The eye test seems to apply to everyone but him, in which the writers of the blog simply point to the positive offensive figures.

Our quarterback is currently FIFTH in the country in passing yards and TWENTIETH in the country in passer rating (source: ESPN.com)! Yet, we know he has MAJOR issues because of what we’ve seen on the field. Guys, it’s ok to be pro-MY, but coming up with every conceivable stat to defend him is a bit misleading.” (24 upvotes)

Whew boy!! Great post Matt, as evidenced by the 24 upvotes. Kyle Porter specifically addressed this comment in a post last week.

I agree with your overarching point, no fan/writer/blogger should celebrate the glories of Mike Yurcich based on the first five games of the season against weak opponents. I also agree that he is not immune to criticism, in fact, I think many adamantly criticized Yurcich after Justice Hill only touched the ball 12 times against Texas Tech.

One thing you wrote gives me some pause: “The eye test seems to apply to everyone but him, in which the writers of the blog simply point to the positive offensive figures.”

Yes, the respect Yurcich has garnered has to do with the offensive numbers Oklahoma State has put up consistently since his tenure began at Oklahoma State. I for one don’t give a rip about how “pretty” it looks when OSU is scoring touchdowns, but I do care about scoring touchdowns (!), and MY has delivered on that front since he rolled into Stillwater. I’m just not sure how you can evaluate the success of an offense without looking at its numbers? Points are the most important aspect of offensive success, and that is why many analysts use the PPD statistic.

If numbers are irrelevant when analyzing offenses, we begin playing the game of “I like what I see” or “I don’t like what I see…” which doesn’t get the conversation moving in any direction.

2. Jelani Woods

Robert Champagne: I want to see him running down the field with the only thing between him and the goal line is a 5’11 safety at 185 lbs. (16 upvotes)

YES! Look at this pic and tell me how it’s remotely imaginable he showed up in Stillwater to play QB. Shout out to Coach Glass and company.

3. Instacap – Pokes’ Loss to ISU Saturday

OSU Student: Would you guys just calm down? We’re fine. All we have to do is get a new quarterback, a new O-line, new recievers, a new OC, new Linebackers, New corners, new Safeties, a new DC, a new Special teams coach, a new return unit, a new kickoff unit, and refs that won’t call half of the illegal things we do every play and we will be fine. (15 upvotes)

Lol – I thought this was pretty funny.

4. JD King Will do ‘Whatever it Takes’ to Improve

Chris: More guys like this please. (12 upvotes)

I’m not sure why JD has gotten so few touches in recent weeks. It seems Chuba has settled into RB2 – which I’m not angry about – and it is surprising given OSU’s track record of respecting seniority.

5. More Comments from the Iowa State game

DCPoke: C’mon – we can’t be this naive. You can’t spend a mil on a screen, a hundred mil on a stadium and 5 mil a year on a head coach and start a walk on at QB while Mr Football Texas sits on the sideline thinking about transferring, watch painfully on as your OC that has no street cred REFUSES to adjust anything, and listen to Gundy’s half hearted assessments week after week as we lose at home to teams we should be beating. (11 upvotes)

This comment made me think some, DCPoke. Mostly, it made me think about program expectations. While I’m with you on the frustration of 2018, the amount of scrutiny makes me realize how fortunate I have been to be around OSU football during some of its golden years. Truthfully, aside from Gundy’s tenure with Thurman and Barry, the last decade has shattered any other period of Cowboy football. This success causes viewers and commenters to be extremely disappointed with winning seasons that result in a bowl appearance — we are in a different era.

Acknowledging the program’s recent success gives credit to coaching over the last decade, but it doesn’t make coaches immune from criticism either. I hope Spencer Sanders is the type of player that looks on from the sideline in anticipation of what he can bring as the QB of the future, rather than just wanting to transfer. But it’s safe to say Gundy has been wrong (very wrong) about his QB situation before (ie. Weeden, Rudy), and I just hope this situation doesn’t drive away another potential great.

6. On 10 Thoughts from ISU

OSU Student: TC was a dropped gimme by Wallace away from being 20-32 for 300+ yards and 5 touchdowns. He didn’t play amazing, but he didn’t play badly enough for it all to be blamed on him. The offensive line is absolute GARBAGE. I might say they are the worst in the conference, and it isn’t even close. Just an absolute laughable joke. No talent whatsoever. The QB play is decent, not great, but I don’t see how either of the other two could come in and be successful behind a bunch of girls for an offensive line.

At this point I’d rather we save them for a redshirt with how bad we’ve been. On top of that, Yurcich does nothing to help out the struggling O line. Instead of trying to play around out weaknesses, he always tries to call plays that directly involve what is struggling. Oh, our backs out struggling? Run it 20 straight times. The QB can’t throw deep? Throw 20 straight bombs. Oh, we can’t block? Call a bunch of boot plays that cause TC to wait 10 seconds for the play to develop. I mean, the guy doesn’t have much common sense at all. It’s getting more and more frustrating by the week. (10 upvotes)

Ahh OSU Student, the ultimate couch coach. As we all are!

A couple things:

1. I look back at 2014 and remember how many times Daxx Garman was on his butt in the backfield, and then I remember how efficiently Rudolph (as a freshman) marched the offense down the field with the same group of guys. Did they improve that much over the year? Probably not. Did the line play better for Rudolph? Maybe so? But I’m not sure. There is something to be said about a QB having moxy, and I am concerned Corn doesn’t have that.

2. Agreed on making Corn’s life easier. It seems the passing game often turns into “deep ball or bust” when utilizing the quick game could open up opportunities for comfort in TC’s passing game, similar to Texas Tech’s scheme against the Pokes defense a few weeks ago. I’m not sure what your issue is with utilizing Cornelius in the boot game because the idea there is to get TC out of the pocket so that he doesn’t need as much protection from the O-Line. I like the boot game with a guy like TC.

7. 10 Thoughts from ISU

Ty Webb: 2014 will seem like a special season when this dumpster fire gets to the finish line. (9 upvotes)

Whew, more optimism I like it!! Still one of my greatest memories from ’14 is the CHEETAH taking it back to tie the game in Norman. OSU went 7-6 that year with a bowl victory, and there was a lot of ugly football throughout October and much of November. It’s an interesting comparison, one outlined by Kyle Cox a couple weeks ago. I’m still holding out hope that some exciting moments are still in play for this year, but after Saturday, I understand the dumpster fiery expectations.

8. ISU Instacap

John Snow: OSU is stagnating, the program doesn’t seem like it has as much potential as it once did. MG needs to make wholesale changes with his offense (firing MY) or we are just going to continue regressing (9 upvotes)

Respectfully, I dissent. Earlier in this year’s preseason, Porter outlined some great reasons why Yurcich will likely move on from Stillwater in the next few seasons, but it isn’t because Gundy is planning to fire him. It’s because he will likely get a head coaching gig.

Regardless of how hard the Iowa State game was to watch, the Pokes still put up a respectable 42 points. Maybe the program feels stagnating, but in my opinion, firing MY is not going to help matters.

9. 10 Thoughts on ISU

S Poke: You must not have experience watching football. You realize who we have beaten right, and who is left on the schedule. Kansas, Missouri St, and South Alabama

We are 1-2 against real teams, all of those at home. Not good, but go ahead and critique fans for being critical of a bad product. You have top 10 money going to your HC. That warrants critiques of the coach, and expectations come with that. I don’t think they should fire MG, but he definitely takes some blame (8 upvotes)

This comment was made in response to a Sooner accuser! Here is that comment below:

David: Only thing more Swiss cheese than our offensive line is our fanbase. We are 4-2 during an off year and y’all are calling for the head of our best coach ever. Get back to eating funnel cakes at the Texas State Fair, you closet Sooners. (3 upvotes)

Sometimes the number of upvotes is fairly indicative of who has the better argument. I’d say the same was true here David. Criticism of the coach does not equate to a poor fanbase. A poor fanbase (in my less than expert opinion) is one who only rides with its team in the good times, rather than through all times. “Riding with the team” doesn’t mean kissing the floor that the head coach walks on, but rooting for the program’s success while enduring through unsuccessful stints.

10. On Josh White’s Commitment

jt: After yesterday’s debacle, this is some much needed good news. (6 upvotes)

Rolling in at No. 10, the only optimistic comment that makes the list! Thank you jt, I agree this news was much needed. ICYMI, Josh White committed to the Pokes over Iowa State, Bama, and others.