OSU-Colorado: Gundy learns his lesson
Part of the fun of football is second-guessing coaches. Punt or go for it? Run or pass? Blitz or play back?
Coaches have a huge impact on their games. But sometimes we forget the most fundamental — and most important — part of a coach’s job.
Deciding who to play.
OSU's Alex Cate (3) passes during the college football game between Oklahoma State University (OSU) and the University of Colorado (CU) at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Okla., Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009. Photo by Nate Billings, The Oklahoman
Mike Gundy failed that part of his job Thursday night, and everyone in Boone Pickens Stadium knew it. Including Gundy. With Zac Robinson sidelined by a sore shoulder, Gundy chose Alex Cate to start at quarterback against Colorado. Afterwards, Gundy would basically call it some kind of lifetime service award, that Cate, in his fourth season on campus, deserved the chance to lead the Cowboys.
Nice gesture. But you know the rest. Cate was awful and the Cowboys were awful around him. Cate completed none of his nine passes, Colorado had one interception and could have had two more, and the Buffs led 14-10 at halftime.
OSU eventually won 31-28, but only because 26-year-old sophomore Brandon Weeden came to the rescue. Listed as the third-team quarterback and used as the third-team QB, Weeden of course was no such thing. He moved the OSU offense the entire second half, completing 10 of 15 passes for 168 yards and two touchdowns.
Weeden quarterbacked eight possessions in the second half. Three touchdowns, a lost fumble by Kendall Hunter, one punt, one run-out-the-clock and two fourth-and-short failures in Colorado territory.
The difference in the quality of the two quarterbacks was clear. A friend of mine said, correctly, that even a first-time football watcher, someone who didn’t know how the game is played, could be given a 10-second primer and figure out immediately that Weeden was the superior quarterback.
In the first half, OSU either reached or started in Colorado territory five possessions, yet came away with just a solitary field goal. Gundy flirted with disaster in a game that could have ruined OSU’s season
So why did he do it? Oh, probably some humanity. Some belief that Cate did indeed deserve a chance. But all kinds of guys work hard. That’s no reason to hand them the reins of the wagon train. Maybe Gundy thought Cate was a safer pick, that OSU could just run it down CU’s throat. But that theory doesn’t really hold, because there was nothing safe about Cate’s passes, while Weeden never was rattled and never threw a bad ball or made an obvious poor decision.
Probably, Gundy was just arrogant, thinking the Cowboys could beat Colorado no matter what. He certainly called the game that way.
Gundy fell on his sword for OSU’s fourth-down failures — 0-for-3 on fourth-and-short. But those plays weren’t the kooky calls. Gundy’s repeated asking of Cate to do something he obviously couldn’t do, that was the problem.
OSU's Brandon Weeden (4) celebrates with his teammates including Tolu Moala (59), right, after the college football game between Oklahoma State University (OSU) and the University of Colorado (CU) at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Okla., Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009. OSU won, 31-28. Photo by Nate Billings, The Oklahoman
Greatest example, and how the game turned. OSU led 10-7 (thanks to Perrish Cox’s punt return for a TD) late in the second quarter and faced 2nd-and-5 from the Buffalo 36-yard line, probably 1:20 left before halftime. At that point, Cate was 0-for-7 with one interception and a couple of close calls the Buffs easily could have picked.
The choice was clear. Keep running the ball. Run Keith Toston and Spud Hunter, get another first down, maybe two, into field goal range. Get to the 20-yard line, let Dan Bailey do his thing and go to halftime up 13-7. Give Brandon Weeden a little cushion, because by then Gundy had to know a QB change was necessary.
Instead, Gundy orders a pass. Incomplete. And another pass. Incomplete. Fourth-and-5, Bailey is asked to kick a 53-yard field goal, which is just out of his range. Colorado blocks the kick, then finds lightning in a bottle for the only time of the night. Cody Hawkins takes CU on a 64-yard TD drive, scoring with 22 seconds left for a 14-10 halftime lead.
That’s a 10-point swing, all on Gundy.
At the end of the day, this was a glorious night for the Cowboys (Alex Cate excluded). They won, and they learned a valuable lesson.
This game showed that any team that loses its starting quarterback is in trouble. We’ve seen it all over college football, and the Cowboys now know it well, too. They escaped with a victory, and next time, their coach knows the very first step toward victory.
Play the best player.
-------------Berry Tramel can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including AM-640 and FM-98.1. You can e-mail him here and follow him on Twitter @BerryTramel. Visit Berry's website here.
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Comments
I DO NOT KNOW WHERE BARRY, AFTER ALL OF HIS MISS STATEMENTS ABOUT FOOTBALL CAN HAVE THE AUDACITY TO CRITIZED ANY ONE
Arrogant!!! All you talking heads said the Cowboys should win against Colorado even without a quarterback. Who is arrogant?
Bewwy go back to the liquor bottle. Your analysis shows that your drunken stupor is wearing off. When will you Jokelahoman writers realize that OSU is for real and are gonna be challenging your beloved Sooners every year? Uh Oh! What’s that? OSU can play defense now? Prepare yourself Berry. Your boys are lookin at a possibility of staying home for the holidays.
I think you over looked the obvious. Gundy doubted Cate’s ability to handle the pressure, but he still hoped a dedicated kid could have a moment in the sun. If Cate didn’t make the cut it would give him an oportunity to see how Weeden would do under pressure. Either senario Gundy comes out the good guy. If we lost no big deal we still probably end up with the Cotton Bowl or the Alamo Bowl. OSU wins out odds are they still get the Cotton Bowl. Either way Bowl game in Texas.
Gundy’s biggest miss was understanding Colorado’s ability to control the line of scrimmage on defence. That being said he still pulled out a late season conference win with a pair of untested quarterbacks. No body is perfect. But somebody is likely to beat OU in Norman this year. With a roster plagued by injury and suspension. On top of that the guy has a good heart. Us Pokes are proud.
A question I have not heard anywhere….Why not give Zac Robinson a token start on Senior Night, last home game, etc.? He could have handed off to Tosten, been instantly replaced, and suffered no harm. THAT would have been an appropriate “lifetime service award” !
What Trammel’s “column” fails to articulate is that Cate practiced better. Gundy and staff knew that Weeden was the better player but what message does it send to the team if Gundy starts Weeden instead of Cate? That practice doesn’t matter? That I will play the best guy no matter what? It backfired at bit and Gundy had to play Weeden despite his poor practice habits because he owed it to the team to get a win. But I would imagine after the season is over, Gundy will have a heart-to-heart with Weeden about leading by example and that includes putting forth the appropriate effort in practice. With all that said, Weeden, for one game anyway, looks legit.
Mike Gundy knows what he is doing, and he will do it again in the future if the same thing happen again, because that is the way Mike Gundy run his team. He want players that are hard working, decent, have class and are team players. Not trash talking, showboating, and selfish players. And remember – He is The Man.
He made his choice, it didn’t work out and he made a change. Unlike the Oklahoman, which chooses to keep Barry on, when it obviously just isn’t working out.
Berry us correct on this one. Gundy took a chance he didn’t need to. Then he should have changed sooner, and I also think he should have let Zac start then pull him.
Berry,
Hindsight is 20/20. You are evaluating Cate and Weeden AFTER the game! What evidence shows that Weeden ever outperformed Cate in practice. The open scrimmages in the spring and one in the Fall have statistics and Weeden never showed what he did last Thursday night. I remember Stoops starting Hybl over White, but that’s different…
The OSU fan who mentions Hybl getting the nod of White is correct. Both were good quarterbacks though and both started a season each. Both ended up injured at some point in 2001 and 2002. Either QB wold have been successful with the team they had to work with then. I see the same correlations with Weeden and Robinson, with the team they get to work with from Stillwater. Starting Cate wasn’t a mistake, he had the better practice showing and had been in the system longer. That’s the logical choice, not a mistake. It only became a mistake when he didn’t produce and that mistake was corrected with him getting benched in the second half.
To the other fan that said Gundy should have started Zac for one play on Senior Night, that would have bee nice, but Zac probably was not in a safe condition to be placed on the field at all. I’m a Sooner fan, but I’d rather OSU bring a healthy team to Norman than a gimped-up team like we have right now due to plenty of injuries. If it’s OSU’s year this year, then so be it, it’s one game.
I believe the reason why Cate started was due to the fact that he has been at OSU for 4 years…he knows the offense better. Obviously, Weeden definitley has the physical abilities. I sure hope Gundy learned his lesson