Run Game Discussion with Gundy. How to Crank It Up?

STILLWATER – Mike Gundy said it after the game Saturday in Fort Worth where Oklahoma State fell from the ranks of the unbeatens with a 43-40 loss in double overtime to TCU, the biggest difference in the game was TCU could run the ball against a light box and Oklahoma State, seeing the same light box from the Frogs defense, could not. Gundy came back in his news conference on Monday and said he saw the same thing on video.

"We just couldn't rush the ball effectively. We became one dimensional,” Gundy said virtually repeating the message outside the Oklahoma State locker room at Amon Carter Stadium Saturday. “You become one dimensional, you're much easier to defend. We just weren't very physical. We just couldn't get into a rhythm rushing the ball. We've just got to keep doing the same stuff we're doing and improve."

Now, looking to rebound and realizing that his team is No. 65 in the nation in rushing offense at 155.7-yards a game, averaging 4.0-yards a carry and are not looking for quarterback Spencer Sanders to split as much of the rushing responsibility, I asked: do you flirt with a different scheme, one you may be familiar with but don’t use as much? Maybe you turn to some different backs and get Jaden Nixon or freshman Ollie Gordon some more carries. Dominic Richardson has been good, but his long carry of the season is 19-yards. Explosive runs have been few and way too far between.

Do you change it up?

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Gundy seems committed to Richardson and I’ve been impressed at time too.

“I don’t believe in that. I don’t think you can trick a team,” Gundy said clearly defining that his team will stick to the plan. “I don’t think you can change what you do on Tuesday and Wednesday and go out and play well and say, ‘This is going to work.’ That’s me. I don’t think that players are capable of absorbing and understanding concepts and schemes with the multiple defenses that we see nowadays. Years and years ago, (maybe) but I mean I use the term with my staff. You know if we have a guy go down, we’ve got to replace that guy.”

Here’s where it gets a little crazy. Gundy has used travel baseball before. His sons played it, and he is familiar with it.

“Travel baseball is a great example, 12-year-old travel baseball,” he said getting precise. “If shortstop gets hurt and we take the third baseman and move him to shortstop and the left fielder and move him to third and the right fielder move to left and the center fielder right, we could move six people to replace one guy. That’s not what I believe in. So, if we have somebody go down, somebody else needs to replace them. We need to stay in our system. I think we have the best chance of having success versus trying something new and trying to trick the next team.  That’s my opinion.”

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You have to love what Nixon has done on kickoff returns, especially the 98-yard return at Baylor.

I agree, you can’t reinvent the wheel or your run package on offense in a week. You can add some counter, maybe some lead to the base zone game. A few plays can always be added. The offensive line needs to be examined. Maybe, you have to plug someone in there if they aren’t getting the job done with run blocking. This team has to be able to run the ball. You have to. Then as far as running back personnel, Jaden Nixon is not as big or mature as Richardson, but he is faster, and his vision may be better. Ollie Gordon is young, but he is 6-2 and 215-pounds. Gordon has the longest run from scrimmage this season at 53-yards and he is averaging 5.5-yards per carry because of it.
 
"Well as I said, we're going to start working those guys in,” Gundy said. (Jaden] Nixon is showing physicality and he's playing on punt and kickoff return and when he was playing in the game he did just fine. As he evolves, he's earned a right to get more carries. I want to say that it's not necessarily that we need to take them (carries) from Dom. Dom is running good for us, but I'm concerned about his total carries. Ollie (Gordon) gets better every day. He is still a freshman and freshman, you have to be real careful with them at that particular position."

Another option was brought up at Mike Gundy’ s radio coaches show on Monday night.

“We might need to look at Deondre Jackson,” Gundy said. He had some setbacks, and we weren’t able to rep him for a while, but he is getting where he might be able to help. If we feel comfortable with him then we need to see what he can do.”

Jackson is the four-star running back recruit that went to Texas A&M and then transferred to Oklahoma State in the summer. He played little at Texas A&M, but he is 5-11, 215-pounds. He has played a few plays of short yardage this season in 22 personnel. He has one carry for two yards. 

“He can run with some power, and he can make some guys miss,” Gundy said of Jackson. He is not a Keith Toston because he can make guys miss. He is in the ballpark of Vernand Morency. He is kind of like Seymore Shaw when he was healthy,”

I get it, but Texas is No. 35 in the nation in rushing defense and is limiting opponents to 118.7-yards a game. They haven’t exactly played any monster rushing teams unless you count Alabama. It looks like Richardson will be the main ball carrier and he should be. I agree with Gundy on Richardson, who as the No. 3 guy averaged 4.7-yards a carry and had a long run of 28-yards.

"He's good,” Gundy said of Richardson. “When he's catching the screens and he's out in space, he's running and doing well. If you envision him getting in space, looks pretty good. We have to get him in space more.”

They do and they have to get him to look up and make moves to get into space. Vince Lombardi (Google it) said it best, “run to daylight,” and he wasn’t talking donuts.