OSU Scouting report: Iowa State
by Brandon Chatmon
bchatmon@opubco.com
In this story on gocyclones.com, Bobby La Gesse writes about ISU’s offense finally getting healthy.
In this video, Cyclones Mike O’Connell and Darius Darks talk about facing the Cowboys:
And here are highlights of the Cyclones’ loss to Texas A&M last Saturday:
Cox Gaining Notice
By John Helsley
We’ve witnessed the growth of Perrish Cox.
The outside world is catching on, too.
Cox has elevated himself from great return man to great defender as a senior, putting in the work necessary to be considered one of the best in the college game.
And that’s exactly the view, with Cox making the semifinalist cut for the Thorpe Award, given annually to the nation’s top defensive back and an award generated right here in Oklahoma City.
A first-team midseason All-American by SI.com, Cox leads the nation with 1.86 passes defended per game. And he’s defended some of the best, winning matchups with Georgia’s A.J. Green and Texas’ Jordan Shipley.
It’s what we expected of Cox when the Cowboys landed a much-hyped recruit out of Waco four years ago. There were thrills, for sure, but mostly in the return game, where he’s simply electric every time he touches the ball.
As a defender, however, Cox was always viewed as a great athlete playing corner.
Not anymore.
Credit the kid for a realizing he had to grow up. On the field and off the field. In the video room and in the weight room. Away from the parties and the other distractions of college life.
He’s a lesson that it’s never too late to reach for your potential. And it’s paying off. And will continue to pay off.
According to a report in the Tuesday edition of Sporting News Today, Cox is “winning over doubters who had questions about his character. He is making big plays in ‘09 and making good impressions off the field. He could rocket up draft boards if the background checks continue to come in clean and he makes a good impression in formal interviews with G.M.s, coaches and personnel men this spring. He came into the season as a late-round gamble and ultimately could go in the third round.”
Cox denies A.J. Green
OSU Scouting report: Iowa State
by Brandon Chatmon
bchatmon@opubco.com
In this story by Randy Peterson in the Des Moines Register, Iowa State is excited about the payday that comes with playing on ABC.
And here’s a link to a chat with Peterson, which will give you a bit more insight into the Cyclones heading into Saturday’s game.
Last but not least, some highlights of Iowa State’s 9-7 win over Nebraska:
Texas 41, OSU 14: Thoughts and Observations
by Brandon Chatmon
bchatmon@opubco.com
–What is there to say? Texas is talented, confident and full of playmakers.
–The OSU turnover bug returned against the Longhorns. You can’t turn the ball over five times and expect to win.
–It seemed like Texas speed on defense, especially in the secondary surprised Zac Robinson a little bit. The throwing windows closed quicker than he expected and the Longhorn secondary made play after play against OSU.
–Cowboys probably should have stick with the run a little more, especially early. They were having some success.
–Colt McCoy showed why he is considered among the nation’s best on the Longhorns final drive of the first half. He led his team on a 10-play, 80-yard drive in 2:09 seconds to boost Texas’ lead to 24-7. UT had three plays of 16 or more yards including a key 19-yard run on third down. They capped off the drive with a superb catch by Malcolm Williams for a 11-yard score.
–While I think OSU’s mental toughness is one of its strengths, they allowed the non-fumble call on Andre Sexton’s great play to affect them on that drive. The Longhorns converted two third downs and OSU had an unsportsmanlike penalty on that drive which ended in Williams’ TD.
–OSU’s defense didn’t play that badly. They allowed 275 yards including 99 rushing yards, held Shipley to 6 catches for 64 yards and held McCoy to 171 passing yards. True enough, Texas had two INT returns for scores which helped contribute to those numbers but it was still a decent effort.
–Neither team had much success running. Both squads averaged 3.1 yards per carry.
–Shocking stat: OSU averaged 3.9 yards per play. That’s not the explosive offense Cowboys fans have come to expect.
–Shocking stat Part II: Defensive backs led both teams in all-purpose yardage. Texas’ Curtis Brown had 77 on his INT for TD to lead Texas and OSU’s Perrish Cox had 118 kick and punt return yards.
–Texas had four interceptions for 139 yards and two touchdowns.
–UT was held sackless by OSU and the Pokes had two sacks (Jermiah Price, Lucien Antoine) and six tackles for loss.
–In the first half, the Cowboys had three possessions which lasted three minutes combined. Those possessions ended in a punt, turnover on downs and fumble.
–Missed opportunities was the name of the game in the first half. Hubert Anyiam’s drop, Dameron Fooks’ drop, two defensive penalties that proved to be key.
–It seemed like once OSU lost the momentum, things just got out of hand.
Scouting Report: Texas Longhorns
by Brandon Chatmon
bchatmon@opubco.com
In the Austin American-Statesman:
Suzanne Halliburton writes about Texas cornerback Curtis Brown starting to emerge and become the player the Longhorns expected when they signed him out of high school.
In this notebook, Mack Brown takes the blame for Texas’ poor starts against OSU.
In the Dallas Morning News, Chuck Carlton writes about Colt McCoy’s comebacks during his career.
Here’s Texas’ comeback against Colorado earlier this year:
So long, Dez… enjoy your NFL millions
by Brandon Chatmon
bchatmon@opubco.com
I hate to say I told you so… so I won’t.
But if you’ve been following my coverage during Dez Bryant’s situation, you know how I thought it would turn out. Life experience had taught me not to hold my breath when it came to the NCAA showing Dez empathy in this situation.
So Dez moves on to the NFL and begins earning his millions in 2010, as he should.
One of my favorite sayings is “The play clock is running…” it’s a way to essentially say: “Look, we don’t have time to worry about what just happened, we have to focus on getting better and moving forward” so along that line of thinking lets look at how losing Dez will change OSU.
Not much, to be honest. They have played the last four games without the All-American so it’s not like the don’t know what they are dealing with. Hubert Anyiam has proven to be a playmaker, now he has to realize it is his time. He’s done great thus far but he could take it to another level and leave no doubt who the best receiver on the team is and force teams to start gameplanning to stop him.
That’s the silver lining of all of this… the competition to fill the void will make everyone better. Every OSU receiver from Anyiam to Tracy Moore to Justin Blackmon to whoever. They all know they have an opportunity to prove their worth and show they have the playmaking ability to impact games. I’m all about competition, I think it makes people better and strive to be better than they normally would and these guys will be competing to earn touches.
If I’m Hubert Anyiam, Justin Blackmon or Tracy Moore or any of those guys, my entire focus is to go out, every day in practice then also in games, and prove to the coaches they have to start game planning to get me the football. I would be wanting to force them to create opportunities for me to make plays.
Another potential result: True freshman receiver Michael Harrison may be pulled out of redshirt. The Cowboys depth at receiver is getting slim with Bryant now gone for the season and Josh Cooper out for at least two more weeks due to injury. Teammates talked about Harrison in glowing terms in the preseason and the 6-2, 190-pounder was on OSU’s travel roster at Texas A&M and Baylor.
Tuesday’s Power Lunch chat transcript
Scouting report: Texas Longhorns
by Brandon Chatmon
bchatmon@opubco.com
In the Austin American Statesman, Suzanne Halliburton writes about Texas’ three wide receiver formation, which the Longhorns used quite a bit against Missouri.
The Stateman’s Kirk Bohls writes about Texas playing with fire against OSU but never getting burned.
In Tim Griffin’s blog on ESPN.com, Zac Robinson says he’s not worried about Texas’ tendency to knock opposing QBs out of the game.
Here are highlights of Texas 41-7 win over Missouri on Saturday:
Is there ever a good time to face Texas?
by Brandon Chatmon
bchatmon@opubco.com
Before working on my insider yesterday, I asked Cowboys coach Mike Gundy if it was fair to say this is a good time to face Texas with the Pokes playing as well as they have been.
“I don’t know that there’s ever a good time to play a team as talented as they are,” he said. “We feel good about our players and we are comfortable about their cohesiveness.”
One of the most consistent statements from the OSU program is how much chemistry they have. Everyone you ask seems to talk about the Cowboys senior leadership especially when you look at the obstacles OSU has overcome to be 6-1 entering Saturday’s battle with Texas.
“We have a lot more leadership on this team than we had in the previous years,” senior running back Keith Toston said. “This year, the seniors are talking a lot more and leading by example on the field, so that’s a big deal.”
Don’t underrate the job Gundy has done this season, he was named as a finalist for the Bear Bryant Coach of the Year trophy on Monday, and for good reason.
When asked how the Cowboys have overcome so much adversity this season, offensive coordinator Gunter Brewer said: “That’s a big sign of the leadership from Coach Gundy. (The mindset is…) Don’t flinch. How you react as a staff has a big (effect) on how they react.”
OSU 34, Baylor 7: Thoughts and Observations
by Brandon Chatmon
bchatmon@opubco.com
–OSU did exactly what elite teams do against a team like Baylor. They dominated the scoreboard, they controlled the rhythm of the game and got out relatively healthy.
–Zac Robinson may be playing the best football of his career. He is running the team like a savvy veteran, he’s throwing the ball extremely well and he’s using his legs to make plays. He definitely deserves strong consideration for all Big 12 honors and maybe even the Heisman if he plays well against Texas.
–The fact the tight ends got involved on Saturday just shows how well Robinson is playing. He’s reading the defense and finding the open receiver with no preconceived notion of where to throw the ball. He basically said as much when he talked about Cooper Bassett’s touchdown. He said he read the defense pre-snap and thought, “Cooper may get his first touchdown here if they play the defense I think they are in.”
–It’s clear the Cowboys learned from the Houston game. They came out early and took care of business.
–It was good to see Beau Johnson get some carries and Keith Toston get some rest. Both guys are going to be needed against Texas.
–After watching Kendall Hunter warm up on Saturday, I don’t think he’s close to returning to his pre-injury form. He wasn’t running smoothly nor did he have that explosiveness he’s become known for. After seeing him in warmups, I think he’s itching to come back but his body just isn’t ready for him to do so yet. Let’s face it, what makes Kendall Hunter special is his great feet and ability to change direction. And he didn’t look like he is ready to do what he normally does.
–I think the Cowboys need to deliberately try to get Justin Blackmon involved. In both road wins at Baylor and at Texas A&M, Blackmon made excellent catches with defenders on his shoulder. If I was OSU, I would call a play or two with the sole purpose of getting him the football early in games from this point forward.
–Turns out Hubert Anyiam is pretty good, huh? Looks like it was a good decision to move him to the spot behind Dez. Clearly that’s a position that is highlighted in OSU’s offense and it’s a spot where you want to put your best playmakers. And Anyiam has shown signs of being that type of guy.
–The Pokes allowed 2.3 yards per carry. That’s simply outstanding. It hasn’t been talked about much because of all the spread teams OSU has played but the Cowboys defense has been solid.
–With Zac’s record-setting performance, Toston quietly had 15 carries for 109 yards (7.9 per carry). And he again showed his versatility, finishing with 140 all purpose yards.
–Pat Lavine is so solid and overlooked. Another solid game from the senior: 6 tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss and an interception.
–Donald Booker is a beast. I could see him playing on Sundays just strictly as a special teams demon. And he has a really good knack for getting to the quarterback. Though he doesn’t have the ideal NFL size, he could be a pass rush specialist and special teams terror in the league if he plays his cards right and finds the right situation.
–Another game, another solid performance on third down for the defense. OSU allowed only 5 of 13 third down conversion attempts.
–Bottom Line: The Cowboys impressed me with their mindset and mental approach in the Baylor game. It was all business, exactly what you expect from elite teams and teams which compete for championships. Is there any reason to think OSU can’t win the Big 12 South?
