Carlson: Why Malcolm Rodriguez is most important Cowboy in Fiesta Bowl showdown against Notre Dame​

Jenni Carlson
Oklahoman

STILLWATER — Mike Gundy got a suggestion the other day from some of his buddies.

After Jim Knowles skipped town, they knew Oklahoma State needed a defensive coordinator. They weren’t sure who the Cowboys should hire as a replacement, but in the short term, they had an idea for the Fiesta Bowl against Notre Dame.

“Why don’t you just let Malcolm call the game from the field?” they offered.

Gundy insists his friends were joking about Malcolm Rodriguez pulling double duty ala Bill Russell or Pete Rose or even Joe Namath, who wasn’t a player-coach or player-manager but nevertheless called plays on the field.

Still, there are way worse ideas than turning the Cowboy defense over to the super-senior linebacker.

As OSU prepares for a New Year’s Six showdown against Notre Dame, the Cowboys are doing so without a defensive coordinator. Sure, Gundy and the defensive assistants have divided up the duties in practice. Yes, someone — Gundy’s not yet decided who, though my money’s on defensive line coach Joe Bob Clements — will call plays during the Fiesta Bowl.



But as Rodriguez nears his final game as a Cowboy, his contributions against Notre Dame could punctuate on an already storied career.

No player will be more important to OSU’s success.

There’s no doubt Spencer Sanders and Jaylen Warren will be critical, too. The OSU offense needs to limit the turnovers and run the football, two things it didn’t do effectively and to the detriment of the Cowboys in the Big 12 Championship Game.


But this OSU team wins games this year with its defense, and with Knowles’ departure, the Cowboys need to prove their success was about more than the Mad Scientist.

No one can help with that more than Rodriguez.

“We just lean on him,” Cowboy safety Jason Taylor II said.

Make no mistake: this defense has playmakers all over the field. Defensive linemen. Safeties. Cornerbacks. Even linebackers beyond Rodriguez.

But he is the anchor.

He is the guy on pretty much every All-American team. He leads the Cowboys in tackles (112) and fumbles forced (three). He tackles ball carriers and covers pass catchers. He holds the defense together.

What Rodriguez did this season turned a lot of heads.



“I think he’s slippery,” Baylor coach Dave Aranda said a few weeks ago.

Aranda went on to use some of the familiar adjectives about Rodriguez. Tough. Smart. Great.

But slippery?

I had never heard a linebacker described that way. Running backs and wide receivers, sure, but defensive players are rarely called slippery.

Still, Aranda has seen that quality in Rodriguez, too. Aranda has watched offensive lineman who have an angle on Rodriguez. A good angle that should work in the lineman’s favor. A line that should get Rodriguez blocked.

“And he shifts his weight from his left foot to his right, which in return our lineman shifts his weight,” Aranda said. “And then (Rodriguez) shifts back, and we don’t touch him and it’s a tackle for loss.”

Cowboy offensive lineman Josh Sills can attest to that elusiveness. Having gone against Rodriguez in practice, Sills knows how difficult it is to get a hand, much less a block on Rodriguez.

“He’s just so agile and versatile, super athletic,” Sills said. “He can undercut you. He can beat you over the top. He’ll just run right through your face. So you never really know what you’re gonna get.

“I think that’s one of the best things about him.”

Rodriguez not only has the skill but also the drive.

He has no off switch.

Is that kind of thing rare in a linebacker?

“Oh, it’s super rare,” Sills said. “People like him, you don’t come by them very often.”

Cowboy defensive end Brock Martin said, “Every play Malcom makes, I expect it to happen. He’s come here, he’s worked his ass off, he’s done everything by the book, so nothing he does really surprises me, even though some of the stuff he does is almost superhuman.”

What Rodriguez does against the Fighting Irish doesn’t change any of that. He is going to leave Stillwater as one of the greatest Cowboy defenders of all time regardless of what happens on New Year’s Day.

But if OSU takes down mighty Notre Dame, if the Cowboys take the fight out of the Irish, if Rodriguez and Co. take some shine off the golden domers, it would be a career-ending exclamation mark.

“The majority of guys that are playing on defense have a really good feel for what we do,” Gundy said. “That’s one of the reasons we had success this year.

“But it certainly helps to have those guys like Malcolm that are playing.”

Even though Gundy isn’t taking his buddies’ tongue-in-cheek advice about letting Rodriguez call the plays and coach the defense, what he does will nevertheless have an outsized impact. So it has been all season. So it has been much of his career.

So it will be one last time with a defense without a coordinator but a leader without an off switch.

On making 10 year olds wear masks in schools.


What a time to be alive:
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Yeah. Me too.

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Sucka

I stopped watching the NFL several years ago. But my son is home and he’s got the Vikings vs Bears on the tv. Minnesota QB keeps the ball and gets the first down. Bears challenged the call and while it was quiet, a Chicago fan yells out, “After further review, we suck!”

Oh my gosh, maybe you had to be there. But I laughed my ass off.

And thanks to YouTube, here it is:

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I can't remember a worse overall shooting team since the early 1980's when I started watching.

Weekend starts Friday at 1PM CT with dual at Air Force. Two ranked wrestlers for Air Force at 133 with Jared VanVleet and at 285 with Kayne Hutchison. Hutchison is interesting as he has wrestled at 197 this year but is ranked #12 at 285. So he is no bigger than Luke Surber but is a more experienced and strong heavy-weight. Luke will be hard pressed to beat him but it is a match where two smaller but talented wrestlers meet. Reluctantly, I say this will be our only loss of the dual as Daton should dec. VanVleet handily. At 7:30 on Friday evening we wrestle Wyoming in a much closer dual. At 125 #7 Mastro should dec. Svihel of Wyoming. 133 Fix will win easily over Job Greenwood, Carter young at 141 will prevail over Chase Zollman, Gfeller will defeat Jaron Jensen at 149. However, matches beginning at 157 will be much more competitive. Jacob Wright who is ranked #11 will face Sheets at 157 who is now ranked #16. Both have close wins over Justin Thomas of OU and this match could be a toss-up. At 165 Witlake will likely wrestle Cole Moody #23 and should gain a decision. In maybe the match of the dual Dustin Plott #14 will wrestle Hayden Hastings #13. Hastings has a win over Plott last year when he was wrestling hurt and this should be a close one. Tate Samuelson of Wyoming ranked #15 at 184 will wrestle #6 Dakota Geer in a good match. Stephen Buchanan ranked #6 at 197 will wrestle AJ #1 and although IMO Buchanan is the best wrestler on Wyoming's team will suffer a defeat at the hands of AJ but may be a low scoring close match. At Heavy Brian Andrews ranked #10 is just too big and strong for Surber at this point but Andrews has been injured.
Utah Valley is the final opponent on Saturday for OK STATE and will feature one match at 125 when Tayor Lamont ranked #5 by Flo will wrestle Mastro #7 ranked by Flo. We should win the rest of the matches as Romero ranked #5 is out for the season with a knee injury ( this would have been the other featured Match of the dual) against Travis Witlake. Even though I am predicting losses by Luke Surber in two of his matches, now would be a good time for him to gain confidence and ranking by winning either or both. I just feel that Luke is a very good wrestler that just needs more strength and confidence to start winning some big matches for us.

That Brandon sure has a way with words. Knows how to bring the country together and inspire.

Interesting idea.

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Why would Twitter ban an account whose only wrong was exposing a person that commit a heinous crime like pedophilia? Can't wait to hear Twitter's justification for this.

With us being #1 in the Country in sacks at 55 and Notre Dame being #102 in sacks given up at 33, I see a Sack Fest on New Years Day.

To add to their sack issues, their most experienced running back opted out and his backup is a Sophomore.

I can see us confusing this kid with our pressure and running up our sack total.

Anyone on here duck hunt? Been wanting to get back into it but it’s been since OSU that I really did it. Used to get a blind at one of the lakes and it was a blast. Can’t remember if it was Blackwell or McMurtry.

'Everybody knows Notre Dame': Aura of Fighting Irish football not lost on Oklahoma State players​

Scott Wright
Oklahoman

STILLWATER — Spencer Sanders has never heard of Touchdown Jesus. He’s never seen the movie, “Rudy.”

The Oklahoma State quarterback admits he doesn’t know too much about Notre Dame folklore. But in general, he knows a little bit about the Fighting Irish — ninth-ranked OSU’s opponent in the Fiesta Bowl at noon on Jan. 1 in Glendale, Arizona.

“I know they’re a well-known, good football team,” Sanders said. “They have a good football team over there right now as well. So I think it’ll be a great matchup.”

Fifth-ranked Notre Dame is 11-1 this season, with its only loss to playoff-bound Cincinnati, so Sanders is right with his analysis of the current Fighting Irish squad.

And you can forgive him for not having seen “Rudy.”

“I was outside playing and was not watching TV as a kid,” Sanders said.

But the aura of Notre Dame football is not lost on everyone at OSU, which will play the Irish for the first time in school history on New Year’s Day.

“Everybody knows Notre Dame, the gold helmets,” junior defensive end Tyler Lacy said. “It’s an honor to actually play them in a game, especially a bowl game. It’s an honor to play them, with the significance of their program and what they stand for.

“I’ve seen the movie ‘Rudy.’ I’m not like Spencer. No, I’ve seen that movie. The first time I watched that movie, I was busting out crying.”

One of Lacy’s high school teammates, Hunter Spears, was an offensive lineman at Notre Dame, but Spears retired from football for medical reasons in August after suffering through a string of injuries that hampered his career.

Notre Dame’s historical significance is woven into the fabric of college football, from Knute Rockne to the Four Horsemen and beyond. And even if current OSU players don’t fully comprehend those historical references, they understand that playing against Notre Dame is a big deal.

“Of course. That’s what you look forward to playing college football,” senior cornerback Jarrick Bernard-Converse said. “Those are the big games you live for, so we’re looking forward to it.”

OSU coach Mike Gundy grew up in the 1970s and 1980s when Notre Dame was an even more significant national brand than it is now.

“When I was growing up, my mom was from Flint, Michigan, so that’s all we heard about, was ‘Go Blue’ and the Notre Dame fight song,” Gundy said. “I heard that a lot as a kid. Touchdown Jesus, I heard about that a lot. She’s Catholic.”

Gundy and former athletic director Mike Holder previously tried to schedule a home-and-home series with Notre Dame, but couldn’t align their future calendars to make it work.

“I think it’s cool to play them,” Gundy said. “Everybody knows who they are. I would guess it’ll be a really highly viewed game. The good news is that we have a logo that’s recognizable nationally, too, now, since the last 10 years, so that helps it a lot.

“Catholic is the largest religion in the world, right? Ought to be a lot of people watching the game, so it’ll be pretty cool.”

Me and a few friends are taking advantage of the Fiesta Bowl and making it a golf trip. We have tee times at Kierland, Troon North, and We-ko-pa. I wanted to fit Grayhawk into the schedule since that's where our teams will hopefully win a natty in the spring, but I couldn't make it work. Where are you playing?

Numerous reports have said DCJK stayed in his office all week BY HIMSELF to come with a game plan!
Gundy has hurt himself by hiring good old boy assistants like JBC who don't have the mental capacity
to learn how to make adjustments on the fly like Knowels. And even if they wanted DCJK to teach them
he liked running his own show without any hand holding!

I’m curious what our OL will be for 2022. People have said Birmingham was playing OT out of necessity and would move to G next year. What about Etienne, is he quick enough to play OT or does he end up at OG. What about Springfield, he started at tackle earlier in the year but sort of disappeared late in the season. Will Webber take (hopefully) one of the tackle spots next year? Is Michalski our center going forward, etc..

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and were the sports teams good?
Farmington, NM here. All sports very competitive in the largest NM class.
Great baseball town.

… how can we not be in on Westlake’s Jaden Greathouse?

He’s a 4-star receiver in the Class of ‘23. He was the Class 6A D-2 championship game MVP after having over 250 receiving yards against Denton Guyer Saturday.

He had three TD catches of over 60 from Cade Klubnik, one of the top QBs in the country this year.

I find it hard to believe that he has not been on our radar.

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Oklahoma State football is Fiesta Bowl bound. Here's how to get there, what to do in Glendale​

Robb Hibbard
Oklahoman

Oklahoma State football fans will have the chance to spend New Year's Day 2022 in Glendale, Ariz., and surrounding areas as the Cowboys football team prepares for a New Year's Day Fiesta Bowl contest with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Although Oklahoma State's football season ended with a loss to Baylor in the Big 12 title game, the Cowboys got in the conference's second-highest bowl affiliation.

Oklahoma State finished the season with a record of 11-2.

For many Oklahoma State football fans, travel plans start as soon as the bowl game is announced. Here is some travel information to help you get there:

Fiesta Bowl packages​

State Farm Stadium features several premium options. If you're planning to travel with friends or family, group tickets are available at a discounted price, according to the Fiesta Bowl website.


Fans are encouraged to attend the two pregame parties scheduled for New Year's Day at State Farm Stadium. The Caesars Sportsbook Fan Fest Pregame Party is free with a PlayStation Fiesta Bowl game ticket, while the Caesars Sportsbook Stadium Club Pregame Party will maximize the tailgating experience with tickets starting at $125.

Fiesta Bowl travel​

Oklahoma State fans who opt to drive to Glendale, which is nine miles from downtown Phoenix, will face a 16-hour drive from Stillwater.

For those who opt to fly, a round-trip flight between Dec. 27, 2021 to Jan. 3, 2022 from OKC to Phoenix starts at $680.

Find more flight information on the Will Rogers World Airport website.

Fiesta Bowl: Where to stay​

State Farm Stadium is a 19-mile drive from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.

Prices for hotels are sure to increase as the date of the game approaches. Lodging near State Farm Stadium ranges from around $114 and up per night.

Hotels near Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport start at around $67 per night,

What to eat and drink near State Farm Stadium​

Fans of the NFL's Arizona Cardinals are familiar with some of the great options available at State Farm Stadium. If you prefer to pregame before entering the stadium, you can buy a bite and beverage at one of these restaurants. Be sure to check each restaurant's hours before making plans!

What else is there to do?​

Besides celebrating New Year's Eve at any number of establishments in the Glendale and Phoenix area, you can visit other attractions during your Fiesta Bowl trip.

Footprint Center is the site of home games for the NBA's Phoenix Suns. You can check to see if there's a Phoenix Suns home game that fits with your Fiesta Bowl trip plans here.

The Desert Botanical Garden, Musical Instrument Museum, Phoenix Art Museum and Phoenix Zoo are other family-friendly attractions you'll find during your trip.

Read it you haven't- it will piss you off or break your heart or both - unless you're a sociopath like Fauchi.

Not only is he not in prison- he still has a job.
and people still listen to him.

One of the thing he talks about In the book.

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That dude is huge...6'7" 340. We need this guy.

Lying commie POS.