Gundy Discusses Health and Miami Match-Up Ahead of Cheez-It Bowl
STILLWATER – Oklahoma State is headed down to Orlando, FL today to face a tough and athletic Miami team in the Cheez-It Bowl on Tuesday. This will be the second time in four years the Cowboys have played a bowl game in Orlando and the first time back on the field in nearly a month when they beat Baylor in Waco, 42-3.
This is a much different opponent in Miami than the Cowboys have faced in the past three games. This is a fast, athletic team that’s led by a fast and athletic quarterback in D’Eriq King, who’s led the Hurricanes to an 8-2 record and a No. 18 ranking in the country.
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“Well, very fast team, like what we talked about earlier in the week,” coach Gundy said of Miami. “They are skilled at all positions. They have tremendous team speed at every position. Quarterback is a really, really good player. He makes them go. Sometimes he'll pull down, take off and make a throw or make a run and change the game for him. This will be a great challenge for us, but our guys have practiced hard and they are excited about playing the game.”
King completed nearly 64% of his passes in 2020 for 2,573 yards and 22 touchdowns to just five interceptions. He can also hurt you on the ground, something the Cowboys struggled with this season. He carried the ball 122 times, a career-high, for 520 yards and four touchdowns.
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The Cowboys offense will have some fire power back as coach Gundy announced this morning running back LD Brown will be available for the bowl game. They’ll also have the explosive receiver combo of Dillon Stoner and Tylan Wallace for one final game.
“Both those guys are old-school warriors,” Gundy said of Stoner and Wallace. “They practice, compete, play in games, they are physical, they are great leaders and they are reliable. They have been fantastic for this organization. Tylan has done himself wonders individually for his career with the year that he's had this year and we're excited that we have him in the bowl game and he still wants to be a part of our team and compete. And Dillon has done what Dillon has done here for years. He just continues to make plays. We play him at all three positions based on if we have an injury, and he shows up and he's able to be very competitive and make a lot of football plays.”
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As for the offensive line, you can expect to see a similar lineup to what coach Dickey ran out against Baylor, but there’s a good chance you’ll see Hunter Anthony and Cole Birmingham back out on the field.
“Well, they are doing good,” coach Gundy said of the offensive line. “We've been fortunate that we haven't had to make changes on game day. So, the young guys are getting a little better. We're not a finished product, obviously with the youth and inexperience we have up there. But they are better than they were a month ago, that's for sure. It's good to have them out there practicing, good to keep them together and that should help during the game.”
Pokes Report will have coverage of the Cowboys’ arrival in Orlando, as well as complete gameday coverage on Tuesday.