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The Day After - Time To Chill

At 10-1, I've never seen more pessimistic fans.

By Gerald Tracy III
Rob Ferguson-USA TODAY Sports

1) The Big 12 Isn't Done, Yet.

Although there is no undefeated team in the Big 12, there's still a good chance one gets in. Notre Dame certainly didn't look good this weekend and Stanford could still upset the Irish. Mix that with the Pac 12 not having a team with less than two losses and a one loss OSU/OU/BU could definitely get in. For Cowboy fans, remember to be fully supporting TCU and Texas the next two weeks, because no matter what happens in Bedlam, it won't matter unless Baylor loses.

2) We Need To Talk

J.W. Walsh isn't going to "fix" this team, not that it even really needs fixing in the quarterback area. Mason Rudolph has been everything any Cowboy fan could really want, lets be honest. Some of the fans at the game and on Twitter were calling for the benching of Rudolph to fix the RUN game. Because that makes sense. Even when Walsh was in during the game, Baylor seemed to have him figured out. Oklahoma State's eight rush yards weren't the product of Rudolph missing a few passes, it was the product of Chris Carson possibly being the worst back since Jeremy Smith, he may be even worse. Also, when this happens:

This 400 yard game was Rudolph's third. Weeden had seven and every other quarterback in OSU history had four total. Yeah, Rudolph threw a lot of prayers up, but there are two arguments on that:

  • They were accurate and in places where only the receivers could catch them, meaning no turnovers from the sophomore quarterback.
  • When you can't run the ball and you're stuck in constant second and third and long, you're limited to about three routes. Those are the easiest ones with the receiver group OSU has.
So remember, the next time you think it's the quarterback that needs to be fixed, look at the guy they have to hand it off to. Neither of those two throwers were going to win the game with that run production.

3) Defense

There was a time where a lot of media and fans thought this defense could be the best in the conference. There's times I'd agree. But after last night, they might not be the third best. This unit depends so much on Emmanuel Ogbah sacking the quarterback twice a game that if he doesn't, the secondary gets exposed like it did. It didn't look great at any time last night, to be honest. Baylor got stuck in third and short constantly and literally ran the draw about eight of those times. Instead of adjusting to the offensive playcalling, OSU just acted as if it had no idea what Baylor was doing. After a defensive showing like that, you can probably stop worrying about Glenn Spencer leaving for a head coaching job this year.

4) Three Blind Mice

I don't want to say much here other than that's my new nickname for the running backs (Childs, Carson and Taylor). Because that's what it seems like OSU is putting out there. It really doesn't matter how bad this offensive line may or may not be when the backs seem to just dance around a bit in the background and ignore any holes that will open up. OSU should go find some new backs for next year, offer up free playing time because anything has to be better than eight yards in a game.

5) Fans And Players

I was at the game. After Baylor scored its first two touchdowns, the fans seemed to have lost interest and never fully gained it back. That's disappointing for players, coaches and other fans out there. A top 10 team with a fan base wanting respect, that probably wasn't the best showing. However, that doesn't mean players should go and tweet this, especially after they didn't have a great game either.

6) Game Day

That being said, game day is in Stillwater in a week. Bedlam could mean a Big 12 title for OSU or perhaps playing for a New Years Six game. Either way, the crowd should be a sellout and should be the craziest game in Stillwater all year. Get ready, Cowboys, a 11-1 regular season is nothing to hang your hat on.

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