OSU is 5-0 and ranked 21st in the AP poll. The Cowboys have won road games in upstate Michigan (Central) and downstate Texas (UT). They survived Bill Snyder in Stillwater, which is never easy.
But OSU is not the football team I thought it was. Or would be.
The Cowboys can’t run the ball, which is problematic but not insurmountable. Offensive lines can take time to build. Mason Rudolph looked a little shaky after a fast start at Texas, but he threw great against K-State, so maybe there was something to that numb hand in Austin.
But OSU’s defensive meltdown in the first half against K-State changes the outlook for the season. Playing with wide receiver Kody Cook as an emergency quarterback, the Wildcats took a 28-20 halftime lead. Cook directed three long touchdown drives, completed nine of 11 passes for 127 yards and rushed 12 times for 69 yards.
In the second half, OSU swarmed Cook and put a stop to such nonsense. But for the Cowboys to allow K-State’s offense to function at that kind of level with a receiver taking the snaps? That’s ridiculous. And it calls into question how good is this OSU defense.
Of course, a Snyder offense isn’t anything like the Big 12 Air Raids that await. Nothing like TCU, Baylor, Texas Tech or OU.
OSU isn’t the first defense to get smoked by Snyder’s offensive genius. But when the Wildcats were forced to go to a non-quarterback at quarterback, the first half should have looked like the second half did look.
None of this means that OSU can’t be a Big 12 title contender. It just means OSU isn’t. Not right now. Two years ago, the Cowboys went to Morgantown riding high, got spanked by West Virginia 30-21 and went home licking its wounds. But OSU regrouped, got better and by season’s end was as good as any team in the conference.
I suppose the same thing could happen in 2015. But if OSU contends, it will be because the Cowboys have improved mightily. They aren’t the team some of us thought they were.
http://newsok.com/osu-isnt-the-football-team-we-thought-they-were/article/5451735
But OSU is not the football team I thought it was. Or would be.
The Cowboys can’t run the ball, which is problematic but not insurmountable. Offensive lines can take time to build. Mason Rudolph looked a little shaky after a fast start at Texas, but he threw great against K-State, so maybe there was something to that numb hand in Austin.
But OSU’s defensive meltdown in the first half against K-State changes the outlook for the season. Playing with wide receiver Kody Cook as an emergency quarterback, the Wildcats took a 28-20 halftime lead. Cook directed three long touchdown drives, completed nine of 11 passes for 127 yards and rushed 12 times for 69 yards.
In the second half, OSU swarmed Cook and put a stop to such nonsense. But for the Cowboys to allow K-State’s offense to function at that kind of level with a receiver taking the snaps? That’s ridiculous. And it calls into question how good is this OSU defense.
Of course, a Snyder offense isn’t anything like the Big 12 Air Raids that await. Nothing like TCU, Baylor, Texas Tech or OU.
OSU isn’t the first defense to get smoked by Snyder’s offensive genius. But when the Wildcats were forced to go to a non-quarterback at quarterback, the first half should have looked like the second half did look.
None of this means that OSU can’t be a Big 12 title contender. It just means OSU isn’t. Not right now. Two years ago, the Cowboys went to Morgantown riding high, got spanked by West Virginia 30-21 and went home licking its wounds. But OSU regrouped, got better and by season’s end was as good as any team in the conference.
I suppose the same thing could happen in 2015. But if OSU contends, it will be because the Cowboys have improved mightily. They aren’t the team some of us thought they were.
http://newsok.com/osu-isnt-the-football-team-we-thought-they-were/article/5451735
