Gundy, Cowboys Seek Perfection
Players / Coaches on Both Sides Reserved
Stillwater - Looking to start a season 4-0 for just the third time since 1988, Mike Gundy held his weekly press-conference last Thursday before a few deserved days off, the lack of “locker room” material for Mike Sherman’s Aggies and an abundance of coach-speak infiltrated the interview rooms. Quotes from the Cowboys were appropriately reserved in anticipation for the battle of unbeaten’s.
Gundy said, “In our opinion, they’re [Texas A & M] very similar to what they were last year...I would expect them to try to pound it at us and run the football and keep the ball some...Defensively, they blitz a lot and it’s a different kind of pressure.”
Defensive Coordinator Bill Young had this to say regarding Texas A & M’s explosive offense, “...A & M is one of the top offensive teams of the country and they have almost all of their skill players back.” And Offensive Coordinator Dana Holgorsen said, “We’re looking forward to the challenge. We’re going to try and be consistent with our offense and be able to compete at a high level.”
Not much to read into those statements from the Cowboys head man and assistants. But don’t be fooled by these simplistic statements. Be certain that when these teams meet, the chain gang should have an exhausting time running up and down the field, trying to keep up with these high-powered offenses.
Gundy did have one small, telling statement about his squad’s upcoming tilt with the boys from College Station: “It’ll [Texas A & M’s defense] look different for our group because we haven’t seen a lot of blitzes,” perhaps the only insight into what the OSU coaches feel may be a point of concern Thursday.
That may be the most telling statement from either side of this game. Obviously, Oklahoma State will see a much different team this Thursday night compared to their first 3 opponents. Forget that Texas A & M struggled with Florida International last Saturday. The Aggies, armed with Big XII pre-season Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year, will strut into Stillwater with something to prove. Count on it.
Why? Oddly enough, it is the Aggies that find themselves lacking the clout most figured Sherman’s group to have rolling into Stillwater. In somewhat of a twist of fortunes, it is the Cowboy team that finds themselves ranked in the top 25 this season, checking in at No. 24 in this week’s USA Today Coaches’ Poll.
The Aggies have yet to face a formidable foe either, even though the aforementioned FIU team gave the Aggie fans a big scare in their last game. Both squads will play in their first true test of the season Thursday as they both begin conference play.
Coach Sherman will look to extend the Aggies all-time lead in the series to 18-8 with a win, though the Cowboys have come out on top the last two meetings, the most recent a close 36-31 victory at Kyle Field in light of former WR Dez Bryant’s now infamous NCAA suspension.
Coach Gundy will be looking for a milestone of his own come Thursday: his 40th win as Head Coach of his alma-mater Cowboys. Only Pat Jones (62) and Jim Lookabaugh (58) have more wins than Gundy. Don’t look for Gundy to go into deep discussion about his possible milestone, though. His comments will most likely be as tempered as this opponent’s were this Monday in College Station.
Coach Sherman’s comments, while guarded, gave some credence as to what his team needs to do, in his opinion, to play better Thursday. “[We had] too many second and third-and-longs [against FIU] due to penalties and sacks.” He said his defense would be fired up to play on national television for the first time this season remarking, “I think the guys have a little bit of a chip on their shoulder because of how we’ve played in the past.”
Senior Aggie Quarterback Jerrod Johnson offered his thoughts on what his team would expect to see when they arrive in Stillwater and it was the best attempt at humor from either side. “Oh, it’s typical OSU. They are big, fast, athletic, and they run to the ball well. If you watch the way they walk off the bus, they are very impressive.”
Not even the usual joker of the Aggies, Senior Linebacker Von Miler, had many quips for the media Monday. “This is what we’ve been waiting for and we finally have a chance to go out there and play a really good team.” Junior Wide Receiver Jeff Fuller said, “I feel like we’re a lot more mature this year versus last year,” when asked how his team’s 3-0 start this year was different from last year’s.
For a real measuring stick, one might wish to take a look at each team’s prospective rankings in some critical areas that should help decide the winner on Saturday. First, OSU ranks No. 2 in scoring offense as A & M checks in at No. 12. However, A & M comes in at No. 18 in scoring defense whereas OSU follows with a No. 84 rating.
Oddly enough, despite having All-American and Doak Walker Award hopeful Kendall Hunter, the Cowboys actually check in one spot below the Aggies - armed with Runningbacks Christine Michael and Cyrus Gray - in rushing offense at No. 31. Both teams average just over 204 yards per game in that department, but in rushing defense, A & M ranks high at No. 4 and OSU lags behind at No. 55.
Both teams rank in the top ten of total offense in the NCAA as well. Lastly, in total defense, the Cowboys come in at No. 78 in the country as A & M drops in at No. 10. Now, mind you, I’m not much of a numbers person, but in trying to glean insight from each team’s respective press conferences and remarks, one must look to all sources available. So, all numbers aside, all comments pushed to the back-burner, this game should prove to be entertaining to say the least. Either by way of strong defensive outputs or offensive shows, be sure to tune in to Thursday night’s game.
Coming off a school-record 722 yard outing against Tulsa, the Cowboys should be primed for another tough battle against their rivals from deep-South Texas Thursday night on ESPN. And while neither team has played a team worthy of writing home to mom and dad, I fully expect this game to be filled with hard hits and big offensive outputs from each squad.
The Cowboys are off to their fastest scoring start in school history and Coach Hologorsen has his team 16-for-16 in red zone scoring, tops in the country, getting big numbers from his own top skill players. Sophomore Wide Receiver Justin Blackmon leads the NCAA in scoring, receiving yards per game and touchdown receptions. Junior Quarterback Brandon Weeden is No. 3 in the county averaging 325 passing yards per game and ranks second with 11 touchdown passes.
With all the typical reservation and respect shown from both sides of this game, Thursday night sets up as a much anticipated clash between what many people feel could be two of the Big XII South’s top contenders. Have no doubt, when Mike Sherman and company take the field at 6:30, all the talk, all the statistics count for not. Fans for each team should be in for a great treat as college football get an early kick this week.
For more stories, questions or comments concerning NCAA & high school football, check out my blog at http://footballimp.blogspot.com or email me at brett_t_hill@hotmail.com. (Published in the McALester News-Capital. Big thanks to sports editor, Jay Knight.)
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