Oklahoma State is still chasing a Big 12 championship
Oklahoma State’s plans for winning a championship took a big blow Saturday in a loss to No. 2 Texas.
But the Cowboy players are in no mood to give up as they prepare to play a revitalized Iowa State team Saturday.
“There’s still a chance at a Big 12 title,” said OSU offensive lineman Brady Bond. “The way the Big 12 has been played this year, there’s still a chance. We’re just going to play one week at a time and worry about what we can worry about. We can’t control how Texas plays. We’ll take it one game a week and we’ve got Iowa State this week so we’ll go from there.”
Bond said the main thing is to forget Texas and look forward to Iowa State on Saturday.
“The first thing we’re going to do is put this one behind us. It’s not how we wanted it to turn out, but I let it go yesterday and we’re going to have to move on. “If we worry about it too much, it’s going to affect us against Iowa State,” Bond said. “We’re going to put that one to the past and start looking toward Iowa State today. Texas beat us once, we can’t let them beat us twice.”
Mistakes - turnovers and penalties - cost the Pokes dearly against the Longhorns.
“…obviously if we turn the ball over that many times then it’s extremely difficult to win, much less against a team of the caliber of Texas,” said OSU coach Mike Gundy, who is 0-5 against Texas. “Defensively, they have great speed in the secondary. They run very well. They tackle very well.
“Offensively, they’ve got guys that can get the ball to on the perimeter and keep you spread out. The quarterback’s very mature. He’s got a lot of experience.
“He’s a good football player. They are very good in the kicking game with their speed. Give them credit. They made plays. Their coaches made good decisions. They had good game plans. We’ve put that one behind us now.”
“I think this one hurt a little bit more because we knew what it was going to take to win,” OSU defensive lineman Swanson Miller said of the Texas game. “We did what we had to do to win. But, obviously, we didn’t come up with the win. It hurt a little bit, but we know our season is not over.”
OSU is now 2-22 in the all-time series against Texas. The attendance of 58,516 marked the largest single-game crowd in OSU history. OSU has had six of the top 11 crowds in its football history during the 2009 season.
“We feel we can win out the rest of the season and we just have to do it,” said defensive lineman Shane Jarka. “We have to prepare this week. We have to prepare hard. The coaches are going to be on us, of course, and I don’t expect anything less from them.
“Losing to Texas, they were ranked No. 3. We didn’t lose to horrible team; we lost to the No. 3-ranked team in the nation, but we lost to them horribly because of a bunch of mistakes and mental mistakes and turnovers. Bouncing back is going to be hard, but we can do it because we’ve done it before.”
OSU star running back Kendall Hunter only managed one play against Texas.
“We expect him to practice this week and move forward,” Gundy said. “Essentially it’s the same thing he’s done the last few weeks.
“When he went into the game, he felt okay. He didn’t feel great, so we weren’t comfortable in putting him back out there and that’s why he didn’t get back out there in the Texas game. Plans from that standpoint will be to continue and move forward and hopefully we’ll get him for some more plays this week.”
OSU’s 134 rushing yards were the most by a team against Texas this season, surpassing Louisiana-Monroe’s total of 101 in the season opener.
The Cowboys rushed for 42 yards in the first quarter. Texas entered the game allowing its opponents an average of just 41.3 rushing yards per game.
Iowa State, seen as a Big 12 North doormat in the preseason, has surprised critics.
“Iowa State, I think they are leading the league in rushing,” Gundy said. “I know they were way up there when I checked a week ago. A big red zone team. Obviously, they are playing two quarterbacks. They’ve got a big guy on the perimeter that makes plays for them.
“Defensively, they’re somewhat similar to what they were last year, even though it’s a different coaching staff. They’ve done a good job of keeping things in front of them and tackling in space. They’ve had some junior college players come in and contribute to their success.”
A win against OSU would help ISU gain bowl eligibility.
“I don’t think there’s any question they’re going to be ready to play and they’re an improved football team,” Gundy said. “They’re playing much better this year. They’ve got guys that are making plays on both sides of the ball. I would think their approach would be very similar to ours. They’re going to practice hard and try to come out and play and that’s the good thing about college football. That’s going to happen. What motivates teams? I’m not sure. I just know that in order to play the game for the right reasons, you’ve got to practice each day and prepare and go play hard.
“That’s why we do this. No matter how many wins or losses you have, you need to compete every Saturday.”
The Cyclones have taken advantage of turnovers this season.
“They’ve been very opportunistic,” said OSU co-offensive coordinator Gunter Brewer. “They had a game on the flip side such as we had against Texas, they had that against Nebraska. I think sometimes that tends to skew it a little bit when you have one that the bottom falls out one way or the other.
“They are a very opportunistic team and we’re going to have to hold on to the ball. Something that enables us to be successful is not turning it over and don’t penalize yourself. That’s something we didn’t do very well the other night.”
“We’re going to work hard and practice hard this week and go up and play just like we’ve been playing any other team and just play hard,” OSU wide receiver Justin Blackmon said of ISU. “You can’t look past anyone.
“There are a lot of upsets that happen in football. You don’t ever want to be that team that gets upset, so you really can’t overlook anyone.”