Oklahoma State University Athletics
Gundy, Cowboys Preview Bedlam Series Clash
November 23, 2009 | Cowboy Football
Nov. 23, 2009
STILLWATER, Okla. – Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy and selected players met with members of the media at Boone Pickens Stadium Monday to preview this week's Bedlam Series game at Oklahoma. Some of the highlights:
Opening statement
“First off, I'd like to congratulate Coach Smith. The men's cross country team won the national championship today. I think that's a great accomplishment and I know he's done a tremendous job here and I want to congratulate him. Secondly, from what I understand, John Rohde is doing better, health wise. I'm glad that John's doing better. John had a tough night on Thursday night. I went and saw him in the hospital Friday night and I told him I didn't know he loved OSU so much; he took that game so seriously. I'm glad John's doing better.”
On facing Oklahoma
“Obviously it's Bedlam week. It's a very exciting time in the state. I know that our players are looking forward to preparing this week looking forward to a game on Saturday. We gave them the weekend off and they reported back in today and we're on normal schedule. We're looking forward to preparation and playing a good football team.”
On what he sees from Oklahoma
“Defensively they're very fast and tackle well and put pressure on you. Gerald McCoy is a big time player and Jeremy Beal is a very good player, Quinton Carter is a good tackler. Those corners on the edge out there, they make a lot of plays. When you watch them on tape, offensively you have to have a really good plan.”
On what he expects to see from Oklahoma
“They're going to blitz a lot; a lot of zone pressure is what they've done. That's what I expect them to do, a lot of blitzing. That's what they like to do from what it looks like on tape. They still run the ball very well and make plays on defense. Offensively, obviously they've had a quarterback change, which has changed them somewhat. But they have two good running backs – guys that can make you miss and make plays. Broyles makes plays on the perimeter. It should be very interesting, special teams will be very important. We've got to be sound in special times and take care of plays there. We've got to take care of the football and eliminate big plays on defense, tackle in space; essentially it's what the game comes down to. Our players and coaches are very excited and looking forward to the preparation this week.”
On Zac Robinson
“Zac should be practicing. I was told today that he'll be out there and ready to go.”
On waiting until the second half to put Brandon Weeden in the Colorado game
“We felt like that Alex Cate was the next best guy. He's been here longer and understands the system and had practiced well. We felt like he deserved the opportunity because he was better in practice over the last couple of years than Brandon was. We have 120 guys on the team and not all of them get to play in every game. There are young players who continue to practice over the years and when the opportunity comes up, they deserve the chance to play in the game and at that particular time we felt that he was the second best guy. You're never sure how a young man is going to react when he gets into a game situation. There are some things that went south on him that weren't his fault early, but he didn't throw the ball very well. Some of those things didn't work out very well, so the accumulation of all that forced us to make a change at halftime and try to bring Brandon in for a spark.”
On Weeden performing better when the lights are on
“At this level, I'd think that he would need to continue to prepare and work hard in practice and execute, so we'd have confidence in him on game day. I think the best ones at this level and beyond are guys who practice very well and study the game. He's gotten much better over the past 12 months.”
On Weeden being 26 years old and a former pro athlete
“I think most of your strength and conditioning trainers and people in the medical field will tell you the male body develops all the way up until about 28 years old, I think that's an advantage. Secondly, he's been out there in the real world, I think his demeanor and all the situations he's come across out there have helped him make the adjustment to this level. He played with some poise the other night, which was good. I'd say that being older contributed to that.”
On where this senior class ranks in school history
“They rank very high with me personally because of the way that they've carried themselves on and off the field. They've been very resilient and built a good relationship amongst each other. In our opinion, it's important that a team cares about each other and I think they enjoy practicing. They enjoy playing in games and they've handled a number of situations throughout their career very well. They are on track to graduate. A number of them have already graduated and that's really what you're looking for in a coach. You want young men to come in here and you want to take them from where they are and make them better and then put them out in the real world and give them a chance to come back and be productive in society and they've won some games along the way, which is very good.”
On the importance of having a balanced offense against Oklahoma
“Every game it's important for us to be balanced. Oklahoma knows that we're going to try to be balanced. In my opinion, they're going to blitz and try to stop the run. We have to find ways to run the football and then throw the football down the field and run our system. There's not really any secret to what's out there. It's our balance. It's our misdirection. It's play pass. It's the speed of the game. It's run the football. It's drop back passes. You try to tie all that in together and move forward and get into a rhythm and that's really what we like to do. Each week we put together a game plane that we think gives us an opportunity to do that and then ask the players to play hard and, as a coach, just hope it works on Saturday.”
OL Noah Franklin
On the Bedlam Game
“It means a lot to me to go out and have this be the last game of the regular season and I feel like we're prepared to have a good chance to compete with them and have a chance to beat them so it's exciting.”
On the role reversal as Oklahoma tries to knock Oklahoma State out of a BCS bowl
“That's something that some of the guys were talking about the other day. Everything comes around full circle. From where we were when Andrew Lewis and I got here, it's come a long way since then.”
On the Bedlam games
“They are always just a special game because you just feel like no matter if one team seems overmatched, that there's always a chance because of the fact that it's a huge rivalry and it means a lot to everybody and that at some point it comes down to who wants it more and talent or depth or whatever just kind of goes out the window.”
On if he looks forward to facing Oklahoma's defensive tackles
“I do. They're great players for sure, but I think it's going to be a fun challenge. I think it's going to be a lot of work and going to take a lot of preparation this week. They are great players, but I'm looking forward to it.”
OL Andrew Lewis
On Oklahoma State's road success and Oklahoma's home success
“We're pretty successful on the road, but at the same time, A&M and OU are, I consider, the two loudest place to play, so I think it's going to be a tough challenge and their defense, I think, is still one of the best in the nation, so it's going to be a tough challenge down there.”
On playing on the road
“I enjoy playing on the road. Every time you score a touchdown, I enjoy when the crowd goes silent and stuff like that, so I think it's kind of a thrill playing on the road.”
On the possibility of playing in a BCS bowl
“There hasn't been much talk about it. I think the coaches are more focused on this game at hand. They've pretty much said if we take care of business then that will all come into play.”
On the importance of earning a fourth consecutive Big 12 rushing championship
“It's pretty important. That's what the o-line takes credit in, is rushing, so I think it would be very important to get four years in a row. That would be nice.”
WR Justin Blackmon
On the Oklahoma State and Oklahoma players he grew up following
“As a receiver, I did know Rashaun Woods, and he was a great player as I was coming up. Then on OU's side you had Mark Clayton and others that came down at FCA talks and all that, so I knew some of them and I've met them before. “
On the possibility of playing in a BCS bowl
“We've got to win this one. To do everything that we need to do, we've got to win this one. It's going to be tough. It's a Bedlam game and anything could happen. Whether everything's going right for us or everything's going wrong for them, it's still the Bedlam game and anything could happen.”
On Oklahoma's home success
“They've got a great home crowd behind them. It's just that atmosphere down there. Playing in that atmosphere probably helps them out a lot.”
On Brandon Weeden's performance
“Weeden had a good performance. He came in and did a good job. He was relaxed and he felt comfortable out there. He wasn't nervous at all. He came in and took a leadership role and that's really what we needed for him to do.”
FB Bryant Ward
On Oklahoma State's special teams
“Ours isn't exactly where we would want it, but we've been practicing hard and trying to get it back to being on top. Special teams is a big area in these games that are going to be real close and have a lot of ups and downs And special teams is what sparks the comeback or what seals the deal on the win. Special teams is big.”
On staying focused with the possibility of playing in a BCS bowl
“You do need to stay focused. Playing this game is going to determine what bowl you go to. When all that is included you have to really be focused and keep your cool and play the game.”
LB Andre Sexton
On the importance of having a big running game
“Coach Gundy's been talking about that a lot this season and saying that for our offense to do well, they have to establish a running game. It just opens up so many things that they're able to do, but when you take away the running back and you don't focus on the run then the defensive line can be more aggressive and just get up the field and work on getting pressure on the quarterback, linebackers don't worry about having to honor the play action fake and it just makes everybody's job a lot easier if you can focus on just the passing game.”
On starting a school-record 50 games
“I couldn't believe that anyone hadn't started that many games. I just came into a great opportunity. That's why I came up here – a chance to play early and I got that chance and I guess I've been doing an alright job. I've got all these starts, but I guess it's just something good to accomplish at a major program like this.”
On the role reversal as Oklahoma tries to knock Oklahoma State out of a BCS bowl
“It's totally different and it's kind of a good feeling to have that opportunity ahead of us, but we've been talking about wanting to gain that respect in Oklahoma for a long time. This opportunity is prime for us right here and it's right in front of our face so we have to go out there and grab it. We can't sit back there and let this pass by and say, 'Hey we're still going to go to a good bowl game even if we do lose this.' No, we have t come out attack this like this is our last game of the season and everything is on the line right here.”
On if he thought he would see the role reversal when he arrived at Oklahoma State
“We definitely believed that we could put ourselves in this type of situation, just in some of the teams we've had we've just been unable at times to win those close games that we've been winning this year. We found ways to lose those games instead of win them. This year I think the maturity and experience that we've had in those situations has enabled us to pull those victories out.”
S Markelle Martin
On the magnitude of the game with the possibility of going to a BCS bowl
“I think it's real big because not only the rivalry, but because so much is on the line with this game with the Fiesta Bowl and Coach Gundy with pride with him and his brother and OSU as a school. It's just a big game for us.”
On the role reversal as Oklahoma tries to knock Oklahoma State out of a BCS bowl
“It's kind of flip-flopped there. We understand the importance of it and I'm sure they do too, so they're going to try to put us down and try to come out with the win. We're going to do the best we can to not let that happen.”
On how having nine days between games will help
“Just the preparation and getting back mentally and being ready to fight out there and ready to go hard. We know it's going to be a real physical game so a couple days of rest will pay off for us, but we know we've got to go back to work.”
