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Mike Gundy says Oklahoma State's football plans against Arizona State are in order

Posted on by Kennedy
Mike Gundy says Oklahoma State's football plans against Arizona State are in order

STILLWATER – After the video review, Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy recanted his initial postgame assessment that he disagreed with some of his coaches' plans in Saturday's 42-21 loss to Arizona State.

“After watching it, I felt like we were OK,” Gundy said Monday afternoon during his weekly news conference, held over Zoom because of weather concerns.

When asked to clarify his frustrations after the game, Gundy expressed a few thoughts.

“I wasn’t really frustrated,” he said. “I just wasn’t sure what was happening in the second half. A few times we got into man coverage and gave up big plays, and then offensively, like I said, we were just unpredictable in the shooting game.”

The Cowboys (3-6, 0-6 Big 12) gave up 529 yards, including 225 on the ground. Through nine games, they are one of only two teams in Division I football (the only Power 4 team) to allow more than 500 yards per game. They also rank second-to-last nationally and are last among Power 4 teams in rushing defense at 248.1 yards per game.

The Cowboys continue their six-game losing streak on the road against TCU and are double-digit underdogs heading into Saturday's game at 6 p.m. at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas.

Here are Gundy's answers to some other questions in Monday's press conference:

More: Oklahoma State football grades vs. Arizona State: Cam Skattebo's defense contributes to a dreary day

Given your health and results so far, what can you do to improve the defense this week that you haven't been able to do in previous weeks?

“I wouldn’t say we didn’t make it. What I would say is that we need to evaluate each player based on their talent and ability compared to what they did in the last game. And then we have to look at our coaching strategy compared to what they did in the last game. And as a team, we want to put our players in the best position depending on who is available to us, and then we can't downgrade them or factor them into a negative concept because the other player is just better than them, OK? So what we want to do is reduce missed tasks, and these are things we can control. We want to run to football, which we managed to do in the last game. We didn't do what I told you at Baylor. And then we always want to try to tackle it the best we can. Now there will be times when missed tackles will happen, but if you can minimize things in that area then we can hold the players accountable and then the players can hold the coaches accountable and that's the most important thing in an organization.”

Is it hard to know how much the fans want success, and that's what you want, but maybe it's not happening right now? Is that difficult to balance?

“No, I want the players to succeed because of the hard work they put in. I've been doing this for a long time, not only as a head coach but also as an assistant coach. It doesn't bother me at all, believe me.” It's either way or not because I need to demonstrate a calm thought process and behavior every day in order to continue to function. We live in a society where people want instant success. Someone else's perspective may be: Other than the last 18 years, I don't know that there are more than five or six programs that have had unprecedented success like ours had at Oklahoma State.”

How did it deal with the players' disappointment?

“I don’t think they’re disappointed. I think they would have liked to have done better in the win-loss category, but I think they understand the circumstances as much as we do. They feel like they are competing. In the last game. “They played with really a lot of effort and a lot of energy and we didn’t do that. And I don't think they are disappointed at all. I do, because there is a lot behind it and they would prefer to achieve success on Saturdays so that they can enjoy their commitment to the team all year round.

More: Will Oklahoma State football make a bowl game? “His back was against the wall” while trailing by six games

How did your time as an assistant coach help you deal with the ups and downs of coaching, considering it took several years before you were part of a successful team?

“I coached for 11 years before we ever won more than five games. I don't know if that helped anyone because being a head coach is so much different than being an assistant coach. In my opinion it's not even the same level as an assistant coach.

“So I think I need to have a better sense of the bigger picture of the organization in general. The summary of all this is that this place has had tremendous success for 18 ½ or 19 years. I'm not really good at arithmetic, but unfortunately most people in life are weak, and as soon as things start, they're weak. When things don't go as well as they thought, they break down, panic, and then want to point the finger pointing at other people and blaming them. You see it in everyday life. People do it all the time.

“Well, that’s what happens in college athletics. It's simply the larger stage for people to express their opinions, and in most cases the people who are negative and express their opinions are the same people who can't pay their own bills. They don't care about themselves. They don't care about their own family. They don't care about their own work. But they have a duty to express their opinions and complain about others because it makes them feel better. But in the end, when they go to bed at night, they are the same losers they were before they said anything negative about others.

“But what we're trying to do here, as I always tell the team, is that the single most important thing you can do in life is to make sure you maximize your opportunity to be the best person you can be and be as successful as possible in that trade you choose. Now there may be times when we don't make it, which in most cases, as I mentioned, is 50% of people on a Saturday. And I tell them, “Look, that doesn't make you a failure, okay?” What makes you a failure is that if you have a bad attitude about it, you won't try to improve, and if you If you end it, then I think you're a failure.” That's debatable. This is just my opinion and this is how we take responsibility in this organization.

“But I think what's important for all Oklahoma State fans is that we're very aware of what's going on and that we all have to trust someone at some point in our lives. And I think they need to trust that we have a good plan for what's going on here broadly and that we have answers. Sometimes they are not short-term. Sometimes they could be long-term answers.

“And secondly, at the end of the day, as I tell our players, the best thing people can do is buy in 100%. You have to be on someone's team. I can't go through life alone. So these are long answers and a big picture of how we hold ourselves accountable.

“And that’s the message I’m going to give them and that I’m looking for people who are willing to do that. That's called being a team. That’s called being part of an organization, and for us it’s really that simple.”

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