Here Come Bullets: Recapping Kansas

See below for recaps, highlights and thoughts on the Cowboys’ matchup against the Kansas Jayhawks:

Around the Media:

Defensive Coordinator Glenn Spencer on the second half defense: “We talked about it at halftime. Guys, we’ve got to set up. The offense is struggling, we’ve got to set them up with a short field. That’s why it’s a team win. Again, it’s a bunch of garbage when people try to say offense did this, defense did that. You have no idea how it works together, no idea if you’re talking like that. We worked together and had a great win at a place that’s not easy to play, and that’s really — I don’t know the last time I was up here and we had separation like that before.” - Tulsa World

Photo gallery courtesy of the Tulsa World.

The Tulsa World’s Guerin Emig on Ben Grogan’s breaking OSU’s all-time scoring record: Let’s, though, give Saturday’s game ball to the Cowboys kicker who sang the postgame alma mater, walked over to his personal cheering section and shared some precious moments with his family, friends and girlfriend. They all wore orange No. 19 jerseys. They carried signs. Cameras surrounded the scene and popped away.

It was good to see Chris Carson come back from injury and step up. Here’s what Offensive Coordinator Mike Yurcich has to say about it: “It seemed to me that Chris ran with a little fire in him. Seemed like he had an edge. It was fun watching him out there.” - Tulsa World

Mark Cooper of the Tulsa World on the D-line going “sackless”: Oklahoma State’s defensive line has been a highlight of the team this year, ranking among the best in the country and the Big 12 in tackles for loss and sacks. It wasn’t the case against KU, as Oklahoma State failed to record a sack for the first time since 2013. The last time OSU’s defense did not have a sack was in Bedlam 2013 — a span of 33 games. KU rolled with quarterback Montell Cozart the whole game, and while Cozart did not make many plays downfield with his legs — rushing for 30 yards on six attempts — he did extend plays when he did not release the ball quickly.

Gundy commented on how Kansas’ defense on James Washington opened up the offense for other Cowboy weapons: “Kansas made a decision to play a guy over the top of James today and limited his ability to get the ball, which allowed us to run the football. And then your slot receiver, which was (Jalen) McCleskey, gets essentially man coverage.” - Tulsa World

Photo Gallery of OSU’s top 10 all-time scorers.

10 Thoughts and the Game Notebook from Pistols Firing Blog.

Vincent Taylor wants the ball on offense... I mean... I’d be down for that: “Like I told everybody else, when Yurcich is ready to put in a package, I'm ready for it. Whenever he calls my number, I'll be ready.” - NewsOK

Kyle Fredrickson of NewsOK on sacks: He lost a fumble after the first hit, and KU took a first quarter lead a play later with a 68-yard touchdown strike to receiver LaQuvionte Gonzalez. Rudolph was sacked twice in the second on short drives that ended with punts, and another two times in the third.

Gundy on the laterals: “We've been kind of the lateral kings. I'm guessing we'll probably make national media (highlights). I'd vote for one lateral, then tuck it away and see what you can get.” - NewsOK

Gundy on Justice Hill and the run game: "He is exciting and can make guys miss," Cowboy coach Mike Gundy said. "The difference between this year and last year is our ability to run the ball when (defenses are) protecting against the pass."

Game recap from The O’Colly.

Chris Carson on his leap over a KU defender: “I just wanted to see if I still had it,” Carson said. “Last year when I did it I was probably 15 pounds lighter. I just wanted to see if I still had it in me. It was kind of nerve-racking when I jumped up like that.” - The O’Colly

Another Photo Gallery.

Game recap from the Kansas SB Nation site.

Cinematic highlights:

Plays of the game:

Gundy’s Weekly Press Conference:

Cowboys Ride for Free:

Joel Penfield’s unsung hero of the game is Chris Carson: He had missed the last 4 games with a hand injury, but came back and didn’t miss a beat. Carson was the starting running back at the beginning of the year, but has been relegated to a backup role with the success of Justice Hill in his absence. But, Carson came in and had a substantial impact in short yardage and 3rd down situations. He had 8 rushes for 59 yards and 2 scores, as well as 2 catches for 27 yards and a touchdown.

MVP Draft Weekly Recap

The CRFF staff grades the uniforms from the game. Spoiler alert... we didn’t love them.

The Play of the Game

What we learned: Um, is there going to be a point at which we all sit down and reevaluate this whole “OSU’s defensive line is really good” thing? Is that point maybe giving up 204 yards rushing to a team that came in averaging 95? Kansas gained 6.2 yards per carry on Saturday. THAT SEEMS NOT GREAT. Look, I get that the defense was challenged with Montana Cozart slinging the ball all over the yard and all, but come on. Pitt is an excellent running team. Texas is an excellent running team. Giving up hundreds of yards to each of those teams is something you can live with. But Kansas? The Jayhawks ran for more yards against Oklahoma State than they gained on the ground against Rhode Island. Even Texas Tech bottled up the Kansas run game. This was, by far, the most disappointing aspect of the game. Inspired or not, the defensive front has to do better than that.

GAME RECAP