Mike Gundy on how he thinks this team compares to 2011: “The good news is that we may be better on defense than we were then, but those teams were really good at forcing turnovers, which allowed us to get more opportunities so we could outscore you. A lot of what we do in this league has come down to that anyways.”
Gundy is right that the 2011 team was a bunch of ballhawkers. OSU averaged 3.4 takeaways a game that season and 1.8 turnovers. That’s an advantage of 1.6 per game. That’s big.
Since then, OSU’s quality seasons (10-3 in each of 2013, 2015, 2016) were marked by a substantial turnover advantage. OSU’s two mediocre seasons (8-5 in 2012, 7-6 in 2014) were marked by no turnover advantage or a turnover disadvantage.
2012: 1.7 turnovers, 1.7 takeaways;
2013: 1.4 turnovers, 2.5 takeaways;
2014: 1.7 turnovers, 1.1 takeaways;
2015: 1.2 turnovers, 2.2 takeaways;
2016: 1.1 turnovers, 1.9 takeaways.
Gundy on the offensive personnel differences: “We were a little more experienced in the running back spot with Joe Randle. Justice (Hill) is a good player, but obviously not as experienced as Joe. We had a group of wideouts then and Justin Blackmon, who would be comparable to James Washington. The strategy that we talk about, based on what our personnel is and what we think we can do in all three phases. There are a lot of similarities.”
Gundy is wrong. Hill is just as experienced, going into the season, as was Randle. Randle as a 2010 freshman carried 82 times and had 37 catches. His yards from scrimmage totaled 879 yards, with three touchdowns. Then Randle became a star, rushing for 1,216 and 1,417 yards the next two seasons. Those two years, he had 3,123 scrimmage yards and 40 touchdowns.
Hill last season as a freshman rushed for 1,142 yards on 206 carries. So he’s ahead of the Joe Randle curve.
One big difference that supports Gundy’s theory – Jeremy Smith was a solid backup in 2011, rushing for 646 yards in his third of five Cowboy seasons. No experienced backup has emerged behind Hill.
Gundy on why this defense is better than in 2011: “I just think we have more depth. I think that we’ve recruited longer and that our culture is in place so we have more depth than we did then. We’ve got to get a couple of corners. We need to get a couple of guys that we trust that can play. We’re going to play multiple guys, but at some points we need to get a couple of guys in there in key situations that are fresh that you trust because you’ve got to be able to cover a little bit in this league. We’ve got to develop some guys. I think we’re going to be a lot better at those two positions in October than we are Sept. 1. It would be difficult to think we could be that good on Sept. 1 because a lot of those guys haven’t played. It’s difficult because there’s no substitution for experience and we don’t have any experience right now at those positions.”
Gundy seemed to talk himself out of his original statement. Cornerback and in the Big 12 is no place to be suspect. If the OSU corners come through, the Cowboys could be quite good defensively. If the OSU corners don’t come through, all bets are off.
Gundy on any positions in 2011 that improved early in the season: “It was the same as this year. There are a number of positions in our starting 22, or starting 28 when you talk about your six or seven core guys on special teams, where we’re really good. We need to stay healthy at those spots, but if we don’t we can go from being pretty good to just above average pretty quick just based on personnel.”
Well, he didn’t really answer the question, but that’s OK. That was six years ago. Hard to remember. And his answer is rock-solid. Health is paramount.
http://newsok.com/gundy-talks-comparisons-between-2011-and-2017/article/5549541
Gundy is right that the 2011 team was a bunch of ballhawkers. OSU averaged 3.4 takeaways a game that season and 1.8 turnovers. That’s an advantage of 1.6 per game. That’s big.
Since then, OSU’s quality seasons (10-3 in each of 2013, 2015, 2016) were marked by a substantial turnover advantage. OSU’s two mediocre seasons (8-5 in 2012, 7-6 in 2014) were marked by no turnover advantage or a turnover disadvantage.
2012: 1.7 turnovers, 1.7 takeaways;
2013: 1.4 turnovers, 2.5 takeaways;
2014: 1.7 turnovers, 1.1 takeaways;
2015: 1.2 turnovers, 2.2 takeaways;
2016: 1.1 turnovers, 1.9 takeaways.
Gundy on the offensive personnel differences: “We were a little more experienced in the running back spot with Joe Randle. Justice (Hill) is a good player, but obviously not as experienced as Joe. We had a group of wideouts then and Justin Blackmon, who would be comparable to James Washington. The strategy that we talk about, based on what our personnel is and what we think we can do in all three phases. There are a lot of similarities.”
Gundy is wrong. Hill is just as experienced, going into the season, as was Randle. Randle as a 2010 freshman carried 82 times and had 37 catches. His yards from scrimmage totaled 879 yards, with three touchdowns. Then Randle became a star, rushing for 1,216 and 1,417 yards the next two seasons. Those two years, he had 3,123 scrimmage yards and 40 touchdowns.
Hill last season as a freshman rushed for 1,142 yards on 206 carries. So he’s ahead of the Joe Randle curve.
One big difference that supports Gundy’s theory – Jeremy Smith was a solid backup in 2011, rushing for 646 yards in his third of five Cowboy seasons. No experienced backup has emerged behind Hill.
Gundy on why this defense is better than in 2011: “I just think we have more depth. I think that we’ve recruited longer and that our culture is in place so we have more depth than we did then. We’ve got to get a couple of corners. We need to get a couple of guys that we trust that can play. We’re going to play multiple guys, but at some points we need to get a couple of guys in there in key situations that are fresh that you trust because you’ve got to be able to cover a little bit in this league. We’ve got to develop some guys. I think we’re going to be a lot better at those two positions in October than we are Sept. 1. It would be difficult to think we could be that good on Sept. 1 because a lot of those guys haven’t played. It’s difficult because there’s no substitution for experience and we don’t have any experience right now at those positions.”
Gundy seemed to talk himself out of his original statement. Cornerback and in the Big 12 is no place to be suspect. If the OSU corners come through, the Cowboys could be quite good defensively. If the OSU corners don’t come through, all bets are off.
Gundy on any positions in 2011 that improved early in the season: “It was the same as this year. There are a number of positions in our starting 22, or starting 28 when you talk about your six or seven core guys on special teams, where we’re really good. We need to stay healthy at those spots, but if we don’t we can go from being pretty good to just above average pretty quick just based on personnel.”
Well, he didn’t really answer the question, but that’s OK. That was six years ago. Hard to remember. And his answer is rock-solid. Health is paramount.
http://newsok.com/gundy-talks-comparisons-between-2011-and-2017/article/5549541
