Oklahoma State University Athletics
Photo by: OSU Athletics
Gundy, Cowboys Discuss Big 12 Championship Game
November 27, 2023 | Cowboy Football
STILLWATER – Head coach Mike Gundy and several players met with the media Monday in Stillwater to preview Oklahoma State's matchup with Texas in the Big 12 Championship. Here are some of their comments:
Head Coach Mike Gundy
On playing in the Big 12 Championship twice in the past three years:
"It's good for the well-being of the program, your donors and people that want to be involved with success and administration. I'm sure Board of Regents likes it, University likes it. Recruiting-wise it's interesting. Most of the recruiting is complete. Now, it can help solidify those guys. I would say (it's beneficial) more so than not. Not as much of an impact as it would have been in years past when you were still finishing the last six, eight or ten spots recruiting. I'm going to guess there's a marketing value financially that we're going to gain as a university through making a championship game. So, there are a number of reasons."
On Jaden Nixon's late fourth-down conversion vs. BYU:
"It was a play that we had in that situation for him. He's a good receiver, he's a good runner and he's smart, he understands. When he got the near the first down marker, you saw that he knew exactly what to do. Where he dropped his pads and ran through it and knew that he just needed to get that yard and a half. It was a really good football play, a big play and a really good football play."
On Alan Bowman's maturity:
"He's been really good. He's bought into our culture, he's accepted Oklahoma State family. The jerseys and things he wears (postgame) are his decision, I don't think anybody's told him to do that. So, he's older, he gets it, he's been around a lot of different coaches, been around successful people. Some of that is he's smart enough to let that wear off on him and then be able to implement it in a new system and a new environment, which he came in to."
On the play of his linebackers:
"Nick (Martin) and Xavier (Benson) both have had unbelievable years for us. I think Nick's at like 120-something tackles, it's crazy. We talked about Malcolm Rodriguez and nobody being able to ever do anything like that, and he's got Malcolm Rodriguez numbers. Those two guys have given us a lot of flexibility and have played amazing. Particularly Nick, he was just 'a guy,' and then he's thrust into that role and just took off. We felt like he could be that type of player. Well, I didn't think he could do it this year, I didn't think he was ready, but obviously he was. I don't know if anybody would have said he's going to be a 120-plus tackle guy. But, he's been an unbelievable surprise for us and then Xavier's played awesome on the other side, and then, knock on wood, we've kept them healthy."
On the Texas defense:
"They're averaging 2.9 a carry, which is tough on guys rushing the football against them. It's interesting, they're a 35-point team scoring and only give up 17. Their margin's pretty big, pretty rare you see that. Twenty-five percent third down conversion defensively, which is really good. There's a reason why (they're) where they are. In particular, that's what you're dealing with. More of a traditional defense, they can play gaps and play coverage. They don't necessarily have to overload the box to stop the run. That's not what they do. They could, but that's not traditionally what they do. Most people have struggled in a big way blocking their down guys and their backers, so they don't have to overload the box for the rush."
On the Texas offense:
"They're (scoring) 35 per game. They don't play fast. If they played fast, they'd be (scoring) 50-ish per game, in my opinion, over the more numbers and snaps they would get. (Coach Sarkisian) wants to run the football, he's always wanted to run the football. He's going to max protect. He's going to throw the ball down the field eight to 10 times a game. He's going to max protect and run those guys down the field and try to throw the ball over your head and get big plays. He's going to run his zone play, he's going to run his counter and he's going to stay in his box. That's what he does. He's going to use his tight ends, he's going to move them. He's going to block down. He's going to drag them across the field. That's what he does and he pretty much stays in his box."
Wide Receiver Brennan Presley
On fans camping for tickets to the Big 12 Championship:
"It was cold out there. That kind of put in perspective, all the dedication and hard work. People see it and they put time in too, coming into games and getting tickets. I'm so appreciative of the fans that we have here because they're so great. That's something you don't see every day and that's something you don't see everywhere."
On preparing like any other game:
"Of course, it is the championship and there's a lot riding on it, but I feel like if you just go in and treat it like week to week… Not make the game bigger than what it is. As soon as the ball kicks off, it's really just the game. At the end of the day, there's going to be a winner and there is going to be a loser. So, I think the more you try to put a focus on 'the championship game,' then you kind of get out your ways of what got you to the game."
Linebacker Collin Oliver
On treating the Big 12 Championship differently:
"Yeah, you can say that, but I don't look at it like that. I always look at all of our games just like another game, if that makes sense. I watch film on the opponent, see what they're about and then go try to execute my calls every Saturday… That's the last thing I want to do. I'm just going to look at it like another game and go out there and execute."
On Trey Rucker's success:
"Just being able to execute his job. That's all that is, and going out there and proving why he's Trey Rucker, who he is. He's showing that right now. Everybody's going to be on board for it, he's just balling out."
Linebacker Xavier Benson
On the team's mindset entering the Big 12 Championship:
"I'm excited. I'm ready to get after it, but I know we got to earn it. So, that's every day preparation, even today, even after the game taking care of our bodies and stuff like that. I'm just really excited. I know everybody else is excited, but we got to earn it throughout the week."
On the matchup with Texas:
"It's really just respect for my opponent and knowing what they can produce and what they can bring. They're dangerous just like we're dangerous. They treat their game with respect and we know exactly what they can do to us and what we can do to them. We just want to come out on top."
Offensive Lineman Preston Wilson
On Alan Bowman's leadership:
"He's been a great leader. He's been a great guy that's come in and bought into the culture. A great friend of ours, he really cares about his offensive line and all of his receivers and running backs. You can really tell that he's a team player. He's meant a lot to us and we are really excited and glad that we've been able to get him this year."
On Ollie Gordon II:
"He's got a lot of great things going. He's always putting in extra time. He's a guy that's a leader. He's a guy that cares about his offensive line, he really does make an emphasis to let us know how much he appreciates us and how much he appreciates his team. He's very selfless even though he might be in the spotlight all the time and there's nothing he can do about that. He knows that he's going to be in the spotlight regardless, so he handles it very well. But, behind closed scenes he always comes up and lets us know how much he cares about his teammates and how much that it's about an us thing and not about just him."
Head Coach Mike Gundy
On playing in the Big 12 Championship twice in the past three years:
"It's good for the well-being of the program, your donors and people that want to be involved with success and administration. I'm sure Board of Regents likes it, University likes it. Recruiting-wise it's interesting. Most of the recruiting is complete. Now, it can help solidify those guys. I would say (it's beneficial) more so than not. Not as much of an impact as it would have been in years past when you were still finishing the last six, eight or ten spots recruiting. I'm going to guess there's a marketing value financially that we're going to gain as a university through making a championship game. So, there are a number of reasons."
On Jaden Nixon's late fourth-down conversion vs. BYU:
"It was a play that we had in that situation for him. He's a good receiver, he's a good runner and he's smart, he understands. When he got the near the first down marker, you saw that he knew exactly what to do. Where he dropped his pads and ran through it and knew that he just needed to get that yard and a half. It was a really good football play, a big play and a really good football play."
On Alan Bowman's maturity:
"He's been really good. He's bought into our culture, he's accepted Oklahoma State family. The jerseys and things he wears (postgame) are his decision, I don't think anybody's told him to do that. So, he's older, he gets it, he's been around a lot of different coaches, been around successful people. Some of that is he's smart enough to let that wear off on him and then be able to implement it in a new system and a new environment, which he came in to."
On the play of his linebackers:
"Nick (Martin) and Xavier (Benson) both have had unbelievable years for us. I think Nick's at like 120-something tackles, it's crazy. We talked about Malcolm Rodriguez and nobody being able to ever do anything like that, and he's got Malcolm Rodriguez numbers. Those two guys have given us a lot of flexibility and have played amazing. Particularly Nick, he was just 'a guy,' and then he's thrust into that role and just took off. We felt like he could be that type of player. Well, I didn't think he could do it this year, I didn't think he was ready, but obviously he was. I don't know if anybody would have said he's going to be a 120-plus tackle guy. But, he's been an unbelievable surprise for us and then Xavier's played awesome on the other side, and then, knock on wood, we've kept them healthy."
On the Texas defense:
"They're averaging 2.9 a carry, which is tough on guys rushing the football against them. It's interesting, they're a 35-point team scoring and only give up 17. Their margin's pretty big, pretty rare you see that. Twenty-five percent third down conversion defensively, which is really good. There's a reason why (they're) where they are. In particular, that's what you're dealing with. More of a traditional defense, they can play gaps and play coverage. They don't necessarily have to overload the box to stop the run. That's not what they do. They could, but that's not traditionally what they do. Most people have struggled in a big way blocking their down guys and their backers, so they don't have to overload the box for the rush."
On the Texas offense:
"They're (scoring) 35 per game. They don't play fast. If they played fast, they'd be (scoring) 50-ish per game, in my opinion, over the more numbers and snaps they would get. (Coach Sarkisian) wants to run the football, he's always wanted to run the football. He's going to max protect. He's going to throw the ball down the field eight to 10 times a game. He's going to max protect and run those guys down the field and try to throw the ball over your head and get big plays. He's going to run his zone play, he's going to run his counter and he's going to stay in his box. That's what he does. He's going to use his tight ends, he's going to move them. He's going to block down. He's going to drag them across the field. That's what he does and he pretty much stays in his box."
Wide Receiver Brennan Presley
On fans camping for tickets to the Big 12 Championship:
"It was cold out there. That kind of put in perspective, all the dedication and hard work. People see it and they put time in too, coming into games and getting tickets. I'm so appreciative of the fans that we have here because they're so great. That's something you don't see every day and that's something you don't see everywhere."
On preparing like any other game:
"Of course, it is the championship and there's a lot riding on it, but I feel like if you just go in and treat it like week to week… Not make the game bigger than what it is. As soon as the ball kicks off, it's really just the game. At the end of the day, there's going to be a winner and there is going to be a loser. So, I think the more you try to put a focus on 'the championship game,' then you kind of get out your ways of what got you to the game."
Linebacker Collin Oliver
On treating the Big 12 Championship differently:
"Yeah, you can say that, but I don't look at it like that. I always look at all of our games just like another game, if that makes sense. I watch film on the opponent, see what they're about and then go try to execute my calls every Saturday… That's the last thing I want to do. I'm just going to look at it like another game and go out there and execute."
On Trey Rucker's success:
"Just being able to execute his job. That's all that is, and going out there and proving why he's Trey Rucker, who he is. He's showing that right now. Everybody's going to be on board for it, he's just balling out."
Linebacker Xavier Benson
On the team's mindset entering the Big 12 Championship:
"I'm excited. I'm ready to get after it, but I know we got to earn it. So, that's every day preparation, even today, even after the game taking care of our bodies and stuff like that. I'm just really excited. I know everybody else is excited, but we got to earn it throughout the week."
On the matchup with Texas:
"It's really just respect for my opponent and knowing what they can produce and what they can bring. They're dangerous just like we're dangerous. They treat their game with respect and we know exactly what they can do to us and what we can do to them. We just want to come out on top."
Offensive Lineman Preston Wilson
On Alan Bowman's leadership:
"He's been a great leader. He's been a great guy that's come in and bought into the culture. A great friend of ours, he really cares about his offensive line and all of his receivers and running backs. You can really tell that he's a team player. He's meant a lot to us and we are really excited and glad that we've been able to get him this year."
On Ollie Gordon II:
"He's got a lot of great things going. He's always putting in extra time. He's a guy that's a leader. He's a guy that cares about his offensive line, he really does make an emphasis to let us know how much he appreciates us and how much he appreciates his team. He's very selfless even though he might be in the spotlight all the time and there's nothing he can do about that. He knows that he's going to be in the spotlight regardless, so he handles it very well. But, behind closed scenes he always comes up and lets us know how much he cares about his teammates and how much that it's about an us thing and not about just him."
Players Mentioned
LB
/ Cowboy Football
QB
/ Cowboy Football
RB
/ Cowboy Football
RB
/ Cowboy Football
LB
/ Cowboy Football
WR
/ Cowboy Football
S
/ Cowboy Football
OL
/ Cowboy FootballFriday, June 05
Friday, May 29
Wednesday, May 27
Monday, May 18
