2023-24 Football Season (game by game recaps)

[OSU_Sports_Nut]

09/02/23 vs Central Arkansas

1) Dunn is terrible and not very creative. He calls the same plays way too many times either back-to-back or every other play.

2) Rangel is a turnover waiting to happen. He looks just the same as last year. His play reminds me of a young Spencer Sanders (indecisive, poor accuracy, bad decisions, etc). His first pass should have been intercepted, so in his limited time he should of had two interceptions. Bowman should start and be allowed more time. He had multiple offensive line breakdowns, multiple drops by receivers in critical situations, and Dunn was absolutely terrible calling plays. Gunner played really good and he should be the clear #2 and should be considered inside the 20 like a JW Walsh package. Zane Flores is special and should be getting reps to prepare him to be the next great oSu QB.

3) Olie Gordon is the clear #1 RB and deserves the majority of the carries. Nixon is a great 3rd down back due to his speed and ability to catch. I'm not sure yet how I feel about Elijah Collins.

4) Our linebacker play is horrible. Benson is a liability, but so is Collin Oliver (he is a great pass rusher, but struggles with play recognition, has poor instincts, and is a poor tackler in the open field). Having both on the field is a problem. Justin Wright and Nick Martin need to be playing together.

5) Our DB's are going to get abused against a good team. Our safeties cannot defend 12 yards off the ball in man-to-man.

6) Justin Kirkland needs to play more and needs to be in the game on passing situations.

 

[OSU_Sports_Nut]

We miss Shane Illingworth.

SHANE ILLINGWORTH STATS
#1 (TUL) 4/5 = 80.0%, 79 yds, 0 TD, 0 INT
#2 (WVU) 15/21 = 71.4%, 139 yds, 0 TD, 1 INT
#3 (KU) 17/23 = 73.9%, 265 yds, 3 TD, 0 INT
#4 (OU) 5/21 = 23.8%, 71 yds, 1 TD, 0 INT
#5 (MOST) 22/40 = 55.0%, 315 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
#6 (KU) 6/10 = 60.0%, 70 yds, 2 TD, 0 INT
TOTALS 69/120 = 57.5%, 939 yes, 7 TD, 2

Gundy has a long history of making poor QB decisions and sticking with those decisions out of pride and stubbornness (over what is best for the team).

In 2007, Bobby Reid over Zac Robinson.

In 2009, Gundy played Alex Cate over Brandon Weeden. Then the next game Gundy played a hurt Zac Robinson against OU and in the bowl game instead of Brandon Weeden. We lost both games and what should have been an easy win over OU.

In 2014, Mason Rudolph entered his true freshman season as a third string behind J. W. Walsh and Daxx Garman. He only saw the field after both went down with injuries.

In 2021 with our elite defense and elite defensive coordinator we should have won the Big 12 Championship and made the playoffs.

In the Big 12 Championship Game (L 21-16), we were still in it even with Spencer Sanders throwing 4 interceptions (and Baylor even dropped one) and 1 fumble. As bad as that game got, Shane must have realized he'll never get a fair shot at oSu if he didn't get a shot in that game. If Gundy had played him in that game, I think Shane would have stayed and we would have avoided last year's collapse and the mass exodus by players. Plus, Shane would be a huge help this year as we struggle to find a starting QB.

GARRET RANGEL STATS
W#1 (UAPB) 0/2 = 0.0%, 0 yds, 0 TD, 0 INT
L#2 (KU) 27/40 = 67.5%, 304 yds, 2 TD, 3 INT
L#3 (WVU) 18/42 = 42.9%, 178 yds, 0 TD, 0 INT
L#4 (WISC) 14/31 = 45.2%, 229 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT
W#5 (CARK) 10/15 = 66.7%, 118 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
TOTALS 69/130 = 53.0%, 829 yds, 5 TD, 6 INT

I think Zane Flores should get a chance this season and the staff should stop worrying about his redshirt status. Zane is special and if Gundy does what he normally does, he'll play the wrong quarterback... once again.

 

[OSU_Sports_Nut]

09/09/23 vs ASU

If coach Gundy continues his rotations then Gunner will get the start next week. If he does well, I hope we just keeps him in the game. Rangel's throws still scare me. Once again his first throw should have been picked off. There was another play where Stribling made a great play on a bad throw that should have been intercepted (by a better corner).

1) Gordon needs more touches and Collins should be his primary backup only when he needs a break. Additionally, Nixon needs to be a third down back who can occasionally get a carry (on a delayed draw) or catch passes out of the backfield. He is dangerous as a pass catching RB and creates many mismatches against linebackers. I think we need to utilize him more out of the backfield, possibly putting him in motion to the wide side of the field against a linebacker in space. When that happens, the quarterback could have the option to throw it to him or tuck it and run.

2) Benson misses way too many tackles, doesn't wrap up, and fills the wrong gap. We need to be rotating other linebackers to see who has the best instincts and plays the best.

3) Rawls missed a lot of tackles and had multiple breakdowns in pass coverage. He redeemed himself with the interception, but his overall play has been inconsistent. I also hope we look at other players in this position. Maybe because he hasn't played much and needs the reps, but it would be nice to see how others play. I also hate the fact that our secondary coaches teach playing the receiver instead of playing the ball and turning their head around. That is probably the most frustrating thing from our secondary over the years.

4) Probably two the biggest takeaways after the past two games is coach Dunn is a terrible play caller (no semblance of balance to keep the defense guessing) and Dickey's offensive lines are horrible. We need to rotate some of the younger guys to see if they can do better than the whiffs we see from the current starters. I thought this was Birmingham's worst game. I think he's more of a guard than a tackle. Can we get coach Rattay to start calling plays? Literally, anyone would do better.

5) And finally, teams have figured it out that we have protection problems and inexperience at the quarterback position. This has made the past two teams blitz us multiple times during the game. Our offense has a lot of deep routes, but we need to have at least one short route like an out pattern (preferably to the short side of the field) and/or a drag pattern and/or a slant on every play (i.e. a quick throw and high completion percentage safety value). We can't just throw it up to a receiver every time we are pressured with a go route (low completion percentage). Teams have figured out if they blitz us we really don't have short routes and as long as they cover the deep ball they can defend us.

 

[OSU_Sports_Nut]

09/16/23 vs South Alabama

Here are my thoughts.

1) That touchdown with Nixon was at least creative. I've said we need to have him in on certain packages to get him on tosses, pitches, and out of the backfield for passes. His first two carries were between the tackles earlier in the game for zero yards. Additionally, whoever is regulating the carriers for the three running backs needs to be fired or demoted. How in the world does Gordon only get 3 carries? He should be the main ball carrier with a minimum of 15 carries a game.

2) I thought the wide receivers were the worst they looked all season. This is from drops, running the wrong routes, and not even turning their head for the ball. For example, Presley had a ball thrown to him 20 yards down the field and it bounced by his feet because he never turned to look for the ball. I mean he's 20 yards down the field (with a terrible offensive line) and he still isn't looking back at the quarterback? This falls on the position coach, which happens to be the OC too.

3) Something else that totally blows my mind is there are so many position battles all throughout the team, but for some reason our offensive line they're not rotating in new players. Can it get any worse? I don't mind playing freshman.

4) On defense, we cannot play man on those inside receivers and be 12 yards off the ball. They were picking us apart in the first quarter with short passes and then in the second half more deep passes. Man to man on those speedy inside receivers makes no sense. I was worried about someone exposing this. We also need to mix it up more and play more zone to keep offenses off balance (and more importantly to keep offenses from exposing our safeties and man-to-man coverage with no help over the top).

5) Our defense needs to practice tackling. This is by far the worst tackling defense that I've witnessed over the last 30 years. I don't understand why we can't practice tackling against walk-ons. Therefore, Gundy doesn't have to worry about injuries to the players they are tackling. Our defense needs this practice badly.

6) A couple of years ago we were hit by the NCAA with low APR graduation rates and it was about the same time when we had a senior laden team (with Mason Rudolph) we scaled back the length of our practices. The NCAA allows a certain amount and we are quite a bit below that threshold. Maybe it would be in our best interest to go back to basics every day in practice including things like tackling and catching. We don't need to have 2 hour practices when we can have 4 hour practices.

NCAA Preseason Practice Guidelines:​

• Discontinue two-a-day practices. (A second session may include walkthroughs or meetings but no helmets, pads or conditioning.)
• Extend the preseason by one week.
• Reduce live tackling or thud practices from four to three a week.
• Ensure three noncontact or minimal contact practices per week.
• Ensure noncontact or minimal contact practices are held the day after a scrimmage.
• Implement one day per week without practice.

NCAA In-season Practice Guidelines:​

• Permit only one live contact tackling practice per week.
• Permit only one live contact thud practice per week.
• Implement three or more noncontact or minimal contact practices per week.
• No more than 20 hours a week of CARAs (Countable Athletically Related Activities);
• No more than four hours of CARAs in a day;
• Must have one calendar day off from CARAs and RARAs each week; and
• No CARAs after a competition (e.g., student-athletes cannot be required to run or watch film after a loss).

7) I'm sure glad our head coach wants to keep it vanilla on offense and defense, so we don't give away the playbook. I've never in my life understood this philosophy. Just go out there and play to win every game use everything in your arsenal. I also hate playing close games to teams that are clearly inferior. This can put seeds of doubts into a team. If you want to surprise teams later in the year, add more stuff to your offense and defense before those games.

8) I would give Flores a chance to see what he could do. None of the three quarterbacks have shown enough separation to merit giving them the reins of the offense. I'd like to see Flores for at least a half. No need to worry about protecting his redshirt if we finish the year this terrible because he will transfer.

9) Gundy needs to shake up the offensive staff. We've all seen enough over the last 4 years to know that Dunn is terrible. To salvage any part of this season there needs to be somebody else that steps in as the OC. I would demote Dunn and promote Rattay to OC.

Additionally, we all know that Dickie is not doing his job. We also know that we have an offensive line coach on staff in McEndoo. I would fire Dicky and move McEndoo over to the offensive line. I would go out and hire Cale Gundy to coach TE. I would take away play calling duties from Dunn and give them to coach Rattay. This is just minor patchwork that can be done during the season to possibly salvage the rest of the year.

Gundy should have made major changes on the offensive side of the ball after the last 2 years, but he doubled down to prove everybody wrong that he knows best. Same goes for hiring his defensive coordinator who should have been a position coach with the possibility of becoming a coordinator down the road. Gundy wants others to believe that he knows best. Pride comes before the fall.

It also made a whole lot of sense to change our offense when we were always a top 10 offense year in and year out (under Holgerson and Monken). Then we finally got a really good defensive coordinator (Knowles) and defensive scheme and Gundy changes it too. Makes sense.

Remember after the end of last season Gundy didn't want to make any changes on the offensive staff because these same guys won 11 games the year before, but he failed to realize it was due to the elite defense and NOT the offense.

 

[OSU_Sports_Nut]

09/23/23 vs ISU

Didn't watch the game. I was out of the country. Here's my take on the state of this program. Gundy's pride is the problem. He always thinks he's knows best and wants to outsmart everybody to prove them wrong. I have a feeling this is NOT going to end well for him, the loyal oSu fans, or the university. I believe Gundy is going to dig in even deeper hoping to get bought out instead of doing what is right for the university and making MAJOR staff changes or just retiring at the end of the year. It's a shame because he has done a lot over the years for oSu to see him go out this way is sad, but it's ALL ON HIM. He could have made changes after the disastrous 2022 season, but instead he dug in deeper to prove everybody wrong. Additionally, this fall has not been sudden for Gundy.

REGULAR SEASON
2018 overall 6-6 (conference 3-6)
2019 overall 7-5 (conference 5-4)
2020 overall 7-3 (conference 6-3)
2021 overall 11-1 (conference 8-1)
2022 overall 7-5 (conference 4-5)

The fans and media have known we needed changes on offense since our 2021 season where the defense carried us the entire year. We could have demoted Dunn and promoted somebody else or gotten a proven coordinator in the off-season.

Additionally, we could have gotten someone like Lance Guidry for defensive coordinator, but of course Gundy had the look like he is a genius to hire a guy from Gannon University. I think Nardo is a great person, but I'm not sure he's quite ready for this level. He would have been a great position coach hire. We need more young, hungry, and relatable guys like him coaching different positions on our team.

 

[OSU_Sports_Nut]

10/06/23 vs KSU

It was nice to see our defense playing better. One really easy adjustment we implemented was playing more zone. Ever since the South Alabama game, teams have been picking on our safeties matched up on inside receivers. Teams see us playing 12 yards off the ball in man-to-man and know they can easily throw those 7 to 10 yard out patterns or slants all day long.

Our run defense still looks poor. A lot of that is the scheme (3 down lineman), but linebacker play (i.e. our run fits, tackling, and readings plays) has been terrible outside of Martin. Kansas State should not have thrown the ball last night. They would have scored multiple touchdowns. Take away those three interceptions and it's a different ballgame. We could not stop the run. Their first touchdown they moved the ball all the way down the field without throwing the ball once.

Once a player gets behind the defense, Kendall Daniels seems to give half effort. So far this season his play has been below average. Sometimes players don't realize pursuit angles and how important it is to give full effort because they can still catch players. In high school, we would run pursuit drills weekly so that players could see how important it was to give full effort and still catch players on sidelines. The drill would start off by lining everybody up in our base defense. There would be one wide receiver standing on each of the sidelines. The quarterback would turn and throw to one of the receivers and that receiver would run straight down the sideline and everybody on defense had to touch that receiver on their inside shoulder. The first few times I ran this drill I remember thinking there's no way I can get to that wide receiver, but then realizing I got there way earlier than I thought I would. Pursuit angles are critical and it's important for the coaches to reinforce these basic concepts to the players.

KSU really beat themselves by not running the ball more and by making stupid coaching decisions in critical moments. For starters, KSU got the ball back right before halftime down 13-7 with 55 seconds left in the half. As opposed to taking a knee and letting time run out, KSU threw on first and second down before a 3rd-and-10 throw was intercepted and returned for a touchdown. Instead of going into the locker room down 6, KSU was down 13. In the second half, KSU was faced with a 4th-and-8 on the OSU 13. Instead of taking the 3 points, they went for it and the snap whizzed past their QB and they lost 19 yards on the play. These are just two of many poor decisions by the KSU coaching staff in this game.

We continue to struggle on offense, but at least we moved the ball. Outside of the first scripted series, we only scored one offensive touchdown and had to settle for 6 field goal attempts (one of which was blocked). Most of the fan base is still not a fan of the current offense. One of the main reasons Gundy wanted to change our offense from the air raid system we ran under Monken was so that we would be better in the red zone (i.e. scoring more touchdowns).

Glad to finally see Cooper starting at his normal spot at left tackle. This single move has made our offensive line look much better. I am hopeful this change is permanent for the entire season. Last night we didn't give up any sacks and overall the offensive line played their best game. I'd still like to see our offense implement more traps and counters into our run game, especially when we're spread out with three or four wide receivers and trying to run the ball (i.e. like the Briles offense).

I would love to see Gunner have some packages created for him when we are inside the 20, short yardage situations, or when trying to close out a game in known running situations (i.e. like the JW Walsh packages). He is the best running quarterback we have and it would open up more running plays with him (i.e. like KSU did last night with their QB). We also need to be MORE CREATIVE in the red zone and come up with new misdirection plays. We've had some really great red zone plays that we only see in bowl games or for 1 game an entire season. Why not look back on old tape and implement some of the best short yardage scoring plays into our offense for these situations.

Additionally, last night I loved seeing the formation where we had two fullbacks or tight ends in the backfield with Gordon as the sole running back and one wide receiver on each side of the field. This gives us the ability to max protect and throw to either wide receiver or more importantly play power football and run between the tackles. I remember seeing this formation once in the second half and I was really hoping we would see this formation again, but don't remember seeing it. One variation I would like to see (in this formation) would be to have the QB under center instead of in shotgun.

We all wish our offense would be more creative. This game was a step in the right direction. That first series was very creative with lots of motion too. For the game we did see more motion, but I still don't like Dunn calling plays. Too many times he will run the same play over and over on the same drive and the defense picks it up.

Our offense really needs to throw out the offensive formation where both wide receivers are lined up on the line of scrimmage on the same side of the field, which makes the inside receiver ineligible. With that formation, we will either run or throw a screen pass. This is way to predictable for any good defensive coordinator. The next opponent is going to pick up on this and it will either cause negative plays in the backfield or an interception returned for a touchdown.

 

[OSU_Sports_Nut]

10/14/23 vs Kansas

It was refreshing to see the offense take another step forward. We still mightily struggle in the red zone and need to be more creative. I'd love to see us use UNBALANCED sets to confuse the defense. Plus this allows eligible lineman to be open for passes AND allows extra lineman to be on the field as a TE and FB as a jumbo package. Can we try using Kirkland as a full back or tight end in short yardage situations? I think he played tight end high school.

On defense, we need to do a better job of mixing up coverages. We are primarily a man-to-man defense, but need to play more zone. Teams have figured out they have a favorable matchup with our safeties at 12 yards off the ball in man-to-man coverage. This is typically exploited when teams need less than 10 yards and run either slants, outs, or stops for uncontested first downs. Additionally, if they want a big play and utilize their backs in pass protection, they have the time to hit these inside receivers on corner routes and deep post routes against our safeties.

Kendall Daniels needs to move to linebacker and play closer to the line, not be in man-to-man coverage against faster shifter wide receivers. I'd play him in Benson's spot. He is more instinctive and this means we have to worry less about his eyes being in the backfield. Additionally, he needs to STOP half assing things once he gets beat. He totally just gives up on plays and does not even try to chase down the receivers. There's no excuse for lack of effort. He should be benched for a few series to make him take notice. Does he NOT understand or realize that EVERYONE in the stands AND all NFL teams see exactly what we are seeing (a physically gifted player not living up to his potential and not giving 100% on every play)? His effort will cost him millions IF he is lucky enough to get drafted and he just might play his way out of any opportunity to play football after college.

 

[OSU_Sports_Nut]

10/21/23 vs West Virginia

On offense it was good to see our run game working, but most of that has to do with the talent of Ollie Gordon. I'd still like to see us run A LOT MORE traps and counters to set up better blocking angles and mask our deficiencies on the offensive line.

Josiah Johnson is a weapon and we need to have more plays for him other than a few formations where he only runs a drag route.

I'm glad to see us utilizing Presley more, he is a terror to defenses in open space.

I hope we can figure out how to score in the red zone and still believe we need to have goal line and short yardage package with Gunner Gundy.

Jaden Nixon is an excellent receiver and I'd love to see him be put in motion out of the backfield (together with Gordan) and matched up against a linebacker. I think we could exploit this matchup multiple times a game. The kid has wheels to stretch a defense and has good hands.

I'm still not a big fan of Dunn and hope we will replace him at the end of the season.

Defensively, we still need to be playing a lot more zone. We are primarily a man-to-man defense and offenses are taking advantage of these man-to-man matchups. I'd like to see us at least be a 50/50 zone vs man defense. We are not a good man-to-man defense and don't have the right personnel.

Collin Oliver seems to be getting better at the linebacker position. Nic Martin is an absolute stud, but our biggest weakness is still the play of Xavier Benson. He constantly misses tackles, gets caught up in blocks, and fills the wrong gaps. Kendall Daniels still struggles in pass defense, but he is great against the run. I'd love to see him closer to the line of scrimmage at LB and replace Benson.

 

[OSU_Sports_Nut]

10/28/23 vs Cincinnati

The next time Kendall Daniels or anyone else does not hustle on defense they MUST BE BENCHED. It drives me crazy to see Daniels jog down the field instead of running like his hair is on fire to catch an opposing offensive player. Effort is a CHOICE and hopefully the defensive coordinator makes the CHOICE of sitting his butt down. How does he not understand how his lack of effort will directly affect his ability to get drafted? He is currently playing his way out of the NFL.

Ollie Gordon is special it makes you wonder what our record would be if he was the starter at the beginning of the season. Everybody but Gundy seemed to know he was the best RB and needed more carries. When we rolled into the fourth quarter, I was very nervous when he was still in the game and we are up by three scores. If you want to protect the lead you keep your starters on defense, but not him. HE IS TOO VALUABLE.

I would love to see us go with a JUMBO GOAL LINE PACKAGE that included double tight ends that were actually offensive lineman (one of which who could catch), Ollie Gordon under center as the wildcat QB, Kirkland as the fullback, Nixon as the RB in the I-formation, then have Presley come in motion from the wide side of the field to the short side of the field. There could be many calls from this offensive setup. Ollie could go with a quarterback sneak and have the fullback push him. The ball could be snapped and handed off to Presley (if he is moving from the short side of the field to the wide side of the field). With the motion to Presley from the wide side to the short side of the field, we could pitch the ball to Nixon to the opposite direction (wide side of the field). We could run an option to the wide side of the field with Nixon and Ollie with the potential to throw to the eligible lineman playing tight end. There are so many possibilities!

I also would have liked to have seen our freshman quarterback and running back get some playing time. They have four games to keep their redshirt status and this would have been a good game to get them some playing time while also preserving our team health.

If you want to watch the full game, click below.

 

[OSU_Sports_Nut]

11/04/23 vs OU

Why does Dunn continue to try and force a square peg into a round hole? Nixon is fast, but he doesn't have great vision, balance, or power. All of which are needed when running between the tackles. They need to put him in motion and throw him the ball, give him a screen pass, toss or pitch the ball to him on the wide side of the field, or run the option with him. Currently the way they're utilizing him is a lose-lose situation. He isn't the same back as Ollie Gordon and shouldn't be running the same types of plays.

Meanwhile, we’ve underused Collins this season and his physical TD run versus Cincy is proof enough. He should be running back number two and relieve Ollie Gordon when he's tired or hurt.

Rashid Owens had a great game (10 catches for 136 yards) and so did Brennan Presley (8 catches for 97 yards). Both of these guys played physical and left everything out on the field.

Alan Bowman had his best most complete game. He went 28/42 for 334 yards. Made good decisions with the ball and even had a running touchdown.

Kendall Daniels is so frustrating to watch. He does not hustle on defense once he feels like he is beat. Effort is a CHOICE and does he not realize he is giving NFL teams film for his lazy habits? He needs to be benched.

A lot of OU fans are going to point to the no call in the end zone. However, OSU has endured this type of refereeing for many years. Where OU lost the game was when their wide receiver dropped a sure touchdown and when Venables got a personal file for stepping too far out on the field. Against Kansas, OU had 3 personal fouls that kept a drive alive and that is why Kansas won that game. I figured Venables would have learned from that game, but I guess not.

 

[OSU_Sports_Nut]

11/11/24 oSu vs UCF

Their fans in the first half are chanting overrated and it is well deserved.

The defense looks awful. We finally faced an offensive guru is picking apart our defense. Kendall Daniels just needs to be sitting on the bench. He is awful and his effort is even worse (and that's saying something). Gus Malzahn is picking on our safeties and corners. They're throwing the balls up and letting the receivers go get the ball, but since our defensive backs never turn and look for the ball it's passing interference every time.

Our offense the past 5 weeks has been drastically different than the first 4 weeks. A lot of the success had to do with running less zone schemes and more gap schemes. Pretty much this entire first half we've gone with zone scheme instead of gap scheme. Why?

 

[OSU_Sports_Nut]

11/18/23 vs Houston

Kasey Dunn needs to go. First half play calling was atrocious. Why did it take him until the second half to start pulling lineman and paving the way for Ollie Gordon? Too much zone running plays in the first half, but that was changed in the second half to a gap blocking scheme.

Also, please stop feeding Nixon the ball between the tackles. Be creative and give Nixon pitches to the outside, run the option, or put him in motion to throw him the ball.

Can someone please explain why Collins is not being used as the number two ball carrier? He is much better between the tackles and similar to Gordon in running style. Is he being redshirted?

Defensively, teams will continue to pick on our safeties when they are man-to-man 12 yards off the ball. We did a better job in the second half of mixing up defenses and even got a game sealing interception when we were playing zone. We need to be playing more zone!

 

[OSU_Sports_Nut]

11/25/23 oSu vs BYU

Our offense has way too many head scratchers. Dunn really needs to go at the end of the year. Going into this game BYU struggled defensively against gap scheme plays especially when teams were pulling guards and tackles. Last week's game this was brought up repeatedly by the broadcast. Additionally, during our winning streak until the OU game, we pretty much went to gap scheme running plays. Since the OU game, we've been running a lot of zone read plays, which means a lot of zone running plays. This is where our offensive line struggles, as does Gordon. On our last drive before overtime, two of our three runs were gap scheme plays where we were pulling guards or tackles. In the first half, we were NOT pulling guards or tackles which is when we struggled the most running the ball. I just don't understand Dunn. All he had to do was watch and listen to the commentators last week who talked about how BYU has struggled defensively against teams who used pulling guards and tackles the past three or four games.

Defensively, we need to change our scheme if we are going to continue to run man-to-man coverage on 3rd and long against those inside slot receivers (instead of running more zone). I know we substituted a corner in for one of our safeties on that last drive where they still scored the FG to tie the game. By the way, BYU ran the same play four or five times in a row on that last drive to move down the field. They picked on whoever was lined up 12 yd off the ball against their inside slot receivers. Why can't we occasionally move our inside DB to 3 to 5 yards off the line to play a little bump and run to knock their receivers off their routes and disrupt their timing? Putting a safety or corner 12 yd off the ball is NOT the answer. Teams WILL continue to run slants and outs against these players when they are 12 yards off the ball in man-to-man coverage.

 

[OSU_Sports_Nut]

5 KEYS TO THE BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

1) On offense we need to be calling more gap scheme runs and not zone reads. It makes it a lot harder on an offensive line when they don't know whether they are pass blocking or run blocking. When our offense is strictly run blocking and pulling guards and tackles most teams struggle to stop our run game. Dunn can still run play action off of this, but make it an actual call and NOT a read option.

2) Additionally, this offense is at its best when we are throwing slants and 5 and 10 yard outs. Not since the days of Monken, have we really used the out pattern consistently. This is a really hard pattern to defend on the short side of the field.

3) Defensively, we need to stop being so predictable in passing situations with man-to-man coverage with our safeties 12 yards off the ball. Nobody thinks we're in a cover 2, so why do we try to pretend (we aren't fooling the other team or even the fans)? Our defense needs to play more zone and mix it up more so that we're not so predictable on passing downs. Additionally, we can substitute corners for those inside receivers and move them up to a bump and run coverage (or at least put them 5 yards off the ball). This keeps offenses from exploding this matchup by running outs and slants with absolutely no way for the safety to stop it. Texas is also known for running multiple drag patterns and crossing patterns versus man to man.

4) We are going to have to mix up our blitz packages and bring pressure from different places even a slot corner blitz. This means we're going to have to be fundamentally sound in our gaps when we do this. Quinn Ewers struggles under pressure, especially after taking a few hits.

5) Collin Oliver needs to be a defensive end in a four down lineman scheme. He is a much better defender when he's chasing down the quarterback and putting pressure on the quarterback. Plus, we struggle stopping the run with three down lineman and this will be even worse against this Texas team.

 

[OSU_Sports_Nut]

12/02/23 oSu vs Texas

We were horrible on defense. The first half Texas pretty much picked on Benson in coverage or on running plays. All you have to do is look at any major gains or touchdowns and look to see who is in coverage or playing linebacker on that side of the field. When they weren't picking on Benson, they were picking on Kendall Daniels in coverage. He has been horrible all year. Hopefully, he looks to make a move to the linebacker position. He is not a safety in this defense and needs to learn how to play harder on every play or shouldn't be on the field.

Brennan Presley needs to stop trying to return kickoffs all the time. Just take a fair catch so the offense can start at the 25-yard line. We start way too many possessions inside our own 20-yard line and even 15-yard line because of his poor decision making.

Coach Dunn needs to go. He is absolutely horrendous. He needs to be demoted to wide receiver coach and stripped of his play calling duties. If he does not want to be demoted, then he just needs to be fired or encouraged to move on.

NEEDED STAFF CHANGES

Last year I was really hoping we would get rid of DL coach Greg Richmond and make Joe Bob Clements the DL coach again. Then hire someone with coordinator experience for the linebackers coach (from a lower level like Nardo), but ultimately hire someone like Gary Patterson or Lance Guidry as the defensive coordinator (and not make them coach a position).

We could still do this for next year. Nardo could be demoted to linebackers coach and to learn under Gary Patterson. This would be the best situation and Gary Patterson definitely knows the Iowa State defense. His defense was very similar. He's also probably one of the brightest defensive football minds in college football and good friends with Gundy (not to mention he's only an analyst at Texas).

2023 NARDO DEFENSE
Scoring = 74
Total = 112

I wish we had gotten rid of Dunn before the 2021 season because we could have been to the college football playoffs and possibly won a championship. At the very least, we should have gotten rid of him after the 2021 season when the defense had to carry our team week in and week out. Once again, I was hoping we would go after a qualified and proven division 1 coordinator from a smaller school (like Liberty, Memphis, Appalachian State, etc), then fill other POSITIONAL COACHING jobs from lower division levels like FCS, DII, DIII (but making sure the position coach hires were young and hungry with successful offensive coordinator experience).

2023 DUNN OFFENSE
Scoring = 48*
Total = 30*
* due to unbelievable performances by Ollie Gordon

 

[OSU_Sports_Nut]

If we can't get these coaches, I would love to see oSu grab some offensive coordinators with proven success from lower division levels (FCS, DII, DIII) to COACH POSITIONS. This way if our offensive coordinator position opens up due to success in later years, one of these guys could be promoted since they already have experience calling plays and would be familiar with our offensive terms. Additionally, by hiring these lower division level coaches they will have contacts when they see certain players from these lower divisions hit the portal and may already have potential relationships with the player or coaches in the conference where they can get a better read on the player.

OFFENSE

OC = Marcus Arroyo, or Scott Frost, or Casey Woods (SMU), or Tim Cramsey (Memphis)
RB/FB = Curtis Luper, or Cale Gundy, or keep John Wozniak
QB = Doug Meacham (CO-OC) or Brandon Weeden or keep Tim Rattay
WR/TE = Cale Gundy or Kasey Dunn (if he stays after a demotion)
OL = Nic Cardwell

I truly believe for a coordinator to be the most successful they shouldn't coach a position. It allows them to not worry about that position during a game, but it also allows them to have input in other positions during practices.

I also think the offensive coordinator should be the coordinator of all special team returns. Gundy should be the overall special team coordinator, but return should be delegated to the offensive coordinator and the coverage unit should be delegated to the defensive of coordinator.

DEFENSE

DC = Lance Guidry or Bryant Haines or Gary Patterson
DL = Joe Bob Clements
LB = Jimmy Rogers or demote Bryan Nardo
CB = Dennis Thurman or keep Tim Duffie
S = David Braun or keep Dan Hammerschmidt

As I mentioned previously, the easiest change would be to hire someone like Gary Patterson as the defensive coordinator and demote Nardo to the linebackers coach. He is a great motivator, very relatable, young, hungry, etc, but he's JUST NOT READY. He could learn under Patterson and eventually take over. This would be the best situation for all parties.

 

[OSU_Sports_Nut]

12/28/22 vs A&M

I thought we played to the level of our competition. This is happened multiple times this season and why we are so Jekyll and Hyde.

I still believe there needs to be staff changes in the off-season. We all know that Gundy does not like to make changes and prefer staff continuity over on the field coaching production. Based on this fact, I think it would be huge if Gundy would even consider two coaching changes (one on each side of the ball).

I do think Nardo is in over his head and needs to be demoted to linebackers coach. This would be good because it would allow us to move Clements back to the DL and fire Richmond. Then we could hire Gary Patterson as the defensive coordinator (currently an analyst at Texas). He is a defensive savant. I would not have him coach any position, so he could have input on every position.

DEFENSE
DC = Gary Patterson
DL = Joe Bob Clements
LB = Bryan Nardo
CB = Tim Duffie
S = Dan Hammerschmidt

As I mentioned previously, the easiest change would be to hire someone like Gary Patterson as the defensive coordinator and demote Nardo to the linebackers coach. Nardo is a great motivator, very relatable, young, hungry, etc, but he's JUST NOT READY. He could learn under Patterson and eventually possibly take over. This would be the best situation for all parties. Additionally, Patterson and Gundy supposedly have a good relationship.

I also have stated multiple times over the last couple of years that Dunn is in over his head. He is a great wide receivers coach when he can focus his attention on them, but he's an average wide receiver coach when he's trying to be the offensive coordinator. Additionally, he's a terrible offensive coordinator. I would demote Dunn and bring in a proven offensive coordinator. I would fire Charlie Dickey and move Jason McEndoo to OL coach. I would get rid of the tight end coach position and have the wide receiver coach TE's for passing plays and the offensive line coach help TE's with blocking.

OFFENSE
OC = Marcus Arroyo (ASU), or Scott Frost, or Casey Woods (SMU), or Tim Cramsey (Memphis)
RB/FB = John Wozniak
QB = Tim Rattay
WR/TE = Dunn (if he stays after a demotion) or Cale Gundy
OL = Jason McEndoo