A&M to the Cotton? How does that impact OSU?
Orie Lemon is looking to finish his senior season with a bowl game victory.
by Brandon Chatmon
bchatmon@opubco.com
Follow me on Twitter @BChatmon
Short answer: It doesn’t.
If you notice I didn’t even list the Cotton Bowl as a possibility for Oklahoma State in Monday’s paper. Here’s another look at OSU’s bowl possibilities.
Insight Bowl: A Bedlam loss and Texas A&M’s sweep of Nebraska and Texas has made this a legitimate option for the Pokes. OU and Nebraska end up at the Fiesta and Alamo Bowls. With Texas A&M already accepting a bid to the Cotton, that leaves OSU to be taken by the Insight Bowl as the No. 4 team in the Big 12 but only if Missouri isn’t picked by the Alamo. If they are, the Insight may prefer the loser of the Big 12 title game. The Insight also may choose Missouri over the Pokes.
Potential opponents: Big Ten No. 4 or 5 (likely Michigan)
Holiday Bowl: If the Insight or Alamo selects Missouri over OSU, the Cowboys could end up in the Holiday Bowl as the Big 12’s No. 5 team with Nebraska, OU, Texas A&M and Missouri being selected before the Pokes.
Potential opponents: Pac 10 No. 3 (Washington)
The Alamo Bowl: The Alamo Bowl could take the loser of the Big 12 title game or may pick Missouri in an effort to keep from having OSU play Arizona, a team scheduled to visit Boone Pickens Stadium next September. With Arizona appearing to be a lock for San Antonio, that may change the Alamo Bowl’s thinking in terms of inviting the Cowboys.
Potential opponents: Pac 10 No. 2 (Arizona)
Power Lunch Chat Recap: Brandon Chatmon
A week off will do the Pokes some good
by Brandon Chatmon
bchatmon@opubco.com
Follow me on Twitter @BChatmon
Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy seemed in good spirits during his final Sunday teleconference of the regular season. The conversation also revealed just how beat up the Pokes would have been had they advanced to the Big 12 Championship game.
Gundy said receiver Justin Blackmon would have been unlikely to play with his ankle injury and quarterback Brandon Weeden would have been limited with his ankle injury. Gundy then stated his squad should be back to near 100 percent after two weeks.
“We’ll get Nick Martinez back in two or three weeks, Blackmon has swelling but he’ll be fine in 10 days or whatever, Weeden has a 5, 6, 7 day lateral ankle sprain,” Gundy said. “We’ll be a healthy football team in two weeks.”
Blackmon’s toughness and the understanding he could do no further damage allowed the sophomore to play. Gundy said he would not have played Blackmon if he could have injured himself even further.
“We took into consideration if there was any type of future endangerment to him and there was none,” Gundy said. “Or else I wouldn’t have let him on the field.”
OSU’s players will have the week off with the opportunity to be normal college students for the next seven days, no practice, no lifting, just class and studying as they will get a chance to recover from the physical toll of a Big 12 schedule.
OU 47, OSU 41: Thoughts and observations
Any other OSU fans feeling frustrated?
by Brandon Chatmon
bchatmon@opubco.com
Follow me on Twitter @BChatmon
—This ^^^^ says it all for OSU fans
—The Cowboys had their opportunities to win the game, they just didn’t capitalize. The defense had two seperate chances to get a stop and hand the ball back to the offense with a two-point deficit. And the offense got the ball with a change to drive for a game-winning touchdown and turned it over.
—You have to give Brent Venables a lot of credit. Great gameplan, well executed.
—Brodrick Brown’s tip to Shaun Lewis may be the best play I’ve ever seen. Simply outstanding.
Great, great play by Brodrick Brown
—The Sooners defensive line was better than advertised. They got consistent pressure on Brandon Weeden and took advantage of their opportunites to make big plays. Austin Box’s interception was a perfect example, a great diving catch by a linebacker.
–It’s not like OU’s offense was significantly better than OSU’s. They just ran 41 more plays. OU averaged 5.5 yards per play, OSU averaged 5.7 yards per play.
—I felt like Kendall Hunter and the rest of the Pokes running game needed to get more involved. 23 rushes for 122 yards. I thought Jeremy Smith in particular ran really well. Hunter, Smith and Randle each averaged at least 4.2 yards per carry.
—Speaking of playing well: Shaun Lewis. Big time players show up in big games. 12 tackles including one tackle for loss and two interceptions including one for a touchdown. He is going to be something special.
He's a true freshman?
—You can’t allow 16 of 27 conversions on third down. You will not win games doing that, it’s just that simple.
—The Pokes run defense was solid. OU had 45 carries for 120 yards (2.7 yards per carry).
—OU simply brought more pressure than OSU had seen all season. The Sooners’ defense was fast, athletic and quick to the ball. It seemed like their speed caught OSU’s offense, particularly Weeden, off guard early in the game.
—Justin Blackmon was clearly not 100 percent but he still produced 8 catches for 105 yards and one touchdown. I’m not sure if he was 100 percent much would have changed. OU did a great job with their coverages on Blackmon combined with the pressure on Weeden.
Another 100-yard outing with a touchdown for Blackmon
—Josh Cooper is a really good, and overlooked, playmaker on the offense. 10 catches for 84 yards and one touchdown.
—Kevin Wilson did a great job for OU. I can think of two play calls that directly led to touchdowns. (Millard’s TD run and Hanna’s TD catch). On Millard’s run, Orie Lemon moved out of the middle due to motion out of the backfield and on Hanna’s TD, OU caught OSU’s safeties peaking at the run and they paid for it.
—I expected Joe Randle to get more involved but he never could get the screen game going tonight.
—Justin Gilbert’s roughing the kicker penalty was a killer… but it was good to see him come back and make a big-time play with his kickoff return late in the game. BTW, as fast as the Sooners are, they weren’t going to catch him.
Gilbert made a mistake but made up for it
—Another great game for Orie Lemon. 12 tackles in his final game at BPS.
—A lot of people will remember Brodrick Brown’s struggles late in the game (dropped INT, Kenney’s TD) but he made two plays earlier in the game which kept OSU in it. The tipped pass to Shaun Lewis and his interception of Jones in the first quarter were both Sportscenter Top Ten plays and deservingly so.
—Andrew McGee played well as well. 7 tackles including one tackle for loss, 3 pass breakups.
—Once Weeden settled down, I thought he played well. When you consider the pressure he was under and the mobility he had to show just to get some of those passes off… again, I thought he played fairly well. The tipped pass and interception in the fourth was a killer but just a great play by the defender.
—The offensive line was much better in the second half. It struggled in the first half and ended up having to make some subs for the first time all season. The continuity up front was a big key to OSU’s season.
—A huge positive for OSU is the fact this is still a very young roster even though they performed at a high level this year. They will learn from this loss and it actually could pay big dividends in the next few years.
—Bottom line: If I asked you if you would take 10-2 record for OSU this season before the season opener, would you have taken it? This loss stings, and it should, but OSU group has exceeded expectations and they will be even better in 2011.
Postgame Thoughts: Oklahoma, 47 – Oklahoma State, 41
Leave your postgame thoughts on Oklahoma State’s loss to Oklahoma. What did you think of the Cowboys’ performance? What bowl do you think OSU will play in?
Join our OSU-OU live game chat now
Bedlam: A prayer to the football Gods
Charles from Del City called our Soundoff Hotline with a request for the football Gods. Click the play button below to listen. And if you’d like to call our hotline and leave a message, here’s the number: (405) 586-0704
Bedlam Soundoff: Readers talk about OSU vs. OU
Here are some of the voicemails we received this week leading up to Saturday’s Bedlam game. View our staff predictions here. If you’d like to call our hotline and leave a message here’s the number: (405) 586-0704
Predictions: OSU vs. OU
Here are our staff predictions for Oklahoma at Oklahoma State:
Brandon Chatmon: Oklahoma State, 38-31
John Helsley: Oklahoma State, 41-35
Berry Tramel: Oklahoma State, 33-31
Jenni Carlson: Oklahoma State, 37-31
Jake Trotter: Oklahoma, 34-31
Mike Baldwin: Oklahoma State, 38-31
Mike Sherman: Oklahoma State, 37-35
Predict the final score of OSU-OU in the comments below. Can the Cowboys advance to their first Big 12 Championship game? What would a win against the Sooners this year mean to you?
Let’s hear your predictions in the comments below. Join our live chat at http://newsok.com/sports/ around game time and chat with Brandon Chatmon, John Helsley and more.
Which team has the better coaching staff: OSU or OU?
The Oklahoman archive photos.
Which football team has the better coaching staff: Mike Gundy and Oklahoma State or Bob Stoops and Oklahoma?
