The day after Iowa State
Published: 11/2/2008 12:57 PM
Last Modified: 11/2/2008 12:57 PM
When you search for explanations regarding Oklahoma State's football season to this point, the first inclination is to look at the players on the field.
Zac Robinson, Dez Bryant, Kendall Hunter, Russell Okung, Brandon Pettigrew, Andre Sexton, Orie Lemon, Jacob Lacey, Ricky Price, Perrish Cox, and many other Cowboys are the names and reasons for OSU's 8-1 start.
But what about that man on the sidelines? You know, that 41-year-old man? What about Mike Gundy?
Outside of Oklahoma and the Big 12 Conference region, the first thought at the mention of Gundy's name is the infamous postgame press conference after last season's victory over Texas Tech. But that is so, well, last year.
Let's look at this year. Entering this week's high-stakes showdown at Texas Tech, it's time for those around the country to take a long, close look at Gundy, the coach.
Now, more than ever, this is Mike Gundy's program. With the exception of Pettigrew, Seb Clements, David Washington, and Jeray Chatham, all of the players on the OSU roster came in with Gundy as head coach.
Gundy admits he has endured growing pains throughout his four seasons as OSU head coach. But he has never wavered his principles or beliefs in constructing and operating a college football program.
At the start of this season, I openly wondered if it was the right decision for Gundy to take on the offensive play-calling duties. Coaches like Steve Spurrier, Mark Richt and Charlie Weis relinquished such responsibilities in the last year or two. But Gundy and the OSU offense have thrived because of this decision.
Following Saturday's victory over Iowa State, I asked Gundy about surpassing the win total for each of the past two seasons and if it had any personal meaning or satisfaction. Naturally, Gundy deflected any attention away from him and gave all credit to his players.
"I'm proud of our team. All the accolades, respect, everything we're gathering or that's coming our way, I'm happy for our team," Gundy said. "They put all the hard work and effort into it. They deserve it."
So does Gundy, too. Texas coach Mack Brown has noticed Gundy's efforts the past four years and complimented the OSU coach after last week's game in Austin.
"You're doing a good job there," Brown told Gundy. "It's much tougher to do it there than where I am."
If Gundy can leave Lubbock this Saturday night with a better feeling than Brown did last night, many more will notice how good of a job the OSU coach is doing.
Game balls
***Zac Robinson: The OSU quarterback had that big eye-popping statistical performance against the Cyclones. His 461 yards of total offense was 25 shy of his school-record 486 last year against Texas. His 395 yards passing was the fourth-best single-game showing in school history.
***Dez Bryant: Nine catches for 171 yards and four touchdowns. Just another day at the office for Dez.
***Ricky Price: The senior strong safety did not have one of his better days last week at Texas. But he bounced back with a strong seven-tackle effort against Iowa State.
***Orie Lemon: The junior has developed into a very good middle linebacker. Lemon was very active en route to making seven solo tackles.
***Terrance Anderson: The junior cornerback does not get the same amount of attention as starters Jacob Lacey and Perrish Cox. But Anderson has developed into a solid third cornerback that is needed against the pass-first attacks that are common these days. His second-quarter interception in the end zone was a big momentum-turning play.
Cowboy checklist
***Was Saturday's Boone Pickens Stadium crowd really 46,718? There were a lot of patches of open aluminum bleachers unoccupied Saturday. This is a top 10 team that deserves to play in front of sellouts at home like OU, Texas, Texas Tech, Kansas and Missouri do. Having the Iowa State game on ABC probably didn't help the crowd situation. And, of course, there is that great debate about OSU's ticket prices and situation for home games. Can the Bedlam game at the end of the month even get 50,000 inside the 60,000-seat venue?
***What was Robinson still doing in the game in the fourth quarter? The lead was 52-10 and the outcome was no longer in doubt. There's no sense in risking a potential cheap shot on your star QB in that situation. Get Alex Cate some additional snaps in case he ever is needed for some significant action.
---Matt Doyle
Written by
Bill Haisten
Sports Writer
