Orange observations
Published: 12/29/2007 12:46 PM
Last Modified: 12/29/2007 12:46 PM
OK, the tree debris from my backyard finally has been removed. Power has been restored to my house finally. Life for my wife Jennifer and me, along with hundreds of thousands of Tulsans and Oklahomans, is finally getting back to normal after Ice Storm 2007. Finally, my wife and I can focus on our few days in Phoenix for Monday's Insight Bowl.
In my previous blog posting on Dec. 13 I mentioned I would address a few issues regarding the OSU football program. Here we go as promised:
Life after Larry Fedora: The new Southern Miss head coach and former OSU offensive coordinator deserves a lot – and I mean A LOT – of credit for transforming the Cowboys' football fortunes the past three years. He provided an exciting, entertaining, creative and intriguing offensive attack. Now, some of his play calls were not always the smartest or best (the reverse with Adarius Bowman on fourth down in the fourth quarter against Texas this year comes to mind). But OSU football and Fedora are both better off because of the relationship.
Mike Gundy's hire of Tennessee assistant coach Trooper Taylor as co-offensive coordinator is interesting. Taylor has received rave reviews for his development of the Vols' running backs and wide receivers in his four-year stint in Knoxville. Taylor also is a renowned recruiter. But he has not called plays on game days, which he reportedly will do in Stillwater next season. Before we can dissect that, let's see what Taylor does in recruiting. Don't be surprised if one of his first acts is to try and persuade standout Muskogee receiver Jameel Owens to pledge allegiance to OSU.
Cheers to Cox: As their slogan states, Cox Communications is your friend in the digital age. Cox became heroes to many OSU fans in the Tulsa area Friday by striking an agreement with the NFL Network to show the Insight Bowl on Cox cable channel 3. I still stand by my opinion in this blog space a few weeks ago that the NFL Network is greedy for initially trying to shut out the Tulsa market. After having a brief chat Friday with the network's spokesperson, my opinion only strengthened. The spokesperson's smart-alecky responses about why the last-minute change of heart took place had noticeable arrogance attached to them. It did not leave me with a favorable impression of the network or its crusade trying to get on same basic channel package as ESPN.
Bottom line, OSU needs to win more games in the future to play in higher-profile bowls – ones that are televised on networks that the vast majority of viewers have access to.
Recruiting: OSU signed seven junior-college players. That is a very high number for one recruiting class. The message is clear: The Cowboys need an immediate impact at some positions, particularly from the five defensive Juco players, next season. Recruiting and signing Juco players always is a gamble. Schools just have two years with these players, and usually the first season is a tough transition for the player.
Insight Bowl: From the moment this matchup was announced, there was no doubt Indiana would be motivated. The Hoosiers have played with a purpose all year to fulfill their late coach Terry Hoeppner's goal to "play 13" games. IU wants to win the 13th game to put the exclamation point on its emotional season.
OSU has endured an emotional season as well. Although some might say a lot of that emotion was not positive. Finishing 7-6 for the second consecutive season was not the goal at the start of the year. But it's better than the alternative. Finishing 6-7 would create more negative emotion surrounding the OSU football program.
--- Matt Doyle
Written by
Bill Haisten
Sports Writer
