Bits and Pieces from Eric Morris News Conference Previewing Iowa State
STILLWATER – Honestly, I think this is a dangerous week as on campus at Oklahoma State most people will be talking the Homecoming weekend. Still basking in the glow of a glorious weekend that had great weather, celebrity visitors (at least one for real), a fantastic football game, and with the Cowboys on the road the next two weeks there won’t be the energy on campus of preparing for home games.
I call this a challenge week for Eric Morris and his coaches. Oklahoma State is an 8.5 point road favorite at Iowa State, a team that was blitzed last Saturday 39-3 at Arizona. The Cyclones are now 3-4/1-3. Morris and his staff need to push the buttons to keep the energy and be ready to handle a frustrated opponent on the road. That is also an opponent that the Cowboys players will see on video is not as talented as they are. They aren’t.
Before Morris jumped into any of that he first acknowledged that Oklahoma City Thunder star Jalen “J-Dub” Williams was at the game Saturday, he night before he suffered a broken fibula and dislocated ankle in his left leg.
“Just a quick little shout out to J-Dub,” Morris started his news conference. “I think, obviously, prayers are up to him. I was on the sideline and locked into calling plays, and the stadium erupted like I haven’t heard it erupt here. I looked up to the Jumbotron and noticed him. I didn't know he was coming, but obviously it’s cool to have people in Oklahoma of that stature here and supporting us right now and coming to watch the game. It was just a horrific injury. And so, prayers up to him. I appreciate him for coming out to our game.”
The first football question had to do with the second half defensive effort against Colorado in the 57-24 win. The Cowboys allowed 279-yards and 24 points the first half and then forced three turnovers and held the Buffs to 64-yards and no points in the second half.
Was it adjustments or better execution by the defense and defensive staff?
“A little bit of both,” answered Morris. “I think our corners were a lot better. I think we challenged some stuff down the field. We won some one-on-one matchups out there. They were getting in some tight sets with tight ends and putting us out in space, and so that’s one of those things. You got to kind of pick what you want to do and so obviously stopping the run was
something important to us. The majority of those were all RPOs, right? There were a couple things where we were in zone coverage in great spots and they just executed at a higher level. He made some great throws. One of the touchdown passes, we have bracket coverage on the guy in the back of the end zone, and we got to make those plays. And so it was a combination of a little bit.”
We mentioned Oklahoma State is better all-around than Iowa State. An example is that Iowa State is 108th nationally in total offense (339.9-yards per game) and Oklahoma State is second nationally (529.1-yards). Even on defense, the Cyclones are 82nd in total defense (allowing 370.1-yards). The Cowboys are 73rd at 364-yards.
Iowa State has one midseason All-American in Aiden Flora at running back. He has rushed for 716-yards and 7.0-yards per carry with six touchdowns. He has thrown for two touchdowns. He has 13 receptions for 80-yards and total offense of 844-yards.
“Phenomenal football player. Can just tell his toughness, they trust him in so many different ways,” Morris said. “He’s throwing passes, they pitch it to him, he throws it, he runs it, he’s the punt returner. He just has so many roles on this team. I think mid-season All-American for a reason. A guy that has definitely produced at a high level. He’s one of those guys, the heartbeat of a team. Somebody that has the attitude of like a Skattebo or somebody like that that just brings so much toughness to them.
“This will be a tough one,” Morris added of the game. “And you know, Halloween there, been to this stadium numerous times. This is one of the hardest places in my opinion to play. It’s gonna be cold, wet. We’re playing on grass, it’ll be slippery. There are just so many things that I think allows them to really create a home field advantage.”
I asked Morris about the health of the team. Oklahoma State has had one of the thinnest injury or availability reports in the Big 12. A few years ago, TCU had that kind of season staying healthy and it helped propel them in the CFP Championship Game where they were blitzed by Michigan, but they played for the title.
“Yeah, and we got a little nicked up, that was a physical game last week,” Morris said of his team’s health. “We got a little nicked up more than what we have been. I do think off the field here we do as good of a job as anywhere I’ve been as far as our trainers and our doctors and our recovery programs. The crazy thing about college sports in general now is the majority of our players are all in online classes. It frees up time for them to actually spend time and do all the different therapy treatments that we do have here. Our coaches make a huge emphasis, our trainers are phenomenal. And then, two, as you get late in the season, we’re over halfway there to the end of the regular season. I think the way we practice has got to be monitored. We’ve cut back practice pretty significantly from the first Tuesday the first couple of weeks to today. We’ve started to shorten everything up. We know who our guys are, right? We have some physical periods in practice, but at the same time we’ve got to get our players to the games.”
Morris said he though that safety Quinton Hammonds. who left the game last Saturday would be back. He was not as clear on offensive left guard Johnny Dickson III. The first availability report comes out through the Big 12 on Wednesday.
