I told Sam I would have a Baylor recap up Monday, well 11:15pm is still Monday damnit. I'm going to do do everything I can to keep this concise, but we'll see where it takes us. The first thing I'm going to address is the defense, which played pretty damn good. Yeah, I hear you, (mainly OU fans) "King you ignorant slut, you gave up 622 yards and 24 points, only a dildo would think that was a good defensive performance".
True, we gave up a bunch of yards, but the last time I checked the game isn't decided by who had more yards, it's who had more points. When you look at the points, it was a beating of epic proportions, and was over by the end of the first quarter. I think everyone forgets that when you're down, oh say, 21 points after the first quarter, 35 after the second, and 46 after the third, you're going to have to play fast and throw a bunch to try and keep it respectable. As a corollary, when you have 5 scoring drives under one minute (read that again, 5 times we scored touchdowns and the drive lasted less than 60 seconds) your defense is going to be on the field a ton, and will probably have some yards put up on it.
We had big individual performances out of Broderick Brown (including a sack and a fumble recovery), Markelle Martin, Justin Gilbert (1 int and 2 breakups) and Daytawion Lowe, who led the team with 8 tackles. The line (especially the ends Jones and Blatnick) is really starting to become a force, and our secondary is on par with any team, including those with ESS EEE CEE speed.
Let's hump de jump and keep it rolling...
The difference between this defense and one's from, say the past 10 years, is that this one can run with anyone. Sure, we'll give up some yards 'n such, but we're stingy on the points. I'll guarantee you, if this year's Baylor squad faced off against the 2008 Cowboys, the final score would be something like 60-58.
The offense was on fucking fire against the Bears, going off for 601 total yards, 59 points, 8 touchdowns, and only 1 turnover. There really isn't much to say here, nothing to defend. I'm saying it right now, if we make it to New Orleans and play either Bama or LSU, we will score 40 on them. God damn right I said it. Looking to some individual performances, Joseph Randle is a man, has 8 TD's over the past 3 games, and is a better back than ESPN darling Trent Richardson (yeah, I said that shit also. Richardson is just like Mark Ingram, a decent, not great back, whom ESPN loves and will pimp for the Heisman). Herschel Sims finally showed what he can do, getting 8 carries for 104 yards and a TD. Smiff was doing his thug thizzle before injuring his hand (and he may or may not miss KSU, but should be back by Tech) and still managed 77 yards on 3 carries.
Special teams was pretty good, no mistakes, made all the kicks, what more can you ask for? Well, I guess you could ask for a kickoff returned for a TD, or a punt return for a TD, but BeBe didn't punt on it's first 5 possessions (and still somehow didn't score a point during that time), and didn't have a score til the 3rd quarter, so chances to run one back were limited.
Finally I'd like to address RG3. He's a punk ass, he cries like a small girl, and he's Oklahoma State's bitch. I love him jawing at our players, and then being shut out for 3 quarters. Oh, and the threw 2 picks, both of which led directly to points for us. I know the media loves him, but he's just another Vince Young type QB, tough shit til you hit him in the mouth, then he crumbles like Rome. He'll be a bust at the next level, and probably out of the league in 3 years.
Now then, for my other musings I promised you. I'm going full sunshine pumping mode. Why? Because, for the first time since 1945 we are 8-0. For the first time in the Big 12 era (and probably the 80 years prior) we are favored to win the conference. For the first time since the 80's we have a shot at making the National Championship game, and all of these things could come crashing down Saturday. I don't think they will, but I'm not gonna worry about that now. Now I'm gonna love every second of the ride. Think about it, a win this weekend and we are your 9-0, 2nd ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys. Been a while since we could say that.
I know earlier in the season I would freak out during the game, but it took me a while to get used to what I was seeing. We didn't come out flat against UT, we went to fucking work. That's not flat we saw against Mizzou, it was business. We have the mentality of an NFL team, we know we're good, we know what we need to do to win, and we do it. How many times in the history of this program do you think we come back to win down 17 at Texas A&M (though, this year everybody's doing it). None, before this year. It goes without saying, but it needs saying, that Brandon Weeden is the best thing to have ever happened to this school. He had a cannon of an arm, is cooler than Miles Davis, and is a 5 star field general. Without him, none of this is possible. Z-Rob was a great qb for us, but if he were the quarterback this year I don't think we could do it.
Lastly two quick things. I don't give a shit how many wins one or the other coach has, (and if you knew how I felt when he was hired you'd know how much convincing it took to get me to believe this) Mike Gundy is the best coach we've ever had. Period. Also, I don't care what anyone else thinks about him (especially other fans), Boone Pickens is a straight pimp. Just remember, (and I'm as guilty of this as anyone), when you're paying a higher price for something and you want to blame ol' T-Boone, that's fine. But without him, we're still fighting just to make a bowl each year, instead of fighting for championships.
Enjoy this time Cowboy fans, you've earned it.
Go Pokes Mother Fuckers