Oklahoma State, in the midst of a dream season, will try to not look past a pesky Kansas State team this weekend to the Cowboys’ Dec. 3 match-up with the Oklahoma Sooners.
To answer “Five Burning Questions” regarding Oklahoma State-Kansas State, I called upon the voice of the Cowboys, Dave Hunziker.
1) Usually, after losing a guy like Dana Holgorsen, an offense would suffer. Where does the credit go for OSU’s offensive domination this season?
Todd Monken is a very, very good football coach. He comes from a family of coaches and he understands that really all of this is very simple. He says it over and over again – he wants to create a run-pass conflict for the defense. He and Brandon Weeden are on the same page in that area. Whatever the defense gives, they will take. OSU had 327 yards rushing against Baylor. Five of the six longest plays this season for the Oklahoma State offense are run plays. It’s not about a system; it’s about playing at a fast tempo and exploiting the weakness of the defense, whatever it might be on that snap.
It helps when you have a quarterback who throws it as well as Weeden and a receiver as talented as Blackmon. The offensive line is outstanding, and the running backs are very good. It’s interesting – Monken had never called plays in a fast-tempo fashion before, and he said many times that he wouldn’t go fast just for the sake of going fast. He eased into the fast-tempo concept, and now OSU operates even faster now than it did last year under Dana Holgerson
2) The offense and defense at this point are polar opposites. What has been the issue?
The Cowboy defense is young in the middle. The two interior defensive linemen, Nigel Nicholas and Anthony Rogers, are first-year starters, as well as the middle linebacker, Caleb Lavey, and the will linebacker, Alex Elkins. The free safety, Daytawion Lowe is also a first-year starter. The Cowboys have struggled to stop the run at times, but the fact is, when it matters the most – when opponents are in OSU territory – they lock it down.
Twenty-five opponent drives have ended in OSU territory without points, and opponents have scored only 13 touchdowns in 30 trips to the red zone, the lowest touchdown percentage in the Big 12. Bill Young is an experienced defensive coordinator and puts his players in positions where they can be successful. They don’t try to do anything that their players can’t do. They do not give up big plays… which is a huge point of emphasis. Keep in mind that OSU has posted 22 sacks, so when you add in the 29 turnovers that they’ve forced, and the 38 other tackles for loss that they have, that is 89 huge momentum plays by the defense, an average of about 11 per game. One out of every seven opponent’s offensive snaps result in a “momentum play” for the defense. That explains why offenses can’t finish drives against the Cowboys.
3) Fans have December 3rd circled on the calendars. What have coach Gundy and company done to keep the team focused on the team at hand, week by week.
So far, keeping the team focused on the matter at hand has not been an issue. Coach Gundy hasn’t tried to hide the fact that the team is receiving a great deal of attention and is in position to do something special. They tackle those issues head on, and preparation is emphasized constantly. This team is extremely unselfish, and I think that really helps. Brandon Weeden’s presence is huge. His maturity stabilizes this team.
4) Oklahoma State defeats Kansas State if…?
Oklahoma State defeats Kansas State if they can stop the run and neutralize Kansas State in the kicking game. KSU is very explosive with Tyler Lockett in kickoff return and you don’t want to give KSU any points in the kicking game. Offensively, it’s simple, the Cowboys just need to continue to be sound and not commit turnovers. If the Cowboys get off to a good start and make KSU play from behind, it would be a huge advantage, because the Wildcats don’t want to pass, they are two-third’s run and one-third pass for the season. Keep in mind that OSU has led by two scores or more at the end of the first quarter in 11 of 21 games dating back to the start of last season. A fast OSU start could be disastrous for the Wildcats.
5) Dana Holgorsen is heading back to the Big 12. What are you overall thoughts on the latest conference expansion addition of West Virginia to the Big 12?
West Virginia has a great football tradition and is a fine addition to the league. The Big 12 is consistently producing two-to-three top ten teams each season so there’s absolutely nothing wrong with the league from a competitive standpoint. It’s in the best interest of every league member to keep the Big 12 going and take whatever action is necessary to stabilize the conference. The addition of WVU is a win-win… it stabilizes the conference and adds a team that has national relevance to the group. It will be fun to have Dana in the Big 12 and that could result in some very interesting games between the Mountaineers and some of the high-flying offenses that currently play in the Big 12.
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