Oklahoma State University Athletics
Gundy Meets With Media Ahead of Matchup with Red Raiders
November 15, 2021 | Cowboy Football
STILLWATER – Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy spoke with the media Monday morning to discuss the Cowboys' 63-17 victory over TCU and to look ahead to the final road game of the season against Texas Tech. Here is some of what he had to say:
Opening Statement:
"We're on to another week. We played a good game against TCU and it was the most complete game we've had in all three phases. We put it together in all three phases to play good and the crowd was fantastic. Things started to work to our advantage and the snowball started to go downhill on TCU when everything started working and the crowd got into it. On to Tech now. We're in a normal game week routine, so it's the same-old same-old. We need to have a good week of practice, make sure we're completely focused and understand what got us to this point and what we need to do moving forward. It's really that simple of a process. In fact, don't get out of our box and understand who we are and not necessarily listen to people telling them how good they are. We need a good week of practice, work hard and get ready to go out and play Saturday night."
On keeping the momentum going:
"We have a pretty good idea of who we are now in all three phases. We need to try to not do something we're not capable of, but we also need to stress the important areas and continue to get better each game. A sign of a good and well coached football team is a team that gets better each week. I feel like we've improved each week. I'm happy with how far we are with our program this year. We need to continue in that path."
On playing teams coming off their best games:
"With the players, there's so much going on and so much information out there with phones and technology. Maybe they see them play well and they're like 'maybe I need to practice hard.' They're still young people, they're 19, 20 and 21, so they need to be motivated and mentally charged and I think that could help. We tell them that every week. I've said from week one, we're not a good enough football team to not practice well and beat someone on Saturday. I've told them that. When Brandon Weeden was here, I didn't tell them that because we were a good enough team to not play well and still win. I've told them the truth, but if they see teams play well on tape maybe it does benefit them."
On how having so many guys practice in the spring has paid off:
"It worked out well. We learned a lot of things from COVID. A lot of things that we use internally in our organization and also things in practices. So, when we have players that are injured and we have other players that step in and play, they've had a considerable more amount of reps than they've ever had in the past. We get guys banged up in the game and we find out tomorrow, practice-wise, where they're at. Some of them can go, some of them can't. The ones that can't go, the ones that have had to step in and play have played pretty well so far. I'm convinced it's because of all the work they got starting a year ago during the COVID issues and then obviously we kept it going in the spring and August. I think it's made us a better football team."
On the play of Tyrese Williams and Joe Michalski while filling in for injuries against TCU:
"Those guys played well. They were physical, and they made mistakes. I mentioned it to you after the game, Tyrese threw a couple no-hitters, but there's other guys that do that. We've asked them to be physical and play hard and give the (running) backs a chance to get a yard past the line of scrimmage before they have to make a cut, and that's what they did. They were finishing blocks and so, if they can compete and give us that side of it then we'll be fine."
On quarterback Spencer Sanders' maturity:
"I think he's made good decisions. At times he throws the ball away and other times he tucks it and runs. Quarterbacks have to learn that we don't have to have a positive play every time we call a play. Sometimes it's OK to end up in second and 10 or throw it away. Sometimes it's even OK to take a sack. He's getting a better feel for that, in my opinion, as this year has progressed. But we're also protecting him better. We've protected him better in the last four weeks than we have in the first four weeks. That's why he's playing better."
On the state of the program:
"For us, me personally, I'm comfortable with where we're at because I see more strength in our organization now than in my 17 years as head coach. We have a team right now that when they go out and play on Saturday, it doesn't make a difference who we play, but that we know, the people involved in this organization know and our fans that support this program know that if we play well, we can win. I don't care who we play. So, for me, that's a plus. And we have enough young players in our program that are coming back and super seniors that will be coming back next year that is going to continue that for quite a while. So, it's a good feeling for a coach, personally, because now, what I need to do is not screw it up."
Opening Statement:
"We're on to another week. We played a good game against TCU and it was the most complete game we've had in all three phases. We put it together in all three phases to play good and the crowd was fantastic. Things started to work to our advantage and the snowball started to go downhill on TCU when everything started working and the crowd got into it. On to Tech now. We're in a normal game week routine, so it's the same-old same-old. We need to have a good week of practice, make sure we're completely focused and understand what got us to this point and what we need to do moving forward. It's really that simple of a process. In fact, don't get out of our box and understand who we are and not necessarily listen to people telling them how good they are. We need a good week of practice, work hard and get ready to go out and play Saturday night."
On keeping the momentum going:
"We have a pretty good idea of who we are now in all three phases. We need to try to not do something we're not capable of, but we also need to stress the important areas and continue to get better each game. A sign of a good and well coached football team is a team that gets better each week. I feel like we've improved each week. I'm happy with how far we are with our program this year. We need to continue in that path."
On playing teams coming off their best games:
"With the players, there's so much going on and so much information out there with phones and technology. Maybe they see them play well and they're like 'maybe I need to practice hard.' They're still young people, they're 19, 20 and 21, so they need to be motivated and mentally charged and I think that could help. We tell them that every week. I've said from week one, we're not a good enough football team to not practice well and beat someone on Saturday. I've told them that. When Brandon Weeden was here, I didn't tell them that because we were a good enough team to not play well and still win. I've told them the truth, but if they see teams play well on tape maybe it does benefit them."
On how having so many guys practice in the spring has paid off:
"It worked out well. We learned a lot of things from COVID. A lot of things that we use internally in our organization and also things in practices. So, when we have players that are injured and we have other players that step in and play, they've had a considerable more amount of reps than they've ever had in the past. We get guys banged up in the game and we find out tomorrow, practice-wise, where they're at. Some of them can go, some of them can't. The ones that can't go, the ones that have had to step in and play have played pretty well so far. I'm convinced it's because of all the work they got starting a year ago during the COVID issues and then obviously we kept it going in the spring and August. I think it's made us a better football team."
On the play of Tyrese Williams and Joe Michalski while filling in for injuries against TCU:
"Those guys played well. They were physical, and they made mistakes. I mentioned it to you after the game, Tyrese threw a couple no-hitters, but there's other guys that do that. We've asked them to be physical and play hard and give the (running) backs a chance to get a yard past the line of scrimmage before they have to make a cut, and that's what they did. They were finishing blocks and so, if they can compete and give us that side of it then we'll be fine."
On quarterback Spencer Sanders' maturity:
"I think he's made good decisions. At times he throws the ball away and other times he tucks it and runs. Quarterbacks have to learn that we don't have to have a positive play every time we call a play. Sometimes it's OK to end up in second and 10 or throw it away. Sometimes it's even OK to take a sack. He's getting a better feel for that, in my opinion, as this year has progressed. But we're also protecting him better. We've protected him better in the last four weeks than we have in the first four weeks. That's why he's playing better."
On the state of the program:
"For us, me personally, I'm comfortable with where we're at because I see more strength in our organization now than in my 17 years as head coach. We have a team right now that when they go out and play on Saturday, it doesn't make a difference who we play, but that we know, the people involved in this organization know and our fans that support this program know that if we play well, we can win. I don't care who we play. So, for me, that's a plus. And we have enough young players in our program that are coming back and super seniors that will be coming back next year that is going to continue that for quite a while. So, it's a good feeling for a coach, personally, because now, what I need to do is not screw it up."
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