Notebook: Muhammad flexes muscles, shows future of defensive backs
- By OKSTATE1
- The Corral
- 2 Replies
Notebook: Muhammad flexes muscles, shows future of defensive backs
- Chris Becker, Editor-in-chief, @bhris_cecker316
- Jan 1, 2022 Updated 9 hrs ago
GLENDALE, Arizona — Jabbar Muhammad starred toward the Notre Dame marked end zone and sheathed an imaginary sword on his side after making a big play.
The sophomore corner saw an increased snap count in Oklahoma State’s Fiesta Bowl meeting with Notre Dame on Saturday.
Muhammad had eight total tackles and two pass breakups in the game, both career-highs. With Jarrick Bernard-Converse’s decision on his availability next season for the Cowboys and Christian Holmes out of eligibility, Muhammad and Korie Black have both seen increased workloads.
“Everything they got today, they deserved. From day one when they got here, we recognized both of them as two dudes that could play. Jabbar is sitting here trying to act like he's not listening to me,” safety Kolby Harvell-Peel said. “Jabbar deserves a lot of love. He played a great game. Every time we're on the field, I'm talking to him and let him know he's playing great. Korie made a great play down the sideline. The future is bright in that corner room. As long as they're in there, we're going to have two solid guys out on that island.”
Cowboys still have decisions to make
Tre Sterling, for the second season bowl game in a row, had an announcement for Cowboys fans after the game.Sterling after last season's Cheez-It Bowl win told OSU fans he was returning for another season. But after the Fiesta Bowl his announcement was different, the veteran safety posted a graphic on his Twitter saying he would be declaring for the 2022 NFL draft and foregoing his remaining eligibility.
While he has made a decision on his future, other Cowboys still have not decided what they will be doing when next season rolls around. Harvell-Peel still could return amongst other key defensive players. On offense offensive lineman Josh Sills said his official decision hasn’t been made he said a conversation with coaches is coming.
“No, I haven't decided, but I would say more than likely I won't be coming back,” Sills said. “But I'm not for sure yet. That will be something I'll have to sit down with my family, Coach [Rob] Glass, Coach [Mike] Gundy, Coach [Kasey] Dunn, Coach [Charlie] Dickey here in the coming weeks and talk to them about.”
Malcolm Rodriguez’ fitting end to career
Rodriguez has been a mainstay for multiple seasons on the OSU defense, on Saturday his career as a Cowboy came to an end.Rodriguez made the most of his final opportunity with a team-high 11 tackles and an interception, the second of his career. The interception game late in the game with Notre Dame driving down the field and OSU needing to stop the Fighting Irish in their tracks.
While his playing days in the orange and black are over, Rodriguez teased OSU fans when accepting his defensive MVP award during the trophy ceremony with a subtle, yet loud, ‘I’ll be back.’
Rodriguez clarified what he meant postgame.
“I was just trying to do the best for my team. I just wanted to go out with a bang,” Rodriguez said. “I meant I'll be back for games for sure, coming back and visiting some Stillwater (Oklahoma) games. So that's what I meant. It's been fun here. And I just love the guys and love this team.”
sports.ed@ocolly.com
Getting remembered: Martin, Rodriguez propel their senior season to final success
- By OKSTATE1
- The Corral
- 0 Replies
Getting remembered: Martin, Rodriguez propel their senior season to final success
- Sam Hutchens, Assistant Sports Editor, @Sam_Hutchens_
- Jan 1, 2022 Updated 9 hrs ago
GLENDALE, Arizona — Tay Martin twisted into end zone, ducking down and pressing into the safe expanse of luscious orange-painted grass.
The Notre Dame defender who couldn’t stop OSU’s senior receiver from catching the slant route in the end zone mustered just a glancing blow.
Martin made a good decision by getting down. He protected himself, and his piece of a Fiesta Bowl record.
Martin caught that touchdown with 2:47 left in the third quarter. It was his third score of the game, tying a record previously held by three players.
There was a blow delivered on that play — a blow to the hopes the Irish held for holding onto a lead. Martin, playing his final college game, expanded some personal records as well. The three touchdowns were a career-high, and with his 104-yard performance he became the tenth OSU receiver to reach 1,000 yards in a season.
Every defender catching their breath in the Oklahoma State locker room at halftime had to make a choice. Should they even retake the field?
Sure, it may have not been much of a choice. Quitting at halftime of the Fiesta Bowl would mar the credibility of anyone amongst their teammates and coaches, a highly undesirable outcome. But the coaches’ message was clear.
You better emerge from that locker room doing something different.
“We challenged the team at halftime, that anybody that didn't want to come back out and fight play by play, he can stay in the locker room,” Gundy said. “And they came out and they fought, competed, and couldn't be any more proud of them.”
The vaunted OSU defense had surrendered 28 points in the first half and 358 yards, mostly through Fighting Irish quarterback Jack Coan unraveling the defense through short, quick passes.
Rodriguez and Brock Martin, who have years of memories together, took the decree of their coach to heart. One memory they don’t have from this season was being dominated, and the team came out of the locker room determined not to make one.
“As leaders, we went in there, ‘Guys, we're not ending our season like this,’” senior linebacker Devin Harper said. “And we did what we had to do to come back to get a dub.”
After halftime, the game was a different story. The type of story Martin and Rodriguez wanted as the final chapter in their OSU careers.
No. 9 OSU beat No. 5 Notre Dame 37-35. The Cowboy defense gave up only seven points in the second half, and the offense marched down the field time and time again to build a lead.
There are plenty of plays to point to for the OSU rally— the largest comeback in OSU and Fiesta Bowl history. But in what Gundy described as the biggest game in program history he pointed to the players who were also playing in their last game.
“You always want your players that are competing their last season and their last game to have success,” Gundy said. “These guys are warriors. This is a violent, physical game. Their bodies are beat up. They can feel everything at night when they go to sleep, and they feel it again when they wake up in the morning.”
Martin bested Notre Dame defenders on the slant route all day and iced away the game late with a leaping back shoulder grab down the right sideline. Martin is grateful for how it ended.
“It means the most for me because, just for my family and for my little girl and for my siblings, we've been through a lot,” Martin said. “And to have this end in this way, it's a dream come true. And I know my family and everybody else at home, proud of me.”
Rodriguez recorded 11 tackles and two pass breakups.
“Malcolm has always showed up in big-time games and makes big-time plays in big-time games because he's a big-time player,” defensive end Brock Martin said.
Rodriguez also picked off a pass from Coan with 6:35 remaining that ended the sixth of seven straight fruitless Notre Dame drives.
The two seniors playing their final game allayed a fear of the No. 9 Cowboys — that their season could be forgotten.
“We kind of felt like if we didn't win this game, this would be kind of a season of just forgotten greatness,” Tay Martin said. “We lost the Big 12 championship, and then you lose the Fiesta Bowl, all that greatness and the great things you did as a unit, the D-line and linebackers and DBs, we kind of felt like it would be forgotten over time.”
The lasting image of Rodriguez and Martin’s Cowboys will be the team wearing matching shirts that bear the word ‘Champs’, and while crowding around the Fiesta Bowl trophy. Hard to forget.
sports.ed@ocolly.com
Gameday coverage: Second half resurgence lifts Cowboys to Fiesta Bowl win
- By OKSTATE1
- The Corral
- 0 Replies
Gameday coverage: Second half resurgence lifts Cowboys to Fiesta Bowl win
- The O'Colly Sports Staff
- Jan 2, 2022 Updated 9 hrs ago
GLENDALE, Arizona — Safety Jason Taylor scooped up an onside kick, and in turn scooped up win No. 12 for the Oklahoma State Cowboys this season.
On Saturday, the No. 9 Cowboys defeated the No. 5 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 37-35 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, at the Playstation Fiesta Bowl.
Fitting finish: Fiesta Bowl microcosm of Cowboys' 2021 season
- Dean Ruhl, Sports Editor, @the_ruhl_book
- Jan 1, 2022 Updated 9 hrs ago
GLENDALE, Arizona – College football is often overly romanticized.
But, as the football spilled out of Oklahoma State quarterback Spencer Sanders’ arm and into those of Notre Dame linebacker Drew White, it only felt fitting the OSU defense had to take the field.
A six-point lead, that existed only because the offense has scored 27 unanswered points, needed to be protected. Less than three minutes remained in the game. The Cowboys, who for the second time had turned the ball over inside the 15-yard line, needed a play to be made. And like they had done all year, OSU called on the defense to do it.
They did.
The defense allowed just four yards and forced a turnover on downs, in one of the most crucial moments of the season. They returned the ball to the offense, and three OSU run plays later the Fighting Irish were forced to burn their timeouts. A Tanner Brown field goal bumped the Cowboys lead to nine.
30 unanswered points.
The Irish would add a touchdown in the closing minutes, avoiding the second half shutout OSU’s defense has become synonymous with dealing out. The Cowboys prevailed in a game OSU coach Mike Gundy called the biggest win in school history. OSU concluded a memorable 12-2 season with a 37-35 win over Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, after a last-ditch ND onside kick was corralled by safety Jason Taylor.
Because of course it was grabbed by Taylor.
It was only fitting he got it after being a special teams guru the past three seasons at OSU.
“This is clearly the biggest win in the history of the school,” coach Mike Gundy said.
The onside kick wouldn’t have even happened had the defense not adjusted at halftime. A lopsided 28-7 ND lead with less than two minutes remaining before intermission spelled a dismal fate for OSU’s season.
Without former defensive coordinator Jim Knowles to make adjustments, a strong suit of his, the Cowboys instead had to rely on defensive line coach Joe Bob Clements to step in.
Having a veteran defense makes adjustments easier, but without Knowles, who consistently was commended for his halftime adaptions, the team opted to go simpler.
“The defensive staff wanted to get more aggressive,” linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez said. “We went to our base calls. It is one of those things where we were throwing punches at the line of scrimmage.”
Offensively, things needed to be changed at the half too. OSU had scored two touchdowns, but outside of an eight-play, 82-yard drive, the Cowboys had been relegated to sending the punt unit out five times in the first half.
The answer to the offensive woes was witnessed in the fleeting moments of the half, as OSU receiver Brennan Presley collected two passes for 54 yards, en route to a late score from receiver Tay Martin.
In the opening drive of the third quarter, Presley would again make a crucial play, the impact unknown at the time. On a third-and-10 play, Sanders threw low toward the sideline, with Presley diving, sliding his arms under the ball and flipping onto his back to make a catch upheld by review.
It would lead to another Sanders-to-Martin touchdown, pulling the Cowboys within a score.
Presley would go on to have 10 catches for 137 yards, a career best.
Because of course Presley would have another great bowl game performance.
It was only fitting he follow up his 118-yard, three-touchdown, Cheez-It Bowl performance with one of the same caliber.
As Presley, Martin (who tied the Fiesta Bowl record for receiving touchdowns at three) and Sanders piloted a suddenly humming and up-tempo offense, the defensive adjustments were paying off.
Notre Dame, who made it clear from the beginning it had no intention of running the ball without starting back Kyren Williams, who declared for the NFL draft weeks ago, opted for short passes with room to collect yards after catch. It allowed ND quarterback Jack Coan to cruise to 342 passing yards and four touchdowns by halftime.
“We got our ass kicked in the first half,” defensive end Brock Martin said.
Coan would still set a Fiesta Bowl record for passing attempts (68), finishing the game with 509 passing yards and five touchdowns, but led a stagnant second half Irish offense.
On the most promising ND drive of the second half, Coan attempted to hit receiver Kevin Austin on a slant route. The ball instead graced the outreached hands of Rodriguez, who intercepted the pass for the second of his career.
Because of course Rodriguez got it.
In his final collegiate game, it was only fitting Rodriguez capped off his All-American season with an interception.
“I’ve had a fun ride,” Rodriguez said. “Just developing and growing with the guys. It is just one of those things where we ended on a W, so I can’t complain about that.”
A goal line fumble by Presley, and ND tight end Michael Mayer snagging seven catches for 72 yards and two touchdowns, kept the Irish within striking distance, but fell a possession short of winning in coach Marcus Freeman’s debut.
Because of course the Cowboys won a tight game.
In the final game of the season, it was only fitting the Cowboys concluded a comeback and finished yet another contest with a one-score victory.
The 37-35 win epitomized what the 2021 season was for OSU. A defense that always answered the call, an offense that found a way to do enough, a key turnover and a close contest. In a season that will be remembered for record-setting performances, the Cowboys saved the best for last.
A 21-point comeback, the largest in school history.
“As I’ve said for a month, we have a logo we can be proud of now at Oklahoma State,” Gundy said. “Got an opportunity to do something special. We take advantage of it and find a way to continue to push forward.”
sports.ed@ocolly.com
OSU vs. Notre Dame football: Tay Martin ties Fiesta Bowl record with 3 receiving TDs & more notable numbers
- By OKSTATE1
- The Corral
- 0 Replies
OSU vs. Notre Dame football: Tay Martin ties Fiesta Bowl record with 3 receiving TDs & more notable numbers
Jacob UnruhOklahoman
GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Cardiac Cowboys delivered one more second-half domination.
No. 9-ranked Oklahoma State rallied from a 21-point deficit to knock off No. 5-ranked Notre Dame 37-35 Saturday afternoon in the Fiesta Bowl to close out the season.
The comeback is the largest in Fiesta Bowl and Oklahoma State history.
OSU finished the year 12-2 overall.
Here is a look at the huge win by the numbers:
Have a day, Spencer Sanders
371: Passing yards for Spencer Sanders, a season high. He completed 34 of 51 passes while throwing four touchdowns.125: Rushing yards for Sanders, who had not crossed the 100-yard mark all season. He did it on 17 carries. But he also had a tough fumble carrying the ball with 304 remaining when OSU appeared to be driving for a game-clinching score.
3: Touchdown receptions by OSU receiver Tay Martin, tying a Fiesta Bowl record. OSU’s Justin Blackmon (2012), Kansas State’s Darnell McDonald (1998) and Florida State’s Rhett Dawson (1971) each had a trio of scores through the air.
137: Receiving yards for Brennan Presley, a career high. It’s the second 100-yard game of his career, with the first being in last season’s Cheez-It Bowl.
605: Total yards for the Cowboys, the most since totaling 682 against TCU.
30: Straight points by the Cowboys after falling behind 28-7 in the second quarter.
Cowboys defense delivers again in second half
193: Total yards for Notre Dame in the second half after totaling 348 in the opening half. The Cowboys11: First downs in the second half for Notre Dame.
2: Turnovers for the Irish in the second half, a strip fumble by Kolby Harvell-Peel and an interception by Malcolm Rodriguez.
OSU career milestones
409: Career tackles Rodriguez, making him the fourth player in OSU history to have 400 or more tackles. He finished the day with 11 tackles.1,046: Yards receiving on the season for Martin, who is now just the 10th Cowboys receiver to eclipse the 1,000 yard mark in program history.
Notre Dame’s Jack Coan has a record-setting day
342: First-half passing yards for Irish quarterback Jack Coan, who completed 24 of 33 passes for 342 yards and four touchdowns in the first half while building a 28-7 lead.509: Passing yards for Coan, a career high and Fiesta Bowl record. After his huge first half, he was limited to just 167 passing yards and the crucial interception. He did throw a touchdown with 1:05 remaining to force an onside kick.
72: Receiving yards for superstar tight end Michael Mayer, who also caught two touchdown passes among his seven receptions despite heavy coverage.
Spencer Sanders gets an A for his performance in OSU's win vs. Notre Dame
- By OKSTATE1
- The Corral
- 0 Replies
Fiesta Bowl report card: Spencer Sanders gets an A for his performance in OSU's win vs. Notre Dame
Berry TramelOklahoman
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Oklahoma State's rousing, 37-35 victory over Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl on Saturday included ups and downs, but overall, the Cowboy report card glitters after one of the biggest victories in school history.
Spencer Sanders: A
What a game for the lightning rod quarterback. Sanders was outstanding with his throws and decision-making. Despite a decent amount of pressure from Notre Dame’s pass rush, Sanders completed 34 of 51 passes for 371 yards and four touchdowns. Sanders also rushed for 125 yards, with a virtually equal amount on called run plays (67) and scramble/sacks (58).
Defensive gameplan: D
Notre Dame won the first-half game of X’s and O’s. The Cowboys seemed unprepared for the Irish’s variety of short passes and imaginative pass routes. Notre Dame caught OSU in a blitz, and quarterback Jack Coan dumped a little pass over the middle to tailback Chris Tyree, who was dozens of yards clear of any Cowboy in any direction, making for an easy 53-yard touchdown play. OSU’s defensive backs mostly played well off the Irish receivers, and Coan was more than content to take the easy gains. At halftime, Coan had completed 24 of 33 passes for 342 yards.Defensive adjustments: A
Much like in OSU games at Boise State and Texas, the Cowboy defense flipped a switch at halftime. The defensive backs shut off the easy passes, and the Cowboy pass rush got much more severe. Brock Martin had two sacks. Seldom-used tackle Xavier Ross had two of OSU’s six quarterback hurries. Coan in the second half completed just 14 of 35 passes for 167 yards, but 57 of those yards came in the final two minutes, when the Irish trailed 37-28.Conditioning: A
The Cowboys wore down Notre Dame. In the final 31:16 of the game, OSU outscored the Irish 30-7 and outgained the Irish 448-163 in total yards. Mike Gundy said OSU’s conditioning allowed the Cowboys to play uptempo, which countered Notre Dame’s superior length on the lines. Early, the Irish’s long arms made passing lanes difficult on Sanders and kept OSU’s pass rush at bay. But that Notre Dame advantage withered the longer the game went.Uniform matchup: A
The iconic Notre Dame look — gold helmets, with navy blue jerseys — is fabulous. It can only be ruined by a similarly-colored opponent. Which doesn’t describe OSU. The Cowboys wore orange pants, white jerseys and their matte-black helmets with “Cowboys" in script. Excellent OSU look, and when paired with Notre Dame, divine.
Killer instinct: D
The Cowboys didn’t make it easy at the end. Tied at 28-28, OSU’s final five drives reached or started with first downs at the Notre Dame 15-, 1-, 14-, 11- and 15-yard lines. The Cowboys got nine points out of those chances, settling for three field goals and losing two fumbles.Run defense: A
Notre Dame didn’t even try to run. Not early in the game, and not after the passing game fizzled after halftime. The Irish called only 17 running plays out of 89 total and managed just 46 yards rushing.Crowd: C
The announced attendance of 49,550 was small by Fiesta Bowl standards. OSU didn’t sell all of its allotment of 12,500, perhaps due to COVID, but the Cowboys had more fans than that in State Farm Stadium and significantly more than did Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish didn’t even bring a pep band due to weather issues. The Cowboy marching band performed pregame and at halftime.Running game: A
OSU’s running prowess never became a dominant part of the game. But in 35 called running plays, OSU gained 183 yards. Tailbacks Jaylen Warren, L.D. Brown and Dominic Richardson combined for 112 yards on 23 carries, and Sanders gained 67 yards on 10 called running plays.What we learned about Oklahoma State football, Spencer Sanders in Fiesta Bowl win vs. Notre Dame
- By OKSTATE1
- The Corral
- 0 Replies
What we learned about Oklahoma State football, Spencer Sanders in Fiesta Bowl win vs. Notre Dame
Jacob UnruhOklahoman
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Spencer Sanders won’t call it a bounceback.
Nearly a month after throwing four interceptions and nearly leading Oklahoma State to a comeback win in the Big 12 title game, Sanders responded with perhaps his best performance to date.
He threw for 371 yards and four touchdowns. He rushed for 125 yards. He was the Fiesta Bowl MVP in the wild 37-35 rally past No. 5-ranked Notre Dame.
“Really, I just did my job,” Sanders said. “I did my small part in this offense.”
Give Sanders his due, though.
His job in the offense is not small, and he performed at an elite level while putting a huge exclamation point on a 12-2 season that will leave OSU with a top-10 finish in the polls.
“I’m excited for him and excited for the direction that he’s going and moving forward,” OSU offensive coordinator Kasey Dunn said.
Sanders and the Cowboys’ offense started slow. They had just 11 yards on the first three possessions and Notre Dame’s offense was rolling.
Quickly, it was 28-7 in the second quarter.
But the Cowboys literally went faster, overwhelming Notre Dame with tempo. And Sanders got better.
“They were bigger and longer than us on both sides of the ball — on offensive and defensive line — and when we played fast they didn’t get to sink their cleats in the ground and they didn’t get to use that length,” OSU coach Mike Gundy said.
“So, it gave (Sanders) more time to throw the ball and it allowed him to make quick decisions when at times they were struggling to get lined up. That made him a better football player.”
Sanders’ biggest moments came in the comeback.
He orchestrated a four-play 75-yard touchdown drive in just 39 seconds before half.
Sanders then picked up his teammates in the locker room. He continued leading.
“Super proud of him,” OSU offensive lineman Josh Sills said. “He’s got a super-bright future, works his ass off every day. He just puts his head down and grinds, you know, good, bad or ugly.”
But Sanders did have one major mistake.
He fumbled late in the game when OSU seemed to driving for a score that would clinch the game. Notre Dame’s last touchdown made it a two-point game, but OSU finally sealed the game when Jason Taylor II caught the onside kick with one hand.
Sanders pointed that out quickly in postgame. But it was not enough to damper his big day.
“There’s no question that my heart broke for him when he fumbled it at the end of the game,” Gundy said. “I just didn’t want that to end for him that way because of the game that he had played.”
Tay Martin rebounds from drops in huge way
Tay Martin couldn’t put it into words.After two straight drops, the Cowboys’ super-senior receiver was upset. It was mental mistakes that cost him, but it also hurt his team.
He had to be better.
And he was.
“I’m a vet, so I’ve been through those situations numerous times, so I know it’s the next play,” Martin said.
Martin had 10 receptions for 104 yards, eclipsing 1,000 yards on the season. More importantly, he scored three touchdowns — all after the two straight drops.
And he had the big touchdown reception just before halftime, a swing of momentum and the moment he realized he was going to be OK after the drops.
“I could care less,” Sanders said about the drops. “I don’t throw the perfect pass every time. I’m not complaining. I said, ‘Hey, we’re going to come back and get it right.’ And look what he did — he came back and he fought hard. I don’t think he dropped another one.”
Brennan Presley delivers again in bowl game
Brennan Presley was amped up.Blame it on the early caffeine or the candy he brought to postgame. But really, it’s all due to another huge bowl game.
For the second straight season, Presley shined in a bowl game.
A year ago in the Cheez-It Bowl, he caught seven passes for 118 yards and three TDs, a breakout performance.
Saturday, he was huge with 10 receptions for a career-best 137 yards.
He was especially key in the drive before halftime. Presley caught two straight passes of 13 and 41 yards.
It was a drive OSU practiced over and over the past three weeks.
“We knew we needed a big drive,” Presley said.
LD Brown returns
OSU veteran running back LD Brown had not carried the ball since Sept. 18 due to an injury.Finally, he was back on the field.
That led to the 1-2 punch OSU hoped it would have all season with Brown and Jaylen Warren.
Brown the speedster. Warren the hammer.
“(That) was great,” Dunn said. “I told LD before this thing started I was so excited for how he worked back through his injury and put himself in position through rehab to help us in this game.”
Brown carried the ball just three times for 27 yards. But he had a huge 22-yard run.
Warren also rushed for 82 yards on 19 carries.
Jabbar Muhammad, Korie Black step up
OSU’s young cornerbacks are growing up.With super-senior Christian Holmes dealing with a hand injury, sophomore Jabbar Muhammad was forced into more action.
And he held his own.
He had eight tackles and two pass breakups.
“We all just practice like 1s,” Muhammad said. “I’m with you guys, I didn’t know I was going to be out there that much either. But we all prepare like 1s and that was the outcome.”
Extra points
OSU offensive lineman Hunter Anthony entered the transfer portal last month but was allowed to finish out the season. And he played one big final role. Wearing No. 33, the 6-foot-6, 320-pound redshirt junior from Tuttle, entered the game in the fourth quarter as a fullback. He helped block as Sanders converted a fourth-and-inches play with a quarterback sneak. ...Safety Tre Sterling announced on Twitter after the game that he was declaring for the 2022 NFL Draft.
'Back to the basics': OSU defense rediscovers aggressive style in second-half Fiesta Bowl rally
- By OKSTATE1
- The Corral
- 1 Replies
'Back to the basics': OSU defense rediscovers aggressive style in second-half Fiesta Bowl rally
Scott WrightOklahoman
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Oklahoma State linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez pointed in his team’s direction, handed the football to the official and trotted off the field.
A rather mild celebration for one of the biggest plays in the biggest game of Rodriguez’s five-year Cowboy career.
The All-American linebacker intercepted Notre Dame quarterback Jack Coan with 6:35 left in the Fiesta Bowl, ending one of Notre Dame’s final chances to retake the lead — a lead that had ballooned to 21 points in the first half, but disappeared behind an OSU onslaught of fast-paced offense and fierce defense.
The ninth-ranked Cowboys pulled off the biggest rally in school history for a 37-35 victory over No. 5 Notre Dame on Saturday before a crowd of 49,550 fans at State Farm Stadium, completing the program’s second 12-win season ever.
But great comebacks only happen in dire circumstances, and the Cowboys put themselves in a Grand Canyon-sized hole on Saturday.
The OSU defense hadn’t allowed more than three touchdowns to any opposing offense all season, but it gave up four to Notre Dame in the first half alone.
The Cowboys fell behind 28-7 with 1:16 left in the half, but scored quickly to get within 14 points at the break.
Then the defense settled in. Playing without defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, who left to take the same job at Ohio State last month, the Cowboys were using a committee approach to the defensive coordinator role, with defensive line coach Joe Bob Clements, cornerbacks coach Tim Duffie and safeties coach Dan Hammerschmidt all contributing.
“We went through some growing pains in the first quarter-and-a-half defensively, trying to get things adjusted and communication,” OSU head coach Mike Gundy said. “I was a little concerned about that. It showed its ugly head a little bit, then we settled down, made good halftime adjustments, obviously played very well.
“We struggled in the first quarter, to be honest with you, more than I thought we would’ve. We just had some — it wasn’t communication. I just didn’t think we were on track.”
Notre Dame struggled to run the ball early, but found success with Coan in the passing game.
In the first half, Coan was 24-of-33 passing for 342 yards and four touchdowns. For the game, Coan finished 38-of-68 passing for 509 yards, though he added only one more touchdown in the second half — that coming in the final minutes with the Cowboys leading by nine.
Notre Dame was held scoreless on seven consecutive possessions in the second half until the last-minute touchdown.
The Cowboys were playing softer coverage in the first half, but as part of the halftime adjustments, they got back to the more aggressive style they’ve lived by this season.
“They kinda let the D-line go, and gave us a little more freedom to rush the quarterback,” defensive end Brock Martin said.
In the secondary, they mixed zone and man-to-man coverages with the cornerbacks up tighter than they had been in the first half.
“They came in at half and made an emphasis to just be more aggressive in our coverages,” senior safety Kolby Harvell-Peel said. “It was just getting back to the basics.”
Rodriguez finished with 11 tackles and the interception, and linebacker Devin Harper had 10 stops, each playing in their final game as Cowboys. Martin had two sacks, and Harvell-Peel forced a fumble when he ripped the ball out of a running back’s hands then recovered it.
Rodriguez was named the game’s defensive MVP, while OSU quarterback Spencer Sanders — who threw for 371 yards and four touchdowns, plus rushed for 125 yards — was the offensive MVP.
From Gundy’s perspective, the defense “went back to what we’re good at,” he said. “We weren’t able to get many sacks or put a lot of pressure on him, because of their length. So we had to find other ways to play good defense, and they did a good job of mixing up some of those calls in the second half.”
And the halftime adjustments came with a challenge as well.
“We challenged the team at halftime, anybody that didn’t want to come back out and fight, play by play, needed to stay in the locker room,” Gundy said. “They came out and they fought, competed. I couldn’t be any more proud of ‘em.”
Comeback Cowboys complete climb up Pinnacle Peak to beat Notre Dame in Fiesta Bowl
- By OKSTATE1
- The Corral
- 1 Replies
Tramel: Comeback Cowboys complete climb up Pinnacle Peak to beat Notre Dame in Fiesta Bowl
Berry TramelOklahoman
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Mike Gundy wasn’t confident Saturday as his OSU offense trotted onto the field late in the first half of the Fiesta Bowl.
A few minutes later, at halftime, Gundy would challenge his players that anyone who didn’t want to fight should just stay in the locker room. But just a little bit earlier, Gundy himself, by his own testimony, was low on conviction.
Fifth-ranked Notre Dame led by 21 points and appeared the far superior team. Only 1:16 remained in a first half that was quite discouraging for the ninth-ranked Cowboys, who were 75 yards from paydirt. Lots could go wrong. A sack. An interception.
The Fighting Irish smelled blood. OSU’s deficit seemed more likely to grow than to shrink.
“We needed to do something to create momentum,” Gundy said. “But I didn’t have much confidence in us going down and scoring.”
Then Spencer Sanders delivered the biggest drive of his four-year career in Stillwater. A 13-yard strike to Brennan Presley, a 41-yard deep ball to Presley, a 12-yard scramble and a nine-yard touchdown dart to Tay Martin.
Suddenly, OSU’s deficit was a mere 14. Manageable. And He of Little Faith was inspired.
“Us driving down and scoring in a minute, in four or five plays, gave us hope,” Gundy said.
Then Sanders opened the second half with another scoring drive, it became anybody’s ballgame and soon enough the Cowboys had a 37-35 victory that will live as long as Bullet rides.
Definitely the biggest comeback in school history. Maybe the biggest win in school history.
“Everybody knows who Notre Dame is,” Gundy said. “Our guys stepped up and met the challenge. Because I’m an Oklahoma State graduate, and I’m an Oklahoma State person, I have taken a lot of pride and very excited what we’ve built at Oklahoma State in football.”
Down the road from the Cowboys’ Scottsdale hotel is Pinnacle Peak, an Arizona landmark. Pinnacle Peak is a pretty good metaphor for this landmark of a Cowboy game.
“We’ve got a logo we can be proud of coast to coast,” Gundy said. “Got an opportunity to do something special, if we take advantage of it.”
I’d say the Cowboys already did something special, with this comeback for the ages, which ruined the shotgun start of the Marcus Freeman era.
The Fighting Irish promoted Freeman to head coach a month ago, after Brian Kelly bolted for the Bayou, and the Irish Republic was all abuzz about its new head coach. For good reason. Freeman seems like a keeper. But the excitement was squelched, at least for a day, in the desert.
“Well, we obviously didn’t finish,” Freeman said. “We didn’t execute when it mattered most.”
OSU beat the Irish at their traditional game. OSU out-toughed Notre Dame. The Cowboys won the line of scrimmage. They produced a running game and the Irish did not; OSU’s pass rush got to Irish quarterback Jack Coan more than the Notre Dame pressure got to Sanders.
And mentally, OSU was tougher. When things were rotten, the Cowboys sharpened their elbows and didn’t blink.
That halftime challenge by Gundy? Completely unnecessary. We saw the same Cowboy script against Boise State and Texas and even Baylor in the Big 12 Championship Game, though the latter ended a couple of inches shy of victory. Pushed around in the first half, then came out swinging with battle axes and two-edged swords.
“Just the resiliency, man,” said senior guard Josh Sills. “Couldn’t be more proud. Coach Gundy hit it right on the head when he said we were warriors.”
Sanders was sensational, with 496 total yards, and only a late fumble marring his performance. “Fantastic” was the word Gundy, used.
Sanders opened the second half by directing an 87-yard, 12-play drive on which he completed eight of nine passes for 80 yards.
“Huge momentum shift for us,” Sills said.
And the defense, which was torched in the first half, produced another incredible second half and gave hope that great defense can live without departed coordinator Jim Knowles, off to Ohio State.Seven straight stops of an Irish offense that had been on fire in the first half. Four punts, two turnovers, a fourth-down stop. Notre Dame’s only second-half success came on a drive in the final two minutes when OSU had taken a nine-point lead.
“Biggest win in the history of the school,” Gundy said.
“We came out with a fire under us,” Sills said of the comeback. Gundy “lit a fire under us. Everyone on this team loves to be challenged. We took it and ran with it.”
Ran with it all the way up Pinnacle Peak, as a team with a flair for rallies staged a comeback for the ages against college football royalty.
