Before moving on to talking about KSU, I wanted to leave some last thoughts about Saturday's game.
1. To be the only school to win 4 in a row in Austin is a pretty good achievement. You know that has to just eat at Texas alums, which doubles the pleasure of talking about it.
2. Conference road wins are a big deal, and generally tougher to come by early in the season when teams are closer to full strength and still full of hope and aspirations. Third ranked TCU needed a really lucky break to win in Lubbock. In OSU's case the win can be attributed to the fact that defense always travels.
3. Lost in the discussion about OSU's conservative play calling after the interceptions has been the reason that the approach was a winnable and reasonable strategy: the Cowboy defense held Texas to negative yardage in the 4th quarter. The defense had totally shut down the Texas offense, giving coaches complete confidence that they could win the game. Stop for a minute and consider what you just read. That is an amazing development to be able to trust the defense to close out a game on the road, not just for OSU, but for any school in the Big 12. Then add in the fact that it was against Texas on the road. That is new ground for the program.
4. The headset issue was very bizzarre, and anyone that does not think it played a factor for the OSU staff, particularly the offensive coordinator, they are fooling themselves. The birds eye view allows the coaches in the box to see how the defense is moving pre and post snap. It is easier to see where to attack. Communicating that in real time is very valuable. Having to move a coordinator to the field level who is used to seeing the entire field is a major change. Interestingly, both Texas coordinators normally coach from the field. Losing headsets would not be as big of an issue. Quite odd that Texas could not get them working for OSU's sideline, but the Texas side was fine. Also odd that the defensive ones were down from the start and the offensive ones got progressively worse at the end of the 1st quarter. I am not into conspiracies, besides it is not like there is a former OSU coach with an axe to grind that could possibly have insight into the Cowboy staff's game day approach that could help glean a competitive advantage. (Bone for conspiracy theorists...)
5. The ultimate difference in that game was Gundy over Strong. Not only did Charlie Strong lose his cool and directly put OSU in position to kick the tying field goal, his timeout before 3rd down on their last possession allowed OSU to save a timeout. That timeout was used so the game would not end on an offensive penalty and the 10 second runoff. Further, not only fid Strong lose it, but Coach Gundy made the call to trust his defense and kicker to win the game, and played the last few possessions accordingly. The Texas punter had looked shaky earlier, and the staff did not put anyone back deep to return. They showed 11 men at the line of scrimmage. It is obvious from the TV shots that their punter looked up toward the line of scrimmage as he went to catch the ball and subsequently muffled it. It is impossible to say it was a direct result of the alignment, but they appear connected. Here is a question: why would Coach Strong want to put his punter in that position given how his other kicker had blown the previous game and his punter had been griped at for his earlier shank? Why would the OSU staff be more than obliged to show extra pressure?
1. To be the only school to win 4 in a row in Austin is a pretty good achievement. You know that has to just eat at Texas alums, which doubles the pleasure of talking about it.
2. Conference road wins are a big deal, and generally tougher to come by early in the season when teams are closer to full strength and still full of hope and aspirations. Third ranked TCU needed a really lucky break to win in Lubbock. In OSU's case the win can be attributed to the fact that defense always travels.
3. Lost in the discussion about OSU's conservative play calling after the interceptions has been the reason that the approach was a winnable and reasonable strategy: the Cowboy defense held Texas to negative yardage in the 4th quarter. The defense had totally shut down the Texas offense, giving coaches complete confidence that they could win the game. Stop for a minute and consider what you just read. That is an amazing development to be able to trust the defense to close out a game on the road, not just for OSU, but for any school in the Big 12. Then add in the fact that it was against Texas on the road. That is new ground for the program.
4. The headset issue was very bizzarre, and anyone that does not think it played a factor for the OSU staff, particularly the offensive coordinator, they are fooling themselves. The birds eye view allows the coaches in the box to see how the defense is moving pre and post snap. It is easier to see where to attack. Communicating that in real time is very valuable. Having to move a coordinator to the field level who is used to seeing the entire field is a major change. Interestingly, both Texas coordinators normally coach from the field. Losing headsets would not be as big of an issue. Quite odd that Texas could not get them working for OSU's sideline, but the Texas side was fine. Also odd that the defensive ones were down from the start and the offensive ones got progressively worse at the end of the 1st quarter. I am not into conspiracies, besides it is not like there is a former OSU coach with an axe to grind that could possibly have insight into the Cowboy staff's game day approach that could help glean a competitive advantage. (Bone for conspiracy theorists...)
5. The ultimate difference in that game was Gundy over Strong. Not only did Charlie Strong lose his cool and directly put OSU in position to kick the tying field goal, his timeout before 3rd down on their last possession allowed OSU to save a timeout. That timeout was used so the game would not end on an offensive penalty and the 10 second runoff. Further, not only fid Strong lose it, but Coach Gundy made the call to trust his defense and kicker to win the game, and played the last few possessions accordingly. The Texas punter had looked shaky earlier, and the staff did not put anyone back deep to return. They showed 11 men at the line of scrimmage. It is obvious from the TV shots that their punter looked up toward the line of scrimmage as he went to catch the ball and subsequently muffled it. It is impossible to say it was a direct result of the alignment, but they appear connected. Here is a question: why would Coach Strong want to put his punter in that position given how his other kicker had blown the previous game and his punter had been griped at for his earlier shank? Why would the OSU staff be more than obliged to show extra pressure?
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