Why OSU tops the Big 12 power rankings. Cowboys show poise, but run-game production must improve
Plus, predictions for OSU-Arkansas with Tulsa World columnist Berry Tramel.
Mike Gundy sufficiently prepared — and maybe even scared — his team for South Dakota State.
But now that the Cowboys have dispatched the Jackrabbits, is there a bigger threat coming to Stillwater?
Arkansas looked mighty good in its opener, a 70-0 blowout of Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Yes, I know, it’s lowly Arkansas-Pine Bluff, but still, Arkansas scored touchdowns on all of its 10 possessions in the game.
So what can we expect from this Big 12-SEC matchup?
I'll talk about that and much more with Tulsa World columnist Berry Tramel next on The Jenni Carlson Show.
Episode highlights
1:24: We have football!
2:10: After warning the Cowboys about South Dakota State, what should Mike Gundy be warning them about Arkansas this week?
3:13: Why OSU is No. 1 in Berry’s inaugural Big 12 power poll.
5:29: Concerns from the opener that could carry into the Arkansas game or beyond.
7:13: Sure seemed like there were some South Dakota State receivers running around wide open. What could Arkansas do with that kind of space?
8:31: Any alarm bells going off after Arkansas scored touchdowns every time it had the ball in its opener?
11:07: Is the renewal of a series like OSU-Arkansas a balm amid conference realignment?
12:48: Predictions for OSU-Arkansas!
Producer: Jacquelyn Musgrove
Creative Director: Michael Lane
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Transcript
Jenni: BT, I don't know about you, but I'm glad we've got some games in our rearview mirror. It was about time to have some football.
Berry: Yeah, that was fun. We went back-to-back. Actually, Iwent to Tulsa on Thursday. So I saw three.
Jenni: You did the triple header!
Berry: I saw three in three nights. So that was a lot of fun. But yeah, it's gonna be fun with the Sooners and the Cowboys and everybody. But this game in Stillwater, man. What an historic and interesting matchup.
Jenni: We'll talk about the renewal of the series with Arkansas. I know you're working on a piece for the Tulsa World in that vein, so we definitely want to talk about that.
But first, let's take a step back and look back to Saturday for just a second. Mike Gundy's warnings about South Dakota State were heeded. So what warning should he be giving his team heading into Week 2 against Arkansas?
Berry: Well, you shouldn't have to warn your guys too much when you're playing an SEC school. The Razorbacks are in the bottom quarter of the SEC, picked, I don't know, probably 14th in the 16-team SEC. But this is a tradition-rich program. It's got SEC-sized linemen. You know, one of the things we've learned in the last three years is the SEC just has bigger players than what OU and OSU are accustomed to. So that interior line for the Razorback should have plenty of girth. Those kinds of things, you can show on film. I think Gundy did a masterful job of getting his guys ready for South Dakota State. And so I don't think he'll have too much trouble getting them ready for Arkansas.
Jenni: Yeah, you wouldn't think so. Your inaugural Big 12 power rankings, which by the way, people can see over at TulsaWorld.com, you had OSU No. 1 this week coming out of these first games for Big 12 teams. What did you like best about the Cowboys and what of that do you think could carry over from an FCS opponent — as good as South Dakota State was, still FCS — of what you liked from that game do you feel like can carry over as they look ahead not only to an SEC opponent this week, then that Big 12 schedule on the horizon?
Berry: I thought they were really poised. Thought they played really sharp football. Think it was at one penalty they had against the Jackrabbits. They looked in mid-season form, and that was against a well-drilled team. You know, I thought South Dakota State, they looked like a real football team. We knew they weren't a typical I-AA squad, but everything from just the way they ran plays to the size of their fan base. Bunch of South Dakota State fans there, bigger than most Big 12 traveling fan bases that we've seen in recent years. And even the media contingent was pretty well represented. So I mean, everything about South Dakota State to me said, ‘Hey, these guys are the real deal.’ I thought that was a real team, and for OSU to basically command that game, to win wire to wire but also without ever really being pushed, 44-20, I just thought it was a very impressive performance by this team.
And it ought to be. They ought to play like that. I mean, they've got so many veterans. They're so experienced. This is the kind of team that ought to excel early in the season.
Jenni: And that one penalty you mentioned was a defensive hold, which was on a safety, I believe. So it wasn't a false start. It wasn't an offside. It wasn't an unforced error. You'd love to go, 0-fer in the penalty category, but that kind of penalty being your only one speaks to the discipline that this team played with against South Dakota State. And they're definitely going to need to carry over moving forward.
What about concerns, BT, you saw in this OSU opener? Was there anything that leads your list of concerns and could become an issue as the Cowboys look to move ahead?
Berry: Well, I don't think the running game was as fruitful as you'd like with Ollie Gordon and that veteran of an offensive line. South Dakota State is not incredibly blessed in the defensive interior. They're good and solid. They're not going to be in the wrong place. They're going to get in your way. And that's a whole lot of it. You don't break a lot of 50-yard runs when, when people are in the right position. So, some of that was to be expected, but I would have liked to have seen a little bit more dominance in the run game. Ollie got 104 yards rushing. He had to work really hard for all of them, 27 carries. So I think that was probably a little disappointing.
Thought the throw game was pretty good all day. Thought the defense, you know, gave up one or two big plays. Otherwise, you know, it was pretty dominant performance. So I liked about everything I saw. Logan Ward pops a long field goal, which I love long field goals, guys that can make a long field goal.
So to me, just that running game was not pristine, and that is something that carried the Cowboys to a nice season a year ago and probably needs to do it again.
Jenni: I was a little surprised that the yards per carry weren't a little higher for Ollie Gordon. Didn't see any of those long cross country runs that he made his forte a year ago, so it'll be interesting to see if they can pop some of those against Arkansas. I also thought Alan Bowman was better at not throwing it away so quickly, not looking antsy.
My biggest concern might be some open receivers, Berry, which Bobby Petrino is now at the helm of this Arkansas team. We saw North Dakota State, or South Dakota State. Sorry, now I've got my Dakotas mixed up. Boy, my apologies to the Jackrabbits. I didn't do that all week leading up. But we saw some South Dakota State receivers running pretty wide open. Now you talk about SEC athletes running wide open. What about the secondary as it relates to the pass game with Arkansas?
Berry: Well, I was, yeah, South Dakota State caught them a couple three times. I think that is a concern. Taylen Green, now the Arkansas quarterback, late of Boise state, his passing acumen is to be determined. Was not a great thrower at Boise. We'll see how he does in the Ozarks, but that was clearly what wounded the OSU defense on Saturday against South Dakota State.
Little bit surprised in that because that's a veteran secondary. Lot of freshmen and young guys played a year ago, but that makes them veteran this year. So I don't think there's a lot of, shall we say, excuses to give up those kinds of plays. You certainly don't want to do it against Arkansas.
Jenni: Arkansas was playing Arkansas-Pine Bluff last week. Not exactly a great opponent, but they score on every single possession that they have. Does that set off some alarm bells? Should it set off some alarm bells in Stillwater?
Berry: No, no. One of the weaker OSU teams the last 15 years beat Savannah State 84-0. So I'm not too worried about that. You know, as great as South Dakota State is as a I-AA program, there are a lot of I-AA teams that are not very competitive, and I'm afraid Pine Bluff might be one of them. You know, UAPB has had its moments in the past on the lower level, but the only thing, when you play somebody like that, the only thing that can happen is bad impressions. Good impressions are not possible.
We saw that with some of the other Big 12 teams, right? Tech needs overtime to go to survive Abilene Christian, Kansas State’s messing around with Tennessee-Martin at 17-6 in the third quarter and then scored 17 points in like 11 seconds seemed like. So, if you mess around with those teams, that's not a good sign. The only thing that can happen is you should blow them out and Arkansas, to its credit, did.
Jenni: About the only entertaining thing I heard from Arkansas-Arkansas Pine Bluff was that Pine Bluff decided to wear all black uniforms on the road. Road teams need to wear white. At the start of each half, they were penalized. Personal foul for not wearing the right uniforms. And Oklahoma native and Arkansas coach Sam Pittman said, ‘No, we're not taking the penalty.’ So I thought that was pretty cool that he said, ‘Nah, we'll let the Pine Bluffs come in here and wear whatever they want. We're still going to beat them 70-0.’
Berry: Yeah, that's reminiscent of that Thunder-Hawks game. I think it was last season when they showed up and both were very similar. Can't remember if it's blue or what they were wearing. Black, whatever they were wearing is very similar and it was one big mess.
People don't want to just wear the colors assigned to them anymore. You know, deep red and black can have some issues. The colorblind among us don't like those kinds of matchups for the television. So, somebody just wear white and just let's go on about our business.
Jenni: Before we get to predictions for this OSU-Arkansas game, I mentioned earlier the renewal of this series, Berry. You love history. I know you're working on something about this, but do matchups like this getting brought back sort of hearten you in this era of conference realignment and some some rivalries getting the ax?
Berry: Yeah, in some ways they do. OSU’s losing Bedlam, but they're bringing on a team and a program that they've played, what is it? Let's see. I think it's 48 times now but hasn't haven't played in 44 years.
The oddity about OSU-Arkansas is that from 1950 through 1980, they played 28 times. Only three of those games were in Stillwater, 25 games in Little Rock. Cowboy administration sold their football program up the river. (Arkansas athletic director) Frank Broyles and John Barnhill before him, glad to write a big check and get somebody to come. You know, when I looked this up, this is fascinating. In the 1960s, Arkansas played 30 non-conference games; 29 were either in Fayetteville or Little Rock. They went to Ole Miss one time. In the 1960s, OSU played 30 non-conference games. Only eight of them in Stillwater. So almost a three to one margin on road games. They did not take football seriously in Stillwater in the 1960s.
Jenni: They seem to now, and that's part of the reason why this series is getting renewed. A chance to bring back a rival that's regional, that's close at hand. You've got some players crossing the state lines playing for the other schools, so I think this will be a good start to renewing that rivalry.
Alright, let's get to productions Berry. What's your thought about this game? Who wins?
Berry: Well, I like the Cowboys squad a lot. I think Cowboys win. I've not posted a final score yet, so I guess I better think of one right now, but I better write it down or you will pop me really good if I say something in print that's different.
I think OSU is going to be able to control the clock on some level. I think Arkansas will have some success, but I think I'll go with, I think I'll go 30-20 Cowboys.
Jenni: Well, your your point spread is the same as mine, but I got a few more touchdowns. I'm going 37-27 OSU over Arkansas, but I think I think this is going to be a fun game. I think this is one of those measuring games for Oklahoma State, and you know, they need it because in two weeks, Utah comes to town and things start to get really, really serious for any Big 12 team that wants to make the Big 12 championship. So I think this is a great game at a great time for Oklahoma State.