Oklahoma State University Athletics
Gundy, Cowboys Discuss Ranked Win Over Jayhawks, Matchup with West Virginia
October 16, 2023 | Cowboy Football
STILLWATER – Mike Gundy and several players met with the media Monday in Stillwater to review the Cowboys' ranked victory over Kansas and look ahead to Saturday's road matchup with West Virginia. Here are some of their comments:
Head Coach Mike Gundy
On the defense against Kansas:
"We dropped coverage twice and then we got out-athleticized, for a lack of a better term. We allowed (Kansas quarterback Jason Bean) to run around slinging the ball too many times. A couple times it looked bad in (Trey) Rucker's position, but Rucker was in a difficult position. He's trying to cover essentially man-to-man for five to seven seconds, (which) is not easy. But, we did stop the run. I asked them last week that whatever we do, I want to stop the run, and they did a great job. We can reduce those ways of doing that, now there's some give and take, extra people are tied up in the box trying to stop the run. So, you're somewhat vulnerable on the backend in the pass, there's some give and take. It worked out for us in the long run. I felt like it was advantageous for us to do that than let them rush for 300 yards."
On quarterback Alan Bowman's performance:
"He played pretty good. I'd like for him to set his feet more. The pass protection in the last few weeks has been considerably better than it was in the first three games. That should allow him to settle into the pocket more and not float back, because when he floats back sometimes he's getting himself into a jam. For the most part, he played pretty good."
On the pass protection improving in recent weeks:
"Running the same plays, just continuing to do it. You remember, we had injuries in the first week or two, so we had guys moving around. When we move guys around, there's different responsibilities, the looks are different. Playing tackle isn't the same as playing guard, just like playing on the right side isn't the same as playing on the left. There were three games where someone was disruptive on where guys were and it created some issues for us, in both blocking and protection."
On Ollie Gordon's growth:
"He's athletic and can play different spots. He's developed his role and he's unselfish. Earlier in the year, he wasn't getting the carries that he wanted. We weren't run-blocking very well for him at that time, and instead of backing off and being selfish, he went the other direction. He continued to help lead our team. He worked really hard in practice. He let us know, 'if you give me the ball, I'll take advantage of it', but he did it in a very mature, team-oriented way. When young people handle themselves that way, they'll generally do better as they move forward. His mental approach is really important to what he's displayed on the field recently, because he's not worried about things that he can't control. He can't block for himself. He can't call plays for himself. He just needs to execute when he's involved in the play and that's what he's done."
On Rashod Owens' performance:
"He's done everything we've asked him to do. His role has increased considerably since Stribling (got injured) and he stepped up and did things that maybe some people didn't expect that he could do. He's defeating coverage in time. He's making plays, he's making guys miss and running downfield. He's been a good team leader and certainly has been productive on the field."
On West Virginia:
"Offensively, they're very similar to what they've done. Obviously, with (Neal Brown), their package is close to what it was. The quarterback runs way better than what people think he does. He's not a burner, like you worried about the guy we played last week just taking off and blowing everybody's doors off. This guy's not that, but he's more effective than you think. He runs better than you think and then he doesn't get caught a lot of times. He did that to us out here last year, so he's really effective. Then defensively, they're in an odd front. They play a walk-around guy. They've got a guy like Collin Oliver, his number is 10, he walks around and does a lot of different things. They bring him quite a bit. They like to blitz him. Base coverages, not a lot of man, more of a zone team."
Fullback Braden Cassity
On improved blocking in the running game:
"Josiah (Johnson) had some massive blocks this last game. Quinton Stewart and Jake Schultz as well. We were all in there throwing blocks. Watching Ollie (Gordon II) do his thing, that's the best... Love it. I like telling Ollie, I say, 'hey, you like scoring touchdowns?' He'll say yeah. Alright, follow me."
On energy in the locker room:
"We need to pick up the energy. Guys were going through the motions, myself included. Then, Coach Gundy made it an emphasis of 'hey, let's get the energy up. We lost twice. It is what it is. You can't do anything about it. Let's go out and win.' Since then, I feel like it's been a total 180 for us. Everyone's playing excited, loving the game, enjoying it."
On execution against Kansas:
"Coach (Kasey) Dunn always says there's no magic play and he's right. There is no magic play. Guys just need to execute and do what they're doing. I feel like that's what we're doing. Guys are firing on all cylinders."
Offensive Lineman Joe Michalski
On the team's recent winning streak:
"We all work hard, it's just nice to see our hard work show up on gameday. We just have to keep improving all the stuff we can improve on. I'm really proud of all the guys."
On Ollie Gordon II:
"He's super talented. He shows it and he works really hard. Everything he shows is not by dumb luck or just by happenstance, he works hard for it. It's hard to do and he's doing really well. I'm just proud of him."
On the team's improvement:
"We started to run the ball better against K-State. I feel like we have been trying to slowly improve each week. Our mantra is to be better than you were yesterday, that's all we are trying to do. That's all you can ask, you can't ask to be perfect. No one on earth is perfect. All you can do is try to be better and everyone on the line has been showing up every day looking to be better and not take any days off."
Cornerback Cam Smith
On playing with his brother Dylan Smith:
"I can't even describe it. It was like I caught the pick, I was trying to get hype over there. It was just fun to see, I was so happy for him. We always plan to be on the field together in college and the NFL, it's almost just surreal looking to the side of me and seeing my younger brother there. As a true freshman, I just really can't explain that feeling."
On OSU's depth displayed on Saturday:
"We still preach next man up. You never know when it's your turn and when we practice, the twos practice like ones, and we just carry that mentality going into the game."
On playing in difficult weather conditions:
"We try not to focus on the weather too much. We just focus on things that we can control. Even if it's raining, we just go out there and do our job. Just go make a play on the ball."
Head Coach Mike Gundy
On the defense against Kansas:
"We dropped coverage twice and then we got out-athleticized, for a lack of a better term. We allowed (Kansas quarterback Jason Bean) to run around slinging the ball too many times. A couple times it looked bad in (Trey) Rucker's position, but Rucker was in a difficult position. He's trying to cover essentially man-to-man for five to seven seconds, (which) is not easy. But, we did stop the run. I asked them last week that whatever we do, I want to stop the run, and they did a great job. We can reduce those ways of doing that, now there's some give and take, extra people are tied up in the box trying to stop the run. So, you're somewhat vulnerable on the backend in the pass, there's some give and take. It worked out for us in the long run. I felt like it was advantageous for us to do that than let them rush for 300 yards."
On quarterback Alan Bowman's performance:
"He played pretty good. I'd like for him to set his feet more. The pass protection in the last few weeks has been considerably better than it was in the first three games. That should allow him to settle into the pocket more and not float back, because when he floats back sometimes he's getting himself into a jam. For the most part, he played pretty good."
On the pass protection improving in recent weeks:
"Running the same plays, just continuing to do it. You remember, we had injuries in the first week or two, so we had guys moving around. When we move guys around, there's different responsibilities, the looks are different. Playing tackle isn't the same as playing guard, just like playing on the right side isn't the same as playing on the left. There were three games where someone was disruptive on where guys were and it created some issues for us, in both blocking and protection."
On Ollie Gordon's growth:
"He's athletic and can play different spots. He's developed his role and he's unselfish. Earlier in the year, he wasn't getting the carries that he wanted. We weren't run-blocking very well for him at that time, and instead of backing off and being selfish, he went the other direction. He continued to help lead our team. He worked really hard in practice. He let us know, 'if you give me the ball, I'll take advantage of it', but he did it in a very mature, team-oriented way. When young people handle themselves that way, they'll generally do better as they move forward. His mental approach is really important to what he's displayed on the field recently, because he's not worried about things that he can't control. He can't block for himself. He can't call plays for himself. He just needs to execute when he's involved in the play and that's what he's done."
On Rashod Owens' performance:
"He's done everything we've asked him to do. His role has increased considerably since Stribling (got injured) and he stepped up and did things that maybe some people didn't expect that he could do. He's defeating coverage in time. He's making plays, he's making guys miss and running downfield. He's been a good team leader and certainly has been productive on the field."
On West Virginia:
"Offensively, they're very similar to what they've done. Obviously, with (Neal Brown), their package is close to what it was. The quarterback runs way better than what people think he does. He's not a burner, like you worried about the guy we played last week just taking off and blowing everybody's doors off. This guy's not that, but he's more effective than you think. He runs better than you think and then he doesn't get caught a lot of times. He did that to us out here last year, so he's really effective. Then defensively, they're in an odd front. They play a walk-around guy. They've got a guy like Collin Oliver, his number is 10, he walks around and does a lot of different things. They bring him quite a bit. They like to blitz him. Base coverages, not a lot of man, more of a zone team."
Fullback Braden Cassity
On improved blocking in the running game:
"Josiah (Johnson) had some massive blocks this last game. Quinton Stewart and Jake Schultz as well. We were all in there throwing blocks. Watching Ollie (Gordon II) do his thing, that's the best... Love it. I like telling Ollie, I say, 'hey, you like scoring touchdowns?' He'll say yeah. Alright, follow me."
On energy in the locker room:
"We need to pick up the energy. Guys were going through the motions, myself included. Then, Coach Gundy made it an emphasis of 'hey, let's get the energy up. We lost twice. It is what it is. You can't do anything about it. Let's go out and win.' Since then, I feel like it's been a total 180 for us. Everyone's playing excited, loving the game, enjoying it."
On execution against Kansas:
"Coach (Kasey) Dunn always says there's no magic play and he's right. There is no magic play. Guys just need to execute and do what they're doing. I feel like that's what we're doing. Guys are firing on all cylinders."
Offensive Lineman Joe Michalski
On the team's recent winning streak:
"We all work hard, it's just nice to see our hard work show up on gameday. We just have to keep improving all the stuff we can improve on. I'm really proud of all the guys."
On Ollie Gordon II:
"He's super talented. He shows it and he works really hard. Everything he shows is not by dumb luck or just by happenstance, he works hard for it. It's hard to do and he's doing really well. I'm just proud of him."
On the team's improvement:
"We started to run the ball better against K-State. I feel like we have been trying to slowly improve each week. Our mantra is to be better than you were yesterday, that's all we are trying to do. That's all you can ask, you can't ask to be perfect. No one on earth is perfect. All you can do is try to be better and everyone on the line has been showing up every day looking to be better and not take any days off."
Cornerback Cam Smith
On playing with his brother Dylan Smith:
"I can't even describe it. It was like I caught the pick, I was trying to get hype over there. It was just fun to see, I was so happy for him. We always plan to be on the field together in college and the NFL, it's almost just surreal looking to the side of me and seeing my younger brother there. As a true freshman, I just really can't explain that feeling."
On OSU's depth displayed on Saturday:
"We still preach next man up. You never know when it's your turn and when we practice, the twos practice like ones, and we just carry that mentality going into the game."
On playing in difficult weather conditions:
"We try not to focus on the weather too much. We just focus on things that we can control. Even if it's raining, we just go out there and do our job. Just go make a play on the ball."
Players Mentioned
QB
/ Cowboy Football
FB
/ Cowboy Football
RB
/ Cowboy Football
OL
/ Cowboy Football
LB
/ Cowboy Football
WR
/ Cowboy Football
FB
/ Cowboy Football
CB
/ Cowboy Football
CB
/ Cowboy Football
TE
/ Cowboy FootballFriday, June 05
Friday, May 29
Wednesday, May 27
Monday, May 18
