Knowles, Rodriguez, Harper, All the Defenders Are Bedlam Heroes
STILLWATER – One of the best parts of my job as the sideline reporter on the Cowboys Radio Network is being in the halftime locker room and listening to the adjustments made by the coaching staff. I can’t report much, if any, of what I hear, but I can relay it upstairs to Dave Hunziker and John Holcomb and we have things we can look for that make us smarter than we really are. Cowboys defensive coordinator Jim Knowles has been as interesting a coach to listen to at halftime as any in my history with maybe the exception of offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen, for different reasons.
With the halftime score 24-24 in the Bedlam game, I was anxious to see where Knowles would go.
“The one thing I asked them at halftime was, ‘Can we play better?’” Knowles said. “And they all agreed that we could. And that was the most important thing, that we control what we can control. I knew we had all the tools to turn it around in the second half.
I reported that part of the adjustments. Before the second half kick, I had told the radio audience the plan was to play better, and they did. Despite the nine points given up by the offense (safety) and a special teams turnover for a touchdown, the defense kept doing their job stopping Oklahoma.
“We were able to slug it out and hang in there and start making those third-down stops and get them behind the sticks and start getting some tackles for losses,” Knowles followed up.
Oklahoma had less than 200-yards on offense in the second half and 56-yards of that came on that late run by OU quarterback Caleb Williams, who Knowles called “impressive.”
"I clamped the back and I saw him scramble so I was hoping one of our guys would bring him down,” Cowboys linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez said of that scary run on the last series of the game for Oklahoma. “I just started chasing, you know, then we got him down. I knew we had a shot, adjust the defense, and Coach Knowles made the right calls at the end."
Overall, it was a game with a lot of heroes. Don’t forget it was corner Christian Holmes that ran Williams out of bounds at the 25 in OSU territory, so Williams couldn’t spoil the Cowboys night. It was also true freshman Collin Oliver who recorded two sacks in the fourth quarter, including the game-clinching sack on fourth down to give the Pokes the ball back. The defense wasn’t going to let it be spoiled, which is why despite some very anxious moments, head coach Mike Gundy said he likes to be a spectator with this defense.
“They just play hard. I told the guys I don’t even know what to say about it anymore. I just sit here, I’m just the head coach and enjoy the game,” Gundy said. “I really enjoyed that game. It got a little tight there in the last four minutes, but other than that it was a fun game to watch. Two good football teams going at it, but those guys have just been fantastic all year. Malcolm (Rodriguez) has done it for four years, but for (Devin Harper), it’s pretty special he’s come back, especially because he’s been behind Amen (Ogbongbemiga) for many years and this is his year. He came back and worked hard, not said a word, never complained and really grown into his own. He can run. He’s going to get a chance. Someone’s going to bring him into a camp and give him a chance. I couldn’t be more proud of him.”
Proud of them all, including Jim Knowles. The overwhelming voice of the Oklahoma State fanbase is to get Knowles locked into a long-term contract before somebody swoops in and takes him away.