Brennan Presley Just Wants to Lay in Bed and Eat Candy
STILLWATER – You want the X-and-O’s of why Oklahoma State lost to West Virginia 24-19 in the regular season finale to slip to 7-5 on the season while losing four of the final five games on the schedule. The X-and-O’s were Oklahoma State allowed three big run plays, all for touchdowns. West Virginia quarterback Garrett Greene broke off a 36-yard touchdown after a short punt for a first quarter score. Then in the third quarter running back Jaylen Anderson found creases, created by blocking up front that took Cowboy defenders out of their gaps, and Anderson ran 54 and 57-yards into the end zone. That was 147-yards of the 250-yards the Mountaineers ran for in the game!
"Get better. The 'get better' isn't just in the playing, it's in the coaching, too,” defensive coordinator Derek Mason said of a defense that has really played six good quarters in the last two games and two quarters that helped the Cowboys get beat. “When you get a chance to self-scout, I'll get a chance to do that with the staff, we'll look at where we're at. I'm proud of these players considering the loss of Trace Ford and Tyler Lacy. Guys having to come in and play pivotal roles this year up front, and everything we thought would be extremely strong got extremely thin pretty fast late in the season.
They did lose safety Kendal Daniels and cornerback Korie Black during the WVU game. We’ll see what their prognosis is for the bowl game. There is one more chance to play a complete game on defense.
“For us, what you do, you don't make excuses,” Mason added. “You are what you are. We are where we sit right now. Lucky thing is, we got a bowl game. That gives us an opportunity to get a couple guys healthy and see what the self-scout tells us. We'll take these two weeks of bowl practices when we come back, and let's push it toward what we need to do. Let's go get a bowl win because that's where it's at."
Offensively, injuries have crushed the Cowboys too. In fact, if Jason Brooks doesn’t come in on the offensive line in the third quarter, then I’m not sure you’d have had that late offensive push that got the Pokes back in the game. Freshmen starting at quarterback, running back, and the Z receiver and a list of starters out with Spencer Sanders, Dominic Richardson, Jaden Bray, and Bryson Green. Those are only the ones that have been out recently. There are some out for months and even the entire season. Oklahoma State struggled to run the first half and then struggled to throw the second half making the Mountaineers job defensively a much desired one dimension to defend.
Offensive coordinator Kasey Dunn said it’s been difficult dealing with a collapse. It feels a lot different than if you were going up and down, but the go 6-1 and be so explosive to 1-4 and so depleted is rough.
"It's been difficult. We started out and it was so promising, and we were moving the ball and scoring 44, 45 points a game after the first seven games,” Dunn said. “So to see it just collapse like it did, it's hard. It's been difficult. You walk in after the game, and you just don't know what to say to the offensive unit anymore, to the players or coaches. Things just kind of spiraled, and I don't have great answers as for why. Obviously if I did, we would move the ball better and score more points. But yeah, it's been a hard run, especially with the way it started."
“When you put a freshman quarterback out there, weird things happen. You put a freshman running back out there, weird things happen, and then you put a freshman receiver out there, weird things happen,” Dunn said of the Cowboys biggest youth movement of the season so far. “Freshmen, true freshmen playing different things happen. They’ve had those moments during the course of the season, but to see Rangel, Brown, and Johnson come out and play like they did today was good.”
Slot receiver Brennan Presley was the most experienced and most productive skill player out there with a touchdown on a four-yard carry and five catches for 77-yards. He thought that Rangel had really progressed.
“His first two games, at Kansas and then this one, a wet, not-ideal game for someone as young as he is to get out there and play, I think anybody else would have folded under those conditions,” Presley started his thought. “Just the maturity and composure that he showed just to go out there. He's going to make mistakes, we're all going to make mistakes, but at the end of the day, we've got his back. So, his composure and the way he studies and the way he has prepared, I think that's the best thing about him."
One thing I learned was the closer to the middle of the season that your bye week is the better. Oklahoma State had it this year after game three going into conference play. That made for a nine week stretch that with the injuries was made much more difficult. This team badly needs a break.
“You know sometimes when your body is not connected to your mind it is tough,” Cobb said. “We have a lot of guys in this program that show that mentally. We run stadium steps in the dead of winter in the freezing cold and it is mind over matter. It is not football stuff, it is all mental and that is where we lock in. My body is sore, I need the time off and I’m going to take advantage of it.”
Presley talked about his upcoming week off less foundational and much more humorous, but the point is still delivered.
“I’m going to lay in bed and I’m going to eat,” Presley said of the upcoming week off from football and workouts. “People don’t want to hear this but I’m going to eat candy.”