Winning a national championship might not be enough to help Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy ever live down the, “I’m a man! I’m 40!” post-game rant he famously delivered a little more than one year ago.
But after watching his now 8th-ranked Cowboys travel to Missouri and knock off the then No. 3 Tigers last weekend, it all makes sense. What Gundy knew then, and college football fans across the country are learning this season, is OSU has a super-talented quarterback in Zac Robinson.
Personnel decisions are always tough, and the Cowboys had a quarterback controversy last season. The talented but erratic upperclassman was Bobby Reid. The young, unproven, potential superstar was Robinson.
Gundy made his choice, and today it’s obvious he made the right call. What made it so difficult, though, was that Reid was by all accounts, and in his coach’s opinion, the epitome of a student athlete. He was role model to his teammates in the classroom, graduating in less than four years. He never once found himself on the wrong side of the law. He was polite and well spoken.
Reid was also a good quarterback, but Robinson was better.
Imagine how difficult it must have been for Gundy to take the ball away from a young man he considered the most prized, high-profile recruit of his tenure in Stillwater. The decision had nothing to do with Reid, and everything to do with Robinson. It all finally made sense to me Saturday night after watching Robinson pass for 215 yards and rush for another 34, leading the Cowboys to a 28-23 victory over Mizzou.
Consider all of the above factors, and put yourself in Gundy’s shoes one year ago when he learned that a local newspaper columnist wrote a story insinuating that Reid was bench for being a sissy momma’s boy.
Reid was benched because Robinson was better and that’s all there was to it. It wasn’t an easy decision, but in hindsight, it was the right one.
During his tirade, Gundy described Reid as a kid who had “done everything right,” but that point, and almost everything else of substance he said, was overlooked because of how he said it. I’m sure, or at least I hope, that if Gundy had it to do all over again, his post-game reaction would have been handled in a more professional manner.
If Gundy and the Cowboys can continue winning, football fans will have plenty of good memories to replace a one-minute sound bite. And hopefully Gundy will become known as a good, 41-year-old coach.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Sunday, October 12, 2008
BEARKAT FOOTBALL: Not-so-special kickoffs killed the Kats
If you are reading this column, it means the sun did come up Sunday morning. Despite the anguish and pure anger expressed by many over the past 24 hours, the “Chicken Little” syndrome appears to be wearing off as it becomes clear that the sky, in fact, is not falling.
Saturday night’s 48-46 loss at Central Arkansas was bitterly disappointing, but it was just one loss. In the same way that a victory over the Bears would have assured the Kats of nothing, the loss did not seal the season’s fate. In fact, with McNeese State’s surprising home loss to Texas State, the Southland Conference race is wide open now that all eight teams have played a game.
Adding to the frustration of the UCA setback was the wasted effort of an offense that complied more than 500 yards. The Kats are really, really good on offense — maybe the most balanced and potent team SHSU has put together in recent memory. Turnovers and other self-inflicted miscues have been the biggest obstacles the Kats have faced this season. With the remaining schedule, Rhett Bomar, James Aston, Justin Wells and the rest of SHSU’s playmakers should be able to score at least 35 points a game against every SLC opponent.
And none of that will matter if the Kats can’t stop the other team. Yes, SHSU’s defense gave up a lot of points against UCA. Yes, we again watched a third-and-long turn into a 60-yard touchdown (happened twice against Kansas, and proved to be the game-winner for the Bears).
But there is a bigger problem. Coaches and commentators love to say that in order to win in football a team must be good in all three phases — offense, defense and special teams.
Right now, SHSU’s special teams have not been very special. The glaring weakness that could drag this season down with it is kickoff coverage.
I don’t have a seat inside the coaches meetings, the film room or the practice field, so I don’t know where the problem starts. Is it the kicker? Is it the coverage? Is it the coaching? I don’t have an answer.
What I do know is the Bearkats are not very good at covering kickoffs. UCA’s average starting field position Saturday night was its own 46-yard line. That statistic is slightly skewed by two first-quarter fumbles deep in SHSU territory, but coach Todd Whitten and his staff were so worried about a big return they decided their best option was to kick it high and short — around the 30 — and yield a short return, or simply kick it out of bounds. Either way, UCA was starting most of its drives within a few feet of the 40-yard line.
SHSU’s defense could not be expected to contain an offense as potent as UCA’s when quarterback Nathan Brown had a short field to work with on every drive. UCA coach Clint Conque said before and after the game that he thought the kicking game would be the difference when his team faced the Kats.
He was right, and it’s safe to assume that every other coach in the SLC knows the same thing.
Saturday night, both teams scored six touchdowns and kicked two field goals, yet SHSU finished with 160 more yards on offense. Why? Because the Kats had to drive the ball 20 yards further (on average) for each of it’s eight scoring drives due to starting field position.
SHSU knew this coming week would be huge, but it’s even bigger now that both the Bearkats and Cowboys will be facing the threat of a 0-2 start in the SLC. For the first time this season, the Kats must deal with some on-field adversity and come through in a must-win situation.
Hopefully the players and coaches have the competitive spirit, drive and determination to make the necessary changes, improve their performance and get the job done rather than give up on the season as some of its most vocal “supporters” seemed to have done since Saturday night.
Saturday night’s 48-46 loss at Central Arkansas was bitterly disappointing, but it was just one loss. In the same way that a victory over the Bears would have assured the Kats of nothing, the loss did not seal the season’s fate. In fact, with McNeese State’s surprising home loss to Texas State, the Southland Conference race is wide open now that all eight teams have played a game.
Adding to the frustration of the UCA setback was the wasted effort of an offense that complied more than 500 yards. The Kats are really, really good on offense — maybe the most balanced and potent team SHSU has put together in recent memory. Turnovers and other self-inflicted miscues have been the biggest obstacles the Kats have faced this season. With the remaining schedule, Rhett Bomar, James Aston, Justin Wells and the rest of SHSU’s playmakers should be able to score at least 35 points a game against every SLC opponent.
And none of that will matter if the Kats can’t stop the other team. Yes, SHSU’s defense gave up a lot of points against UCA. Yes, we again watched a third-and-long turn into a 60-yard touchdown (happened twice against Kansas, and proved to be the game-winner for the Bears).
But there is a bigger problem. Coaches and commentators love to say that in order to win in football a team must be good in all three phases — offense, defense and special teams.
Right now, SHSU’s special teams have not been very special. The glaring weakness that could drag this season down with it is kickoff coverage.
I don’t have a seat inside the coaches meetings, the film room or the practice field, so I don’t know where the problem starts. Is it the kicker? Is it the coverage? Is it the coaching? I don’t have an answer.
What I do know is the Bearkats are not very good at covering kickoffs. UCA’s average starting field position Saturday night was its own 46-yard line. That statistic is slightly skewed by two first-quarter fumbles deep in SHSU territory, but coach Todd Whitten and his staff were so worried about a big return they decided their best option was to kick it high and short — around the 30 — and yield a short return, or simply kick it out of bounds. Either way, UCA was starting most of its drives within a few feet of the 40-yard line.
SHSU’s defense could not be expected to contain an offense as potent as UCA’s when quarterback Nathan Brown had a short field to work with on every drive. UCA coach Clint Conque said before and after the game that he thought the kicking game would be the difference when his team faced the Kats.
He was right, and it’s safe to assume that every other coach in the SLC knows the same thing.
Saturday night, both teams scored six touchdowns and kicked two field goals, yet SHSU finished with 160 more yards on offense. Why? Because the Kats had to drive the ball 20 yards further (on average) for each of it’s eight scoring drives due to starting field position.
SHSU knew this coming week would be huge, but it’s even bigger now that both the Bearkats and Cowboys will be facing the threat of a 0-2 start in the SLC. For the first time this season, the Kats must deal with some on-field adversity and come through in a must-win situation.
Hopefully the players and coaches have the competitive spirit, drive and determination to make the necessary changes, improve their performance and get the job done rather than give up on the season as some of its most vocal “supporters” seemed to have done since Saturday night.
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