Oklahoma State University Athletics
Gundy Previews Boise State
September 10, 2018 | Cowboy Football
STILLWATER – Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy met with members of the media Monday to discuss the Cowboys' upcoming matchup with No. 17/17 Boise State at Boone Pickens Stadium. Here is a look at some of his comments:
Opening Statement
"It's 'Stripe the Stadium' for this game, so you guys can go to coachgundy.com for all of the details. We've got to stripe the stadium. I'm guessing that all the people that tune in to this press conference for jokes and entertainment will know that I have always been a supporter of the officials and referees. They're all good friends of mine, so we're killing two birds with one stone. I'm glad I spilled that smoothie on my sweatshirt because I almost forgot about 'Stripe the Stadium'. Other than that, we play a good team this week. I don't think I need to say a lot about Boise State. They're very well-coached and play very sound football. They have very good players and are traditionally a top-20 team. This is, in my opinion, a very good year for them. They've got a lot of players back, the quarterback is experienced, mature and they're top 10 or so offensively and probably top 10 defensively, or at least really high. Hopefully we can play the very best that we can and we're going to need to play at a high level in order for us to give ourselves a chance to win. We're a healthy team and we're getting a little better each week. Our run blocking is below average and it has to improve. (Taylor Cornelius) got a lot better and threw the ball around pretty well. Our defense was in the right spot most of the time. I think they're defending well. Both sides of the ball and special teams are going to be challenging areas for us. They have a very active returner so this will be a good matchup and should be a lot of fun, but we need to have a great week."
On the offensive line against South Alabama:
"The numbers are always going to create issues when they're lined up that way, but we still have to be able to block the six or seven people in the box. We have to be able to move them and get them out of there, and we're not doing that to where we need to be to be able to play at a high level. Essentially, from this point moving forward, we have to do a better job of getting squared up on those guys and moving them out of the box to give our running backs a chance to get out in space."
On Taylor Cornelius:
"I haven't talked to him about him watching film of himself yet, but he's going to be his toughest critic. That's just the type of young man he is. I'm sure you guys had a chance to interview him after the game, and what he says is usually what he feels. I would anticipate him getting a little bit better each week."
On the offense's two interceptions:
"One of them the kid just made a nice play. Sometimes that's going to happen in our offense. We throw the ball down the field. We like a one-on-one matchup. Their guy went up and made a good play … caught the ball with one hand, so that's the style of offense we play. The other one, he just made a bad throw. The guy was open, his decision was good and I recommended not throwing in that corner of the end zone."
On Taylor Cornelius' self-critiquing:
"He's pretty level-headed. He's very mature, and he gets it. I don't see that being an issue with him. He's going to be critical of himself. He has been here so long, and he wants to play as good of a game as he can, mentally. We run 80 plays a game. We play fast. Lots on the quarterback. There's going to be mistakes. He has a high level of really quiet confidence in my opinion. And I think we saw more of that in the last game in that he didn't toss the ball. He threw the ball. I think each he'll get a little better."
On Cornelius' touchdown pass to Stoner:
"If he stays active with his legs, it could present a problem for defenses … his ability to run and get four, five, six yards and avoid the sack. Then his arm is strong enough to throw the ball down the field. So we think that's an advantage for us. That will improve the more he plays. You're so much better after you've played 500 plays in live action than you are just from going through practice."
On Boise State and bringing in a strong nonconference team:
"I'm trying to think of who all has come in here. (Arizona) was good with Nick Foles. He's a Super Bowl winning quarterback. He was a good player. This team (Boise) is every bit as good as they were. We played Georgia here. Stafford is another NFL starter. That automatically makes you a good team, and I think this young man is going to play in the NFL. Obviously it's not my job to evaluate, but they're a good football team. They're just a really good team. Non-conference opponents in preseason, people try to estimate how good they are. You play on the road and win by 40 or however many, then you play at home and you win by 50 … your team is going be pretty good. If you're just an average team, it's not easy to win by 50, so they're a really good football team."
On targeting calls:
"It's a tough rule and I mentioned it afterwards and talked about it to the staff. I was pretty tough with our team about it in the meetings last night. I wouldn't want to play defense anyway because I'm not big on human collisions. I certainly wouldn't want to play now where you have to try to do everything possible to avoid any contact with your helmet when you are still trying to strike a person. I think the safer we can make this game is a positive for college football because this is not a safe game. So I'm all for the changes. It's a tough situation but we certainly need to make the game safer with every opportunity we have."
On defense:
"We didn't tackle very well in the first half, we did in the second half much better. (Boise State) has guys that can make you miss. The quarterback is skilled, the two guys on the perimeter are skilled. They play at times like we do. We have to tackle well. You see more missed tackles now than ever because offenses are using the 52-yards of the field, they aren't playing within the hash marks.
On the receiving group:
"They are doing a good job, they are working hard and they are unselfish. That's the most difficult thing for our offense. You've got one person that gets to touch the ball every play and you have 10 guys that have to be unselfish and are willing to help him score. It's going to be that way based on how teams play us. I like how they are sharing time and how they are blocking downfield, so they are making some strides."
On Boise State:
"I'm not sure how they are going to play us. My guess is that they are going to run the plays that they have and execute the way they do. I don't seeing them seeing us any different. They are probably just going to run their offense and run their defense. We have to be intelligent as play-callers and from the quarterback position and how we distribute the ball. If they do give us the run at times then we have to block so our backs can make a cut at the line of scrimmage instead of the backfield."
Opening Statement
"It's 'Stripe the Stadium' for this game, so you guys can go to coachgundy.com for all of the details. We've got to stripe the stadium. I'm guessing that all the people that tune in to this press conference for jokes and entertainment will know that I have always been a supporter of the officials and referees. They're all good friends of mine, so we're killing two birds with one stone. I'm glad I spilled that smoothie on my sweatshirt because I almost forgot about 'Stripe the Stadium'. Other than that, we play a good team this week. I don't think I need to say a lot about Boise State. They're very well-coached and play very sound football. They have very good players and are traditionally a top-20 team. This is, in my opinion, a very good year for them. They've got a lot of players back, the quarterback is experienced, mature and they're top 10 or so offensively and probably top 10 defensively, or at least really high. Hopefully we can play the very best that we can and we're going to need to play at a high level in order for us to give ourselves a chance to win. We're a healthy team and we're getting a little better each week. Our run blocking is below average and it has to improve. (Taylor Cornelius) got a lot better and threw the ball around pretty well. Our defense was in the right spot most of the time. I think they're defending well. Both sides of the ball and special teams are going to be challenging areas for us. They have a very active returner so this will be a good matchup and should be a lot of fun, but we need to have a great week."
On the offensive line against South Alabama:
"The numbers are always going to create issues when they're lined up that way, but we still have to be able to block the six or seven people in the box. We have to be able to move them and get them out of there, and we're not doing that to where we need to be to be able to play at a high level. Essentially, from this point moving forward, we have to do a better job of getting squared up on those guys and moving them out of the box to give our running backs a chance to get out in space."
On Taylor Cornelius:
"I haven't talked to him about him watching film of himself yet, but he's going to be his toughest critic. That's just the type of young man he is. I'm sure you guys had a chance to interview him after the game, and what he says is usually what he feels. I would anticipate him getting a little bit better each week."
On the offense's two interceptions:
"One of them the kid just made a nice play. Sometimes that's going to happen in our offense. We throw the ball down the field. We like a one-on-one matchup. Their guy went up and made a good play … caught the ball with one hand, so that's the style of offense we play. The other one, he just made a bad throw. The guy was open, his decision was good and I recommended not throwing in that corner of the end zone."
On Taylor Cornelius' self-critiquing:
"He's pretty level-headed. He's very mature, and he gets it. I don't see that being an issue with him. He's going to be critical of himself. He has been here so long, and he wants to play as good of a game as he can, mentally. We run 80 plays a game. We play fast. Lots on the quarterback. There's going to be mistakes. He has a high level of really quiet confidence in my opinion. And I think we saw more of that in the last game in that he didn't toss the ball. He threw the ball. I think each he'll get a little better."
On Cornelius' touchdown pass to Stoner:
"If he stays active with his legs, it could present a problem for defenses … his ability to run and get four, five, six yards and avoid the sack. Then his arm is strong enough to throw the ball down the field. So we think that's an advantage for us. That will improve the more he plays. You're so much better after you've played 500 plays in live action than you are just from going through practice."
On Boise State and bringing in a strong nonconference team:
"I'm trying to think of who all has come in here. (Arizona) was good with Nick Foles. He's a Super Bowl winning quarterback. He was a good player. This team (Boise) is every bit as good as they were. We played Georgia here. Stafford is another NFL starter. That automatically makes you a good team, and I think this young man is going to play in the NFL. Obviously it's not my job to evaluate, but they're a good football team. They're just a really good team. Non-conference opponents in preseason, people try to estimate how good they are. You play on the road and win by 40 or however many, then you play at home and you win by 50 … your team is going be pretty good. If you're just an average team, it's not easy to win by 50, so they're a really good football team."
On targeting calls:
"It's a tough rule and I mentioned it afterwards and talked about it to the staff. I was pretty tough with our team about it in the meetings last night. I wouldn't want to play defense anyway because I'm not big on human collisions. I certainly wouldn't want to play now where you have to try to do everything possible to avoid any contact with your helmet when you are still trying to strike a person. I think the safer we can make this game is a positive for college football because this is not a safe game. So I'm all for the changes. It's a tough situation but we certainly need to make the game safer with every opportunity we have."
On defense:
"We didn't tackle very well in the first half, we did in the second half much better. (Boise State) has guys that can make you miss. The quarterback is skilled, the two guys on the perimeter are skilled. They play at times like we do. We have to tackle well. You see more missed tackles now than ever because offenses are using the 52-yards of the field, they aren't playing within the hash marks.
On the receiving group:
"They are doing a good job, they are working hard and they are unselfish. That's the most difficult thing for our offense. You've got one person that gets to touch the ball every play and you have 10 guys that have to be unselfish and are willing to help him score. It's going to be that way based on how teams play us. I like how they are sharing time and how they are blocking downfield, so they are making some strides."
On Boise State:
"I'm not sure how they are going to play us. My guess is that they are going to run the plays that they have and execute the way they do. I don't seeing them seeing us any different. They are probably just going to run their offense and run their defense. We have to be intelligent as play-callers and from the quarterback position and how we distribute the ball. If they do give us the run at times then we have to block so our backs can make a cut at the line of scrimmage instead of the backfield."
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