The Bipolar Cowboys Defeat the Wildcats; Look Amazing, Terrible, and Average in the Process
by samuelbryant on Sep 9, 2011 9:30 AM CDT
in Oklahoma State Cowboys Football
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If you had an appointment, or a class, or mowed the yard, or did something that took your attention away from the Cowboy victory from exactly the 11:30 minute mark of the 2nd quarter through the 4:00 mark of the 3rd quarter then you saw an almost flawless game. The great Cowboys controlled tempo, played with balance, applied pressure, had the Wildcats on their heels, and dominated the matchup on their way to a 37-7 victory for the 37:30 minutes they were on the field. Unfortunately, the great Cowboys tagged out for a while and their tag-team-partner, the average-to-bad Cowboys, managed a 0-7 loss for the 22:30 minutes of time they took a metaphorical dump on Lewis Field.
Here is the breakdown of the 3 different games that took place last night.
| Possesions 1-3 | Wildcats | Cowboys |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 0 | 21 |
| Plays | 15 | 31 |
| Total Yards | 30 | 238 |
| Yards per play | 2.0 | 7.7 |
| TOP | 7:17 | 11:10 |
| Possessions 4-8 | Wildcats | Cowboys |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 7 | 0 |
| Plays | 32 | 29 |
| Total Yards | 201 | 112 |
| Yards per play | 6.3 | 3.9 |
| TOP | 12:37 | 9:54 |
| Possessions 9-11 | Wildcats | Cowboys |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 7 | 16 |
| Plays | 17 | 25 |
| Total Yards | 127 | 189 |
| Yards per play | 7.5 | 7.6 |
| TOP | 5:41 | 10:18 |
The Cowboys under Gundy are notorious for taking their foot off the accelerator, sometimes to a fault, and for now I think we can chalk the middle 22:30 of the game up to that... I keep telling myself.
Jump for some positives
Overall though, there really isn't a whole lot to be disappointed in. I know that we are tortured Cowboy fans and we focus on indicators that this will all come crumbling down, but Arizona is a solid, competitive team and for most of this matchup they looked completely overwhelmed and out of their league. In an effort to stick to this message (for now) how about some positives? The list of positives to take out of this one is almost overwhelming, but here is a sample of a few that stood out (and aren't quite as obvious as "Randle had a good game"):
- Kick Return Coverage - Arizona's longest return on 3 attempts was 22 yards. I honestly don't think we have held a team to that in 2 years.
- Defense in Pressure Situations - Sure, Arizona was 8-16 on third down conversions, but when the Cowboys D was really up against the wall they continued to step up. 1-3 on 4th downs and the huge stop on 4th down from the Cowboy 5 where Daytawion Lowe came up big on the pass deflection to momentarily preserve the shutout.
- Ball Control - Especially by the 4th quarter, the Cowboy line and the bruising running styles of Jeremy Smith and Joseph Randle took its toll on the Wildcats defense. This physical control, time control, and intimidation were what we were hoping Todd Monken could bring to the table, and it seems he has.
- Spread - 11 different receivers had catches. This is what will make all the preseason predictions of "Justin Blackmon taking a step back from last season because defenses will now key on him" look ridiculous. When there are that many threats on the field, you can't cheat to one side. The effect of this spread was most obvious on Blackmon's 2 TD catches on fade routes where Arizona was forced to leave an obviously overmatched DB in single coverage because there was too much else to worry about.
How about that for some "unique" positives? Also, I think Randle had a decent game, and Weeden broke some records.... oh and how about those uniforms?
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game within a game within a game
our offense is like inception. hopefully we don’t go another level deeper.
good comparison
Mmmmm Mmmmm Bitch!! - Dave Chappelle
Im that one guy that did that one thing at that one place that one time...
too many penalties on special teams
seems like we got called for a hold on about 4-5 kick/punt returns…anyone else notice this?
Some additional observations
1. Our Offensive Line completely dominated their D Line to the point that I almost felt sorry for them. Just abused them.
2. I love the way this team is running the football this year. Basically 30 carries for 180 yards between Randle and Smith. It’s not an afterthought, or something used to set up the pass and that gives me wood.
3. Elkins injury was scary. Could really feel his absence when he was out. I think he’s gonna be a special player. Our LB’s could be SICK come October
Oklahoma State on SBN
www.cowboysrideforfree.com
open field tackling
One positive I took away from it was how well we tackled in this game. Not too many wildcats broke tackles and it seemed like we managed to put a receiver on the turf the second they caught the ball. Also, only allowing 41 rushing yards is something i never thought I’d see out of OK State
Quick point.
Strangely enough, I was completely sober at last night’s game so my focus was unusually sharp…which is to say average.
Anyway, the ONLY reason this team looked like anything but a great team at times last was because of the penalties they racked up at the worst possible times.
The offense had its way with the Wildcats and would have continued that in the 2nd and 3rd quarters if some of those penalties wouldn’t have happened.
Two quick examples:
1. It was third and 1, Joseph Randle had an easy carry that should have moved the sticks but for some reason Jonathan Rush decided to hold his man. Why? No clue. But that turned that easy conversion into a 3rd and 11 and an eventual punt.
2. The coaches and players are still not familiar with this new crackback block penalty and it burned us a couple of times. Gundy took responsibility for that in the post game interview. And it’s an utterly ridiculous rule too. Something about downfield blockers can only cut down pursuing defenders if they are facing the sidelines and not if they are running inside? I don’t know. It’s stupid.
Anyway, take some of those crucial penalties away and this game would have looked much different. The playcalling was great, the effort and intensity was there, Mike Stoops blew up more than anyone predicted. All in all, I think it was a great game.
Bend dont break defense
Its scary sometimes, we always seem to give up some big plays. But only allowing 14 points is amazing. Like Jacob said the tackling has improved alot. Side note i had a great time on the game thread. We dont have a shit load of ppl on the blog but i like it that way. Because i know everybody here is a real fan. Thank you guys for making the blog perfect. I appreciate your hard work (Samuel, CincyJoe, Royal, AUKing, Yachoff) Go pokes!
Mmmmm Mmmmm Bitch!! - Dave Chappelle
Im that one guy that did that one thing at that one place that one time...
"Thank you guys for making the blog perfect."
Ditto. Mushy, but ditto.
For what it's worth...
by Something Witty on Sep 9, 2011 2:58 PM CDT up reply actions
soaking wet buldges and hugs to you too
glad you enjoy reading our stuff.
Cowboys Ride For Free, the best Oklahoma State blog on the net (and also the drunkest)
A Good Game, a Nice Win
There were few negatives during the game. Very few.
* Offensive penalties, specifically two 15-yard crack-back blocks and effort penalties in the kicking game – holding and blocking in the back – sapped much of the momentum during the second and third quarters.
* Weeden’s interception was due to “pressing” throwing the ball to someone who was covered. He tried to lead – I believe it was Tracy Moore – away from the back, but when the receiver didn’t move to the ball, the safety picked it off.
* Missed field goal. I guess Sharp ain’t Bailey. But he’s still a beast.
* Defense gave up a few “chunk” plays of 20+ yards, one of which went for a TD. If memory serves, Hedgepeth and Imade were the ones in coverage.
The positives certainly outweigh the negatives – as pointed out in the threads above. Most importantly, I never once felt that the game was out of OSU’s control. I thought Coach Monken’s play calling looked crisper with less delays on Thursday night than it did five days earlier against UL-LA.
My favorite observation was that on OSU’s 3rd drive of the game, Arizona’s defense was getting beat (again), but they were trying to throw show their toughness by slinging OSU’s ball carriers to the ground or making sure they hit receivers hard after an incomplete pass. But that mess stopped once OSU started playing smash-mouth football. I could see the Wildcats’ will and determination evaporate as the game progressed.
