2024-25 Football Season (ASU & other game recaps)

[OSU_Sports_Nut]

08/31/24 oSu vs SDSU

OFFENSE
1) Blocking needs to improve. We ran a lot of zone read option plays. When we are doing this, it's hard to run a lot of gap scheme plays. I would rather see Dunn call designed gap scheme run plays or play action passes.

2) Ollie needs to hit the hole hard and fast. He spent way too much time dancing around at the line of scrimmage and not going full speed. He needs to be way more decisive in his reads. Running more gap scheme plays will help in this area too.

3) At times the oSu offense was running at a break neck pace and the SDSU defense couldn't keep up. There MUST be a rule change after this season regarding players faking injuries to slow down offenses. I think Gundy's idea is the best. He believes anybody that is "hurt" on defense (where an official time out is used) shouldn't be allowed to play for the rest of that series unless a team uses one of their own timeouts. Today's game was slowed down over half a dozen times due to injured players or cramping players. This rule needs to change because it's ruining the game of football.

4) Our time management needs to improve. Why in the world are we still running a hurry up offense in the 4th quarter with a lead and refuse to pass the ball against a stacked box? I believe we had 3 three-and-outs and ran very little time off the clock. I remember seeing Bowman snap the ball with 20-25 seconds on the clock multiple times in the fourth quarter while simultaneously trying to run the ball to run out the clock. This makes no sense. The coaches and the players can do better.

5) Bowman played much better in the season opener than he did most of last season, but we will face better defensive lines who will give him a lot more pressure. I don't remember seeing him throw off his back foot, which is a great thing to see. He did have one play where the ball should have had been intercepted. He needs to learn to throw the ball to where only his receiver can catch it or it goes out of bounds. This may have been the reason for his inaccuracies to Stribling yesterday. If it wasn't for Stribling's incredible hands most receivers would not have made those three incredible catches.

6) We have three legitimate NFL receivers in Stribling, Presley, and Owens. I don't know if all of them will get drafted to, but they will all make an NFL roster or practice squad. Hopefully Stribling will stick around for another year.

7) Anytime we are up by 4 scores in the 4th quarter or up by 3 scores with less than 10 minutes remaining, we need to try and get Flores some game action. He is a very talented kid and needs experience in games. This way when he is needed he has game experience and isn't overwhelmed by the moment.

DEFENSE
1) Tackling is once again an issue for oSu. SDSU missed very few tackles. This is a coaching issue and needs to be fixed in practice with tackling drills. I know Gundy is always worried about players getting hurt, but tackle freshman who aren't going to be playing in the games. They can be tackling dummies.

2) There is still too much confusion in the secondary. This leads to way too many huge gains when receivers are running wide open.

3) Our DB's are going to get abused against a good team. I think we are the only college team whose corners are taught to play the receiver and not the ball. This makes absolutely no sense. Look at the NFL, do you see corners playing the receiver or do they turn their head to play the ball? Watch Alabama and Georgia, pay attention to what their corners do. I think this is an issue with our DB coach. Gundy needs to get with him to change his philosophy to match what we see in the NFL and the great defenses in the college game.

4) Our safeties cannot defend 12 yards off the ball in man-to-man. Why is this still an issue every year? We are not disguising our coverages and teams know how to exploit this. We need to mix up our coverages on third and long and run more zone (as long as we still rush at least four people).

5) I would love to see us go back to some bump and run coverages in the secondary. This throws off the timing of offenses and allows our defense to disguise our coverages when we are playing man-to-man or zone.

6) What I miss the most about those Jim Knowles defenses is his attacking style. I loved how he used a lot of bump and run coverages in the secondary, but the thing I miss the most were those blitz disguises. Pre-snap the opposing team offenses never knew where the pressure was coming from or when.

Here are the SDSU game highlights.

 

[OSU_Sports_Nut]

09/07/24 oSu vs Arkansas

OFFENSE
1) The bad news is our blocking still needs to improve. The good news is it can be fixed by changing the scheme. Last year we went from zone scheme to gap scheme and it completely changed our season. So far this year we've been running a ton of zone scheme, so that we have the option to pass. It is a lot harder for an offensive lineman to pass block and run block at the same time. When you run block you can cross the line of scrimmage, but when you pass block a lineman can't cross the line of scrimmage more than one yard. In gap scheme you can blow your guy up and push him into tomorrow. This makes it very difficult because most lineman don't know if the quarterback is going to hand off for a run play or pass the ball for a pass play. If you look at Rule 8, Article 8, Section 3 it details the rule. Lineman are allowed to drive the defensive player back as long as they are engaged with them within one yard of the line of scrimmage. If the defender successfully disengages the lineman is not allowed to move past the line of scrimmage before the ball is thrown without it being a penalty. As soon as the ball leaves the passer's hand ineligible receivers are safe to move as much as they'd like.

The past two games we've run a lot of zone read option plays and we've struggled. I would rather us utilize gap scheme run plays, then utilize play action for pass plays. This way the offensive lineman know ahead of time whether they need to block for a pass or a run. This is how we can commit 100% to running the football. Right now we are half committed to running the ball and that's the MAIN PROBLEM.

If you watch Arkansas, they ran a lot of gap scheme against us. I'd love to see us doing more of this and run a lot of counters and ISOs where we pull different linemen. This gives the lineman a lot more momentum to block a defender in the gap.

Additionally, our slow developing outside zone runs are NOT effective. I'd love to see us pitch the ball outside more and use Presley a couple of times a game on a jet sweeps.

2) I'm going to say this about the receivers and offensive playcalling. The offensive play caller needs to only call certain routes for certain receivers.

For example, Owens is the only proven reliable as a receiver to go deep on go and fade routes. He's got great size, strength, and the ability to high point the ball in the air and adjust to the ball over his shoulder. He's also good on other routes too. The biggest issue I saw yesterday is him giving less than 100% effort and then having to make up for that by giving 100% effort only to come up slightly short on a deep throw. The throw that was intercepted was not on him, that defender was always deeper than him and Bowman should not have thrown that ball.

Stribling seems to be good on every route except for deep fades. He has a hard time adjusting to the ball over his shoulder and doesn't know how to high point a ball. He is excellent on slant, outs, posts, drags, etc (pretty much anything else).

Presley is great with just about every route, but you don't want him getting into a jump ball situation because of his size. You can loft him a deep pass on a post route or corner route, but I would stay away from go and fades routes.

3) Once again our time management came into play at the end of the game. This time I'm going to give coach Gundy points for what he tried to do to run the clock out, but the refs from the SEC did not understand what was going on with defensive offsides and called our offense for a false start. However, we still need to get better when we have the lead and we're snapping the ball with more than 3 seconds on the clock. This game went into overtime because Arkansas was able to move the ball down the field and kick a field goal with 2 seconds left. Granted they shouldn't have been able to do this if the refs had actually made the correct call on the defense being offsides. However, we can't control the refs but we can control when we snap the ball. We need to get better in this area when we have a lead late in a game.

DEFENSE
1) I think we finally learned who we can rely on the opposite of Oliver to pressure the quarterback. I was very impressed by Ezeigbo. Does anyone know how long Oliver will be out? With these guys lined up across from each other, we should be able to get consistent pressure the quarterback with only four defensive lineman.

2) Now regarding the secondary, we need to GET 0 OFF THE FIELD. The team last week and the team this week picked on number 0. Even when they didn't complete a pass, it wasn't because of the defender making a play and it was more about an inaccurate pass. I know Kobe Hylton is the main issue when it comes to breakdowns in our secondary. Surely we can find somebody else and give them a shot.

3) Tackling was better, but is still an issue for oSu. I know Gundy is always worried about players getting hurt, but tackle freshman who aren't going to be playing in the games. They can be tackling dummies.

4) We need to go back to a traditional 4-3 with ONLY 2 SAFETIES. There is still too much confusion in the secondary, especially at safety. This leads to way too many huge gains when receivers are running wide open. oSu needs to find some slot corners that can cover, so maybe it's time to give some of the youngsters a chance.

5) We are the only college team whose corners are taught to play the receiver and not the ball. Look at NFL corners and watch how they put a hand on the receiver (so they know where the receiver is located) and turn their head to play the ball.

6) We need to be taught to play zone better because our safeties cannot defend 12 yards off the ball in man-to-man. Additionally, our pre-snap alignment gives us away every game.

7) We need to go back to SOME bump and run coverages in the secondary. This throws off the timing of offenses and allows our defense to disguise our coverages, especially when we are playing zone.

Here are the Arkansas game highlights.

 

[OSU_Sports_Nut]

09/14/24 oSu vs Tulsa

OFFENSE

1) Once again our blocking needs to improve. We need to gap scheme 100% of the time. It is extremely hard for an offensive lineman to pass block and run block at the same time. I would rather see us run gap scheme plays, then utilize play action for pass plays. This way the offensive lineman know ahead of time whether they need to block for a pass or a run. This is how we can commit 100% to running the football. We also need to have more pitches to the outside and stop running any slow developing outside zone run plays.

2) Our QB looked great today. Made a lot of good throws and reads. He could of had an interception and needs to do better.

3) The biggest mistake Dunn and Gundy had on offense is not getting Flores time in the game. In this day and age of transfers, you need to get him involved in the game. Additionally he is our future and NOT Rangel. They should have (at the very least) rotated quarterbacks in the third and fourth quarters to get both of them playing time.

DEFENSE

1) We did a good job of blitzing the quarterback, but we can't be so predictable on third down. This is going to create huge gains when teams see this and start running screens.

2) We still need to GET 0 OFF THE FIELD. I thought Robertson (#8) played a great game and probably needs more time in the secondary. Give this kid a try over Hilton.

Here are the Tulsa game highlights.

 

[OSU_Sports_Nut]

09/21/24 oSu vs Utah

OFFENSE

1) I sound like an broken record, but we need to run gap scheme 100% of the time. I also want to see guards, tackles, and tight ends pulling across the formation. Our coaches need to go watch tape when Art Briles was at Baylor and copy some of those gap scheme run plays.

2) Dicky needs to retire at the end of the season or be let go. Sure miss those days when we had Wickline.

3) Our QB's looked horrible today. Our biggest mistake last week was not getting Flores some time in the game. Again, we missed a huge opportunity last week to rotate quarterbacks in the second half when we had a huge lead. I just hope Flores doesn't get disgruntled and transfer. He is the future and not Rangel. Gundy too often puts emphasis on years in the program over talent.

4) Dunn is terrible when it comes to playcalling and making adjustments in the game. We sure miss Monken and his ability to change things up mid drive and never had to wait until halftime. We need to throw more 10 yard outs, ins, slants, and drags because we never utilize these short routes enough. Dunn also needs to open up the running lanes between the tackles by throwing some bubble screens to the receivers and pitching the ball to the RB to get to the outside (toss sweeps).

5) Probably one of the most frustrating things is when we actually call some really good offensive plays in one game, but we never see thise plays again for the rest of the season (which is a total head scratcher). Dunn tries too hard to outsmart the defensive coordinator that he outsmarts himself. Horrible game plan!

6) Can we not use motion and misdirection plays to make the defense pause slightly to give us an advantage? We are just too predictable in our sets. Utah did a great job with motion today on some of their bigger gaining plays.

DEFENSE

1) We definitely had less breakdowns in the secondary, but Utah didn't test us with many passes with a freshman QB. Tackling still is our biggest issue. Everyone goes in high and immediately starts trying to strip the ball. Our defenders actually run with the ball carrier at times trying to strip the ball instead of wrapping up their legs and give up another 3-5 yards. The first man to the ball needs to go low and wrap up the legs to make the tackle, then the subsequent defenders can go for the strip. This was a big issue yesterday.

2) We were all hoping to see better defensive line play this season, but it hasn't happened. We need to start some younger guys and recruit better talent. Otherwise it's coaching. We haven't been good on the defensive line since Clements moved to coaching linebackers. We can find ways to get pressure on the quarterback, but our defensive coordinator isn't creative enough to find ways to disguise blitzes.

3) Whoever let the team choose black helmets for any game in September is an idiot and should be fired. The players were overheating on defense and on offense and it's not rocket science to know that a black helmet in this heat was a bad idea. We have white and orange helmets, but if they want a darker color we even have gray helmets. Any of those choices would have been better than black. How does Gundy not override this mistake? They need to put this in a handbook and state if the game time temperature is above 80° NO BLACK HELMETS.

Here are the game highlights.

 

[OSU_Sports_Nut]

09/28/24 oSu at Kansas State

Demote both coordinators and promote others on staff. Both of these guys are over their heads. The problem is Gundy hates and even despises change. Gundy prefers continuity over results, which is also why he targets coordinators who he feels won't be hired away for head coaching positions and rarely ever fires a coach.

The fans realize there is a problem, the media acknowledges the problem, but Gundy doesn't seem to know there's a problem or maybe he just doesn't care enough to fix it. Or it could be a pride issue and doesn't want to admit these hires were a failure. I really think it could be the latter, which is why he hates getting rid of poor coaching. It always takes him too many seasons to where it is so painfully obvious the athletic director has to force a coaching change.

Since the season has already started, the coaching options for this season are fairly limited to coaches who are already on staff. I would select Tim Rattay for the interim offensive coordinator. On defense, I would go with Joe Bob Clements as the interim defensive coordinator.

 

[OSU_Sports_Nut]

10/05/24 oSu vs West Virginia

I'll say it again. Gundy must demote Nardo and Dunn. This might give the team hope and know that things will change. For the interim I would select Tim Rattay for the interim offensive coordinator. On defense, I would go with Joe Bob Clements as the interim defensive coordinator.

I would also go after hiring Dana Holgorsen for the offensive coordinator position to finish the season once he's able to get up to speed. He is currently at TCU as a defensive analyst.

I would also hire Gary Patterson as the defensive coordinator once he gets up the speed. He is currently at Baylor as a consultant.

In the corporate world, large successful companies eventually fail if they do not embrace change (Blockbuster, Sears, etc). Change for the sake of change is bad, but change to stay relevant is essential.

Both Dunn & Nardo are over their heads. The problem is Gundy hates and even despises change. Gundy prefers continuity over results, which is also why he targets coordinators who he feels won't be hired away for head coaching positions and rarely ever fires a coach.

Maybe Gundy just doesn't care enough to fix anything because he knows he would be $35 million dollars richer if OSU has to fire him. Or it could be a PRIDE issue and doesn't want to admit these hires were a failure, which is why he hates getting rid of coaches. Although he says he never fires a coach, here's a list of his fired coaches that I remember Vance Bedford, Bill Young, Glenn Spencer, Jason Ray, Greg Richmond, Greg Adkins, Bob Connelly, Robert Matthews, Nelson Barnes. It always takes him too many seasons to where he has to be forced into a coaching change by the athletic director, the media, and the fans.

Gundy's PRIDE has always been an issue and sometimes it creeps up when he's not held in check by the athletic director. For some reason, his PRIDE thinks he can take any coach and make them successful under his guidance.

OFFENSE

1) Offensive line coach needs to be replaced.

2) Dunn needs to be replaced.

3) Bowman needs to sit on the bench and give the ball to Flores.

DEFENSE

1) Do not play #0 or #3 anymore on defense. Find some younger players like some freshmen, anybody would be better. Play #8 more, he has shown to play better than #0 and #3.

2) Linebacker play need to improve. Since Nick Martin went down with an injury the subpar linebacker play has been amplified. Kendal Daniels has been a major disappointment. He struggles to get off blocks, he's a poor tackler, and he shows no instincts. I would like to see him rush the passer on 3rd and long.

3) Demote Nardo. The crazy thing is Gundy hired Nardo after having been fired from Youngstown State in 2021. Gannon only had him for one season in 2022 when Gundy hired him. I can't find anywhere to see what his defenses were ranked in total defense or scoring defense, but I bet it wasn't a top 50 defense.

HIRING PROCESS

One of the things Gundy should do when he is looking at hiring coaches is to look at their track record. How long have they been able to produce results as a defensive or offensive coordinator?

Additional criteria includes are they at a division 1 school? If so, I would only consider them if they can produce results in the top 25.

For the rest of the staff (position coaches), I would fill those positions with young, energetic, and successful offensive and defensive coordinators at the division 2 level (repeated top 10 defenses or offenses). This way you get guys on staff who already show the ability to successfully coordinate an offense or defense and can help add to the staff. Additionally, if they show a lot of promise you can always promote from within if you have a system you want to keep. For example, imagine if we had a bunch of former successful defensive coordinators on the staff when we had Knowles. If this was the case we could have kept the scheme and hired from within.

 

[OSU_Sports_Nut]

10/18/24 oSu @BYU

OFFENSE

1) Fields was a bright spot and need to be RB2. I still like Valahi, but his future is at WR (great hands and speed).

2) Dunn's playcalling abilities need to be removed and given to someone else on staff for the rest of the season.

DEFENSE

1) Our defensive line pressure is horrible. We need to give some of the younger guys a chance like Nnodim.

2) Nardo's playcalling abilities need to be removed and given to someone else on staff for the rest of the season.

 

[OSU_Sports_Nut]

If Gundy was serious about winning championships, he would have turned down the $2 million dollar raise two years ago and used that money to keep Jim Knowles around. oSu could have made Knowles the highest paid defensive coordinator above $1.5 million. Then Gundy could have used rest of that money to lure back Monken with a salary above $1.5 million and the designation of offensive coordinator and head coach in waiting.

This would have cemented Gundy as the greatest head coach in Oklahoma State history and we probably could have won at least one more conference title and possibly played in a playoff game.

However, the biggest problem with Gundy is his PRIDE. He thinks he can coach up any ordinary coach to greatness, that's why he rarely ever fires coaches and hires unknown division 3 coaches who were previously fired just the season before.

Proverbs 16:18

Pride comes before destruction, and an arrogant spirit before a fall.

 

[OSU_Sports_Nut]

10/26/24 oSu vs Baylor

I think Gundy believes he is brilliant and the special sauce for the success of the program. When he doesn’t have any solid to great coordinators to carry the water, we struggle to win games.

Weiberg will need to sit down with Gundy and communicate exactly what is expected and ask Gundy how he plans to achieve it. If Gundy's response doesn’t involve sweeping or drastic changes to his staff, then oSu needs to talk RETIREMENT. Additionally, oSu must STOP THE ROLLOVER no matter what. If Gundy wants the rollover back, then he has to earn it (but you at least start his clock).

Gundy's PRIDE has always been an issue and sometimes it creeps up when he's not held in check by the athletic director. For some reason, his PRIDE thinks he can take any coach and make them successful under his guidance.

Everyone knows BOTH Dunn & Nardo are over their heads. For now, Gundy MUST immediately demote Nardo and Dunn. This might give the team HOPE and know that things will change. For the interim Gundy should select Tim Rattay for the interim offensive coordinator. On defense, Gundy should go with Joe Bob Clements as the interim defensive coordinator.

OFFENSE

1) Gundy should also try hiring Dana Holgorsen for the offensive coordinator position to finish the season once he's able to get up to speed. He is currently at TCU as a defensive analyst.

2) Fire offensive line coach Dickey, then temporarily make McEndoo the offensive line coach for the rest of the year. Have Glidden or Walsh take over the tight ends and fullbacks.

DEFENSE

1) Gundy should try hiring Gary Patterson as the defensive coordinator for this year. He is currently at Baylor as a consultant.

2) Once Nardo is demoted to linebackers coach, fire Randolph and move Clements back to the DL. Once Gary Patterson gets up to speed, he can coach the linebackers and you can move Nardo to analyst.

 

[OSU_Sports_Nut]

11/02/24 oSu vs Arizona State

Weiberg must sit down with Gundy NOW and not wait until after the season. Weiberg needs to communicate his expectations and ask Gundy how he plans to achieve it. If Gundy's response doesn’t involve drastic changes to his staff NOW and AFTER THE SEASON, then oSu needs to talk RETIREMENT and STOP THE ROLLOVER IMMEDIATELY.

Gundy's PRIDE has always been an issue because he thinks he knows more than everybody else. That pride and arrogance has gotten us to where we are today. Earlier in his career he wasn't as bad, but now he has shown an inability to lead his team. Unfortunately, I do not think Gundy has it in him to admit he's made mistakes and make drastic changes to the staff to help correct the trajectory of the program. Due to this issue, I do believe things will not end well for Gundy and he will be eventually fired this year or next year. This will taint his legacy at oSu because of how he leaves.

OFFENSE

This season he needs to fire or demote Dunn and Dicky or the team will have no hope. If he does nothing, which we all expect, this will be a slow death. Everything that Gundy has built over the years is crumbling to the ground. He needs to do something drastic or it'll all be lost.

Additionally, stop playing Bowman and play Smith. At least Smith gives the fans and the team HOPE. Gundy should have made this change after Rangel went down, but Gundy is loyal to upperclassmen to a fault (always has been especially at the quarterback position). If Gundy made this change earlier, there's a chance we could have won a few of these other games and gone to a bowl. Right now the team looks like they're laying down and giving up. The team has no hope. With all that being said, there's a 1000% chance that Bowman starts the next game against TCU. Gundy would have to admit he was wrong, so he will dig in even deeper and I doubt we win another game.

DEFENSE

Nardo and Randolph both need to be demoted or fired. The team needs hope and there is no way either should be on staff next year. Additionally, The team needs to start playing some of their freshman and sophomore to get them playing time. Some of the redshirting freshmen can also still redshirt and play these last few games. We can't keep trotting out number 0 and number 3 on defense. Other teams are just picking on them in pass coverage. Our run defense and tackling is atrocious along with our run fits.

FUTURE OF PROGRAM

If the current players are not doing their jobs, then at least give the younger players a chance. oSu will have a better chance of retaining the younger players if they play them so we do not see all of them hit the portal after the season.