How does Oklahoma State football fix its offense in 2023? Run the ball. 'It's that simple'
Scott WrightOklahoman
PHOENIX — Posed with a list of potential areas of emphasis for the offseason, Oklahoma State offensive coordinator Kasey Dunn didn’t hesitate to point out what’s on top of his list.
“That’s easy, we gotta run the football,” Dunn said Tuesday night, following OSU’s 24-17 loss to Wisconsin in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl at Chase Field that capped a 7-6 season.
“We’ve got to be able to run the football when everybody knows we’re gonna run it. That’s priority No. 1. I’m sure Coach (Mike) Gundy and I will sit down and figure out exactly how we can tee this thing up to find the best system, scheme that fits us offensively, but still allows us to play fast, because that, at the end of the day, is who we are.”
Dunn has a quarterback job to fill, a couple other starting roles at skill positions to reload and an overall reset for a team that failed to score more than 20 points in any of the final six games.
But run game production is clearly the top focus for the Cowboy offense once the staff gets back to work in a few days.
The Cowboys rushed for 52 yards on 26 carries against Wisconsin, their lowest total of the season — but barely. In two other games, they were held below 60 rushing yards, and never surpassed the 200-yard mark as a team all year.
And their rushing totals seemed to mirror the effectiveness of the offense. Over the first seven games when the Cowboys went 6-1, they averaged 153.7 rush yards. But while going 1-5 in the final six games, that average was 92.8 yards per game.
The Pokes had only two 100-yard individual rushing performances all season. Dominic Richardson, who is heading to Baylor via the transfer portal, had 131 against Arizona State in the second game of the year and true freshman Ollie Gordon went for 136 against West Virginia in the regular-season finale.
For the season, OSU averaged 3.4 yards per carry as a team, with Gordon leading the way at 5.0 over 62 attempts.
“I don't think it's any question, we need to do a better job of running the football,” Gundy said.
The offensive line is heavy on older players, which is usually beneficial. It could return all five regular starters, plus a couple experienced backups and a veteran transfer portal addition. But the group’s need for overall improvement remains the bigger key to the future.
OSU’s rushing yards-per-game total has gone down in each of offensive line coach Charlie Dickey’s four seasons, though to be fair, he started his OSU tenure in Chuba Hubbard’s breakout season of 2019.
Still, this year’s drop — from 185.5 yards per game in 2021 to 125.6 this year — is painful for a program that relies on running the ball as much as the Cowboys do.
“We have to be able to rush the football to allow us to throw the football, first off,” Gundy said. “And then when we rush the football better in practice during the season, it will force our defense to be a better run defense.
“I know that sounds a little simple, but really, it's that simple.”
Here are four more areas of focus as the Cowboys head into the offseason:
Assessing Derek Mason’s first year
Yes, the Oklahoma State defense fell off from where it was in 2021 under then-coordinator Jim Knowles. But that was inevitable. Four players from that defense have appeared on NFL rosters as rookies this season and two others were with teams in preseason training camp.The holes OSU had to fill were massive, and a drop-off was inevitable.
Derek Mason’s work with the group showed signs of promise, particularly late in the season when it held the final four opponents to 28 points or fewer.
In October games against Texas Tech and Texas, the defense overcame subpar first halves, allowing a combined 10 points in the second halves of those games as the Cowboys rallied for victories.
Mason signed a one-year, $1.1 million contract that expires at the end of January, but Gundy sounded encouraged by Mason’s first season in Stillwater and the work they can do in the offseason.
“I think he did a good job in the situation we were in,” Gundy said Tuesday night. “This is one of those games, like we've had three or four times this year, where they're on the field too much.
“I like how he has relationships with his players, defensive guys. He's a loyal staff guy. He works hard. He's got a good attitude. I've gone through some coordinators over the years, and it takes them a little while to get going, takes them a little bit of time to adjust. So we'll work hard on that in the offseason.”
Though his players faced some struggles, Mason believes the trials will produce better results next year.
“That was a learning lesson for this group,” Mason said. “This defense is gonna be a really good defense and this football team is gonna be a better football team because of what they went through in 2022.”
