Gundy Being Honest With His Team Heading to Iowa State
STILLWATER – There are a lot of things at work this week that make it kind of hard to understand the way of the world and the way things lay out in major college football and the Big 12 right now. Let’s start with Oklahoma State is ranked No. 8 (AP) and No. 9 (USA Today) six games into the season and they are only averaging scoring 26.5 points per game.
The 2018 Cowboys finished 7-6; remember the bowl win in the Liberty Bowl over Missouri? That team averaged 38.4 points a game. This Cowboys team is using defense (19.5 points allowed per game) and rushing the football with Jaylen Warren (117.5-yards a game) to pave their path.
Fresh off their third-straight win over a ranked team, 32-24 over No. 25 Texas, and with road wins at Boise and Texas go on the road to face Iowa State. The smart guys in the desert with the sports books and glitz and glamour of Las Vegas have the Cyclones as a six-point favorite over the Cowboys.
It sounds like Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy agrees.
“This will be another big challenge for us. Statistically, arguably, whatever comment you want to make, the best defense that we have played, or could potentially play based on what people say,” Gundy said of Iowa State as they are first in the Big 12 in total defense and Oklahoma State us second. “They've been pretty good for a number of years, and starting to come around in my opinion, just an outsider, obviously. I don't have information on what goes on in their camp, but playing considerably better over the last three, four weeks, just for me, an outsider looking in.”
I agree with Gundy. Iowa State was this year’s Oklahoma State, the team picked to challenge the six-time champion Oklahoma. Then Iowa State started with their usual sluggish September barely beating Northern Iowa 16-10 on the same day that Oklahoma State edged Missouri State 23-16. But while Oklahoma State kept winning, the Cyclones buckled 27-17 to rival Iowa and then fell victim on the road to Baylor 31-29. The state of Kansas has helped Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell and the Cyclones right the ship with wins over Kansas 59-7 and last week 33-20 over Kansas State sandwiching a bye week. Oklahoma State knows from experience that Iowa State knows how to win the bye week.
“(Brock) Purdy's playing good. (They) played good again Saturday,” Gundy continued. “Tight ends are obviously playing good. (Breece Hall) the running back is what we thought he was, so we will need a great week of practice. We need to be able to stay focused. We're expecting a four-quarter game. This is a good football team, and so we'll have to do a great job of coaching and getting all that information to the guys. Get some quality work and head north to play a ball game."
Oklahoma State has won eight of the last nine over Iowa State, but they have almost all been four-quarter games, close, as seven of the last 10 have been one score verdicts. This Oklahoma State team should be ready for this. Gundy got into a long series of question in his new
| Category | Oklahoma State | Iowa State |
| Total Offense | 381.7-ypg FBS-80 | 438-ypg FBS-41 |
| Rushing Offense | 169.3-ypg FBS-58 | 187.2-ypg FBS-41 |
| Passing Offense | 212.3-ypg FBS-89 | 250.8-ypg FBS-51 |
| Scoring Offense | 26.5-ppg FBS-84 | 33.7-ppg FBS-35 |
| Total Defense | 307.2-yapg FBS-19 | 252.3-yapg FBS-3 |
| Rushing Defense | 98.8-yapg FBS-16 | 97.7-yapg FBS-16 |
| Passing Defense | 208.3-yapg FBS-45 | 154.5-yapg FBS-6 |
| Scoring Defense | 19.5-papg FBS-28 | 16.3-yapg FBS-13 |
| Third Down Defense | .295 pct. FBS-9 | .358 pct. FBS-46 |
| Turnover Margin | -0.17 FBS-83 | 0.33 FBS-46 |
| Penalty Yardage per game | 62.0-ypg FBS-89 | 33.6-ypg FBS-4 |
The numbers are strong. Gundy has to see some similarities in his team and the maturity and experience of Iowa State. It is like playing the team in the mirror for the Cowboys.
"These guys are in the right spot all the time, and they have been for a number of years,” Gundy detailed. “They live in their own box. They have a good idea of what they're good at, and that's what they press on. The other night they were in three tight ends and one receiver quite a bit. So, they're good at that. They move their tight ends. They run their zone. They run their pull play. Quarterback works his play-action. And then defensively, they sit in their look. They varied it a little bit this year but not enough to really bring up. They say, ‘This is what we are. This is who we are. This is the position we're in, and we're not going to beat ourselves.' That's just kind of what I've seen. I could be wrong."
He's not, and Saturday will be the Cowboys most difficult game of this season.