OSU Notebook: Bouncing back
BY JIMMIE TRAMEL World Sports Writer
Saturday, October 27, 2012
10/27/12 at 4:17 AM
Mike Gundy said Oklahoma State's offensive line was "very physical" in a victory over Iowa State. The coach said Cowboy blockers were "below average" the previous weekend against Kansas and he let them - and the media - know about it.
"I think they took it as a challenge," Gundy said. "They were teasing me all week asking, 'coach do you think we practiced hard enough today?' Coach (Joe) Wickline does a great job of challenging those guys each week. They know what we expect. Hopefully, we can get them to perform and play at a high level (against TCU) because if we don't ... then we won't have fun on Saturday."
Solo act: With running mate Jeremy Smith on the mend, Joseph Randle has totaled 53 carries in the last two games.
Offensive coordinator Todd Monken said the Cowboys "need to get Jeremy going because Joe is at his best when there is someone else to (share the load)."
Randle was held below 100 yards for the only time this season when he averaged 2.8 yards per carry at Kansas. He would have averaged 3.9 yards per attempt against Iowa State if not for a 62-yard burst that catapulted him to a 151-yard performance.
Monken said Randle played 82 snaps against Iowa State "and I'm sure he was dead-tired."
Too much work? "I'm fine with it," Randle said.
Looking forward to it: Senior offensive lineman Lane Taylor is from Arlington, Texas, which is about 15 miles from the town (Fort Worth) where Big 12 newcomer TCU is located.
"I've always wanted to play TCU," he said. "I have always thought they should probably be in our conference. They kind of go in with all of us, location and everything, so it will be exciting to finally play them."
Young and younger: Because of injuries, young talent and other circumstances, OSU relied primarily on a future cast of players to win a homecoming game against Iowa State. No senior collected a rushing or passing yard against the Cyclones and only 69 of the Cowboys' 415 receiving yards came from seniors. Cornerback Brodrick Brown was the only senior among OSU's top five tacklers in the game.
Meanwhile, TCU has used a nation-leading 16 first-year freshmen this season. It's the most first-year freshmen coach Gary Patterson has employed in 12 seasons as head coach. Before this season, Patterson had never used more than six first-year freshmen.
Weird factoid: On Dec. 5, 2010, TCU became the first team in college football history to receive a Rose Bowl invitation and implode its stadium on the same day.
Beauty contest: TCU receiver Skye Dawson's mother, Rhonda, was a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader from 1982-83. OSU receiver Tracy Moore's mother once auditioned to be a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader.
Playing takeaway: OSU doesn't want this trend to continue. In TCU's last two road games, the Horned Frogs feasted on 12 takeaways.
Associated Images:
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