Oklahoma State University Athletics
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Gundy Previews McNeese
September 02, 2019 | Cowboy Football
WATCH: Coach Gundy Meets with Media
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STILLWATER – Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy met with members of the media Monday at Boone Pickens Stadium to preview the Cowboys' home opener against McNeese this Saturday. A look at some of his comments:
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Opening Statement:
"The tape was pretty much what we thought. Offensively, we blocked well and ran the football well. Sanders handled the offense well. We made some plays and we were good on third downs. Defensively, we tackled really good for early in the season, which is encouraging. We couldn't get off the field on third downs. We had 88 plays on defense, if we could have gotten off the field on 50% of those third downs, we could have been in the low 70s and probably held them to 25 points or less. Those are things that we need to work on this week as we move forward. We need to get better every day and every week on our schemes in all three facets as we move forward."
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On the struggles defending third downs:
"We just didn't defend. We didn't do a good job pressuring the quarterback. We brought some pressure at times but we didn't get home. On most of those times, they are in man coverage. If the quarterback gets 2.8 seconds or more, it usually doesn't work. That was the main reason, we just didn't get much pressure on the quarterback."
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On Malcolm Rodriguez:
"He played really well. He is a very intelligent player and he processes information really fast. He sees things and reacts fast and he is a good tackler. He is a wrestler and he is a good athlete."
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On Spencer Sanders' play style:
"He has got to play. There were three occasions where he initiated contact that he didn't need, in my opinion. He has played that way throughout his entire career, and to a certain extent we just have to let him play."
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On the offensive line's performance:
"It is early in all phases. Everyone has to be careful about being on the Kool-Aid early. It was the highest grade we have ever had as an offensive line since I have been a head coach. Guys are playing harder downfield and I guess Coach Dickey is demanding they play that way. They had some mistakes, but overall I thought they played pretty well. That is what we have to do in order to continue to rush the football."
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On Spencer Sanders' performance:
"He played well and handled the offense well. I didn't think that he got flustered at any time, which is important for a quarterback at any level or any school. I thought he had enough energy to bring a lot to our team, but not so much that he got out of control. I think that is important if you are playing that position. It was one game, but we will see how he progresses as the season goes on. We were pleased with what we were able to get out of him last Friday night."
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On the offense operating around heavy coverage on Tylan Wallace:
"We were 4-for-4 on catches, made some plays and blocked downfield. That's an important part of our offense based on the way we structure our schemes. We were able to get some good plays out of them. Then, obviously, the quarterback was able to run the football and really balanced everything out. It's not really a secret that the defense makes a choice. Sean Gleeson and our staff, they have a plan for whatever they give us and we roll from that point."
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On the status of Calvin Bundage:
"Calvin had a setback about 10 days ago, so we held him out. Sometime this week we'll get an update. We might hold him out again this week, just depends on how he's feeling. He's got a back issue and they're hard to determine."
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On the status of Israel Antwine:
"We'll know here in a couple days. He's practicing with the ones and the twos. We have him setting on 'G' and waiting on 'O'."
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On the defensive adjustments at halftime:
"We made the stops on third downs in their fourth, fifth and sixth drives, early on we didn't. We had a chance to make it difficult for them to ever think they were in the game in the first half, all we had to do was finish the first half. If you hold a 21-point lead going into the half, you don't know how well they'll play in the second half and we let them back in. We made some adjustments, got some stops and got off the field, we just didn't do enough of it."
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On what he what to continue to see from the offensive line:
"We've been really fortunate to have really good skill players here over the past 10 years. If we can just cover guys up and not turn them loose. Then run your feet, keep your hands inside and do all the basic football coaching stuff. The recognition and covering guys up will let guys go make plays, that's the direction we're going. You have to run through tackles and on a three-yard carry, we need to get five to six yards. We have to be a physical football team. That's hopefully the direction we can go and maybe in a month or so, we will be pretty close to getting there."
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On a balanced offense:
"In most cases, you won't have that because if you're balanced, you are going to get more yards per catch which is in the throwing game. I don't have any problem rushing for 250 yards and throwing for 250 yards. If you can get anywhere near rushing for 250 yards a game, then you are a good running football team. The 250 mark is a good mark for us rushing the ball. To start the year with who we are as a team, it was about as good as I could ever want."
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On depth of the Big 12 Conference:
"We've discussed this every year and the only thing I would say is go to the bowl games. That is the only chance for us to match up head-to-head and everybody is going to have an opinion across the country, but in this conference we have fared pretty well in bowl games against teams from other leagues. If you're going to compete against teams in this league, in most cases, you better score points. We are going to score points. It's fun to watch and from top to bottom, we are going to be as competitive as anybody else in the country."
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On McNeese:
"They won last week by a touchdown. They're based on defense up to this point. They want to get lined up, play hard and run to the ball is what it looks like. They are trying to be balanced on offense. We will get a game plan in for them in all three phases of the game. We need to get better at what we do. That will make me feel a lot better if we can continue to improve in the basic fundamentals and the discipline of us being a smart football team, that would do a lot for me this Saturday."
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STILLWATER – Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy met with members of the media Monday at Boone Pickens Stadium to preview the Cowboys' home opener against McNeese this Saturday. A look at some of his comments:
Â
Opening Statement:
"The tape was pretty much what we thought. Offensively, we blocked well and ran the football well. Sanders handled the offense well. We made some plays and we were good on third downs. Defensively, we tackled really good for early in the season, which is encouraging. We couldn't get off the field on third downs. We had 88 plays on defense, if we could have gotten off the field on 50% of those third downs, we could have been in the low 70s and probably held them to 25 points or less. Those are things that we need to work on this week as we move forward. We need to get better every day and every week on our schemes in all three facets as we move forward."
Â
On the struggles defending third downs:
"We just didn't defend. We didn't do a good job pressuring the quarterback. We brought some pressure at times but we didn't get home. On most of those times, they are in man coverage. If the quarterback gets 2.8 seconds or more, it usually doesn't work. That was the main reason, we just didn't get much pressure on the quarterback."
Â
On Malcolm Rodriguez:
"He played really well. He is a very intelligent player and he processes information really fast. He sees things and reacts fast and he is a good tackler. He is a wrestler and he is a good athlete."
Â
On Spencer Sanders' play style:
"He has got to play. There were three occasions where he initiated contact that he didn't need, in my opinion. He has played that way throughout his entire career, and to a certain extent we just have to let him play."
Â
On the offensive line's performance:
"It is early in all phases. Everyone has to be careful about being on the Kool-Aid early. It was the highest grade we have ever had as an offensive line since I have been a head coach. Guys are playing harder downfield and I guess Coach Dickey is demanding they play that way. They had some mistakes, but overall I thought they played pretty well. That is what we have to do in order to continue to rush the football."
Â
On Spencer Sanders' performance:
"He played well and handled the offense well. I didn't think that he got flustered at any time, which is important for a quarterback at any level or any school. I thought he had enough energy to bring a lot to our team, but not so much that he got out of control. I think that is important if you are playing that position. It was one game, but we will see how he progresses as the season goes on. We were pleased with what we were able to get out of him last Friday night."
Â
On the offense operating around heavy coverage on Tylan Wallace:
"We were 4-for-4 on catches, made some plays and blocked downfield. That's an important part of our offense based on the way we structure our schemes. We were able to get some good plays out of them. Then, obviously, the quarterback was able to run the football and really balanced everything out. It's not really a secret that the defense makes a choice. Sean Gleeson and our staff, they have a plan for whatever they give us and we roll from that point."
Â
On the status of Calvin Bundage:
"Calvin had a setback about 10 days ago, so we held him out. Sometime this week we'll get an update. We might hold him out again this week, just depends on how he's feeling. He's got a back issue and they're hard to determine."
Â
On the status of Israel Antwine:
"We'll know here in a couple days. He's practicing with the ones and the twos. We have him setting on 'G' and waiting on 'O'."
Â
On the defensive adjustments at halftime:
"We made the stops on third downs in their fourth, fifth and sixth drives, early on we didn't. We had a chance to make it difficult for them to ever think they were in the game in the first half, all we had to do was finish the first half. If you hold a 21-point lead going into the half, you don't know how well they'll play in the second half and we let them back in. We made some adjustments, got some stops and got off the field, we just didn't do enough of it."
Â
On what he what to continue to see from the offensive line:
"We've been really fortunate to have really good skill players here over the past 10 years. If we can just cover guys up and not turn them loose. Then run your feet, keep your hands inside and do all the basic football coaching stuff. The recognition and covering guys up will let guys go make plays, that's the direction we're going. You have to run through tackles and on a three-yard carry, we need to get five to six yards. We have to be a physical football team. That's hopefully the direction we can go and maybe in a month or so, we will be pretty close to getting there."
Â
On a balanced offense:
"In most cases, you won't have that because if you're balanced, you are going to get more yards per catch which is in the throwing game. I don't have any problem rushing for 250 yards and throwing for 250 yards. If you can get anywhere near rushing for 250 yards a game, then you are a good running football team. The 250 mark is a good mark for us rushing the ball. To start the year with who we are as a team, it was about as good as I could ever want."
Â
On depth of the Big 12 Conference:
"We've discussed this every year and the only thing I would say is go to the bowl games. That is the only chance for us to match up head-to-head and everybody is going to have an opinion across the country, but in this conference we have fared pretty well in bowl games against teams from other leagues. If you're going to compete against teams in this league, in most cases, you better score points. We are going to score points. It's fun to watch and from top to bottom, we are going to be as competitive as anybody else in the country."
Â
On McNeese:
"They won last week by a touchdown. They're based on defense up to this point. They want to get lined up, play hard and run to the ball is what it looks like. They are trying to be balanced on offense. We will get a game plan in for them in all three phases of the game. We need to get better at what we do. That will make me feel a lot better if we can continue to improve in the basic fundamentals and the discipline of us being a smart football team, that would do a lot for me this Saturday."
Â
Players Mentioned
DT
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