Will the passing game carry OSU against Utah? Is it time to worry about the Cowboys’ run game, secondary?
All that and more with Tulsa World columnist Berry Tramel on The Jenni Carlson Show.
Oklahoma State is not easing into Big 12 play.
Utah this week.
Kansas State next week.
Cowboy coach Mike Gundy even joked Monday that when he saw the schedule, he realized he'd sent pecans at Christmas to the wrong person at the Big 12 offices. Instead of commissioner Brett Yormark, Gundy realized he should have been nice to the schedule maker.
So, what kind of challenge do the Utes present the Cowboys this week?
We'll talk about all that and much more with Tulsa World columnist Berry Tramel now on The Jenni Carlson show.
Oklahoma State is not easing into Big 12 play.
Utah this week.
Kansas State next week.
Cowboy coach Mike Gundy even joked Monday that when he saw the schedule, he realized he'd sent pecans at Christmas to the wrong person at the Big 12 offices. Instead of commissioner Brett Yormark, Gundy realized he should have been nice to the schedule maker.
So, what kind of challenge do the Utes present the Cowboys this week?
We'll talk about all that and much more with Tulsa World columnist Berry Tramel now on The Jenni Carlson show.
You can find all my video content and subscribe to my channel on YouTube.
Episode highlights
1:28: Where the heck is Big Noon Kickoff, and why isn’t it Stillwater?
2:53: Does the tests OSU faced in non-conference play better prepare them for a tough start to the Big 12 schedule?
4:43: Time to worry about the Cowboy run game?
6:22: Can the OSU passing game be as effective as it has been against Utah?
8:10: Is Alan Bowman’s improvement surprising as a SEVENTH-year player?
9:58: Is Cam Rising’s recent injury going to affect his effectiveness?
12:17: How are these first couple games of Big 12 play going to impact OSU’s playoff hopes?
14:23: Is there an X factor in this game?
15:35: Predictions!
Producer: Jacquelyn Musgrove
Creative Director: Michael Lane
Transcript
Jenni: BT, Utah is coming to Stillwater on Saturday. Now, hey, Big Noon Kickoff does not plan to come to Stillwater on Saturday. I know you're not exactly happy with that, are you?
Berry: No. Dang Fox. Just a bunch of shills for the Big Ten. That's all that is. Ohio State-Marshall. Now, if the Thundering Herd makes it a game or upsets the Buckeyes, I take it all back. But I mean, this has all the makings of a 55-14 game. Doesn't have any ramifications on much of anything.
And we have not only just a massive game for this season, for the Big 12 race, for the College Football Playoff, it’s also sort of historic. Utah's first conference game in the Big 12, first trip to Stillwater. So, you know, to me, it was an easy call for Fox, and then they chose not to make it. It's just their business model. I mean, it's their business plan. And if that's the case, then fine. Just don't pretend that you're really interested in covering all of college football because you're not.
So give one to ESPN, College GameDay’s in Norman. Oklahoma-Tennessee. And you counter with Ohio State-Marshall.
Jenni: When you've got a top-15 matchup in your back pocket. That's what Oklahoma State-Utah is. An unbelievable matchup, which we expected when the season started, even before the season started, that this would be an important game for these two teams in this Big 12 Conference.
Obviously, Oklahoma State looking at this early-conference schedule, Mike Gundy even joking his Christmas present went to the wrong person at the Big 12 office. Should have sent the schedule maker one instead of Brett Yormark. Because OSU starts with Utah, go to K-State. But Berry, does the fact that Oklahoma State, which has started slow in the last few years, they've got that South Dakota State game, that Arkansas game in the rearview mirror, does that ease any worries about how they will get going in Big 12 play with two massive games to start?
Berry: Well, I don't know if it eases the worries. May increase the worries. But it does prove that the Cowboys are tested. Frankly, we probably know way more about OSU than we do Utah. You know, the Utes have played Utah State, Baylor and who'd they lead with? Southern Utah or somebody. Can't remember, but I think the Cowboys are more tested than Utah is.
Now, being tested does not mean you ace the test. It means you could have failed the test. OSU almost did a time or two during this schedule, but Utah's ability to hit OSU right in the mouth is less than it would be if the Cowboys hadn't played those three teams, particularly Arkansas. So I think this schedule, it's not a juggernaut. There's not a juggernaut on that OSU schedule, but it turns out it was a pretty good schedule to get OSU ready for this one-two punch of Utah and K-State.
Jenni: You talk about tests that maybe haven't been passed, and we talked just last week about the OSU run game going to Tulsa. If they couldn't run effectively against the Golden Hurricane, maybe there's reason for concern. So talking about tests being passed and failed, is it time to worry about the OSU run game?
Berry: Well, I think I'm in that stage of being worried. You should be able to run on Tulsa even if they don't want you to, and the Cowboys basically didn't.
Now, Alan Bowman had a monster game throwing the ball to all kinds of open wide receivers. If that continues, then who cares how many rushing yards Ollie Gordon has? But when you play Utah, I don't think those receivers are going to be running as open as they were, running wide open across the middle. (Talyn) Shettron, you know, going deep easy and (De’Zhaun) Stribling all over the field and (Rashod) Owens. So I think it is cause for concern. I think the OSU defense is going to have to play better probably than it's played all season, than what we've seen.
So I don't know what the problem is. I don't know if it's blocking. I don't know if it's scheme. I don't know if it's something about Ollie’s cutting or vision or whatever it might be. But whatever it is, I don't know that OSU can go into this game thinking, ‘You know, this running game is something that's going to carry us to victory.’
Jenni: Then, as you said, defense and the passing game becomes the things that they have to lean into. So what do you like most about Alan Bowman and the passing game, the threat that they present? This Utah defense is, I believe, overall defense ranked in the top 30 in the country. So maybe not against great teams, but still has some pretty decent stats that they've put up. Where can this passing offense, where can it be effective against the Utah defense?
Berry: I think the Cowboys have a pretty good deep game. I mean, I think they've shown that. Brennan Presley has been able to to turn short passes into first downs. The things that we've seen out of this offense off and on for, what, 15, 20 years. So I do think that the OSU receiving corps is really good. And I do think Alan Bowman is playing better. I think he's staying in the pocket more. Mike Gundy talked about this (Monday), not getting flushed and not running around. As much as we've been on the OSU offensive line, they've pass protected pretty well. Maybe still no sacks of Alan Bowman, I think.
Jenni: Yeah, no sacks.
Berry: And so really, you know, if the Cowboys have to throw 40 times a game, I don't think that means automatic disaster. Now they'd rather throw 30 and have a bunch of rushing yards, but I think they can move the ball through the air. And Utah, like we said, is rather untested, especially against a highly prolific passing game. … You to move the ball some through the air. I think Cowboys will be able to do that.
Jenni: I’m not sure I thought that Alan Bowman could have the kind of improvement that he's had this year, Berry. You know, here he is, a seventh-year guy, which we'll talk about Cam Rising in a second. Alan Bowman, not the most senior quarterback on the field on Saturday.
But I didn't know if a seventh-year guy, if we would see big improvement, but I think we've seen some fairly significant strides by Alan Bowman, which again, maybe I shouldn't assume that you can't improve, but I think he has been markedly better this season.
Berry: Well, it looks like it. And here's the thing: he’s been around forever, but he's got the strangest career. Three years at Tech when he mostly played when he wasn't hurt. Now he was hurt quite a bit, but he still played a bunch of football at Tech. I'd have to look it up, but I mean, he's coming up on 20 starts at Tech in three years. And then he goes to Michigan and doesn't play. He literally doesn't play. Takes a few snaps in garbage time. For two years, he doesn't play. And then he comes to Stillwater, and he's the guy. So, I mean, it's a very strange career. I'm not sure there's ever been anything like it in terms of guy plays, goes somewhere else, doesn't play, goes somewhere else, does play.
So his progression, his learning curve, his improvement, it's sort of new territory. So, maybe this is what happens when you make these moves and don't get to play. So I do think that's very good, though, at age 24. He’s able to sort of turn over a new leaf and get better in this, which really amounts to, a third act of his college career.
Jenni: As I mentioned, he is not the most senior quarterback in this game on Saturday. That would be Cam Rising, another seventh-year quarterback. And again, an injury-marred season, unfortunately, for Cam Rising. He has missed the last few games with a finger injury on his throwing hand that required stitches.
Now, Berry, it sounds like he's going to be available for the Utes on Saturday. What challenge will he present? And the fact that he has been out and is coming back from this injury, does that affect what we might see?
Berry: Well, what you get in Cameron Rising is, you get a solid quarterback. He's become a folk hero, right? In Utah, back-to-back Rose Bowls for Utah and played spectacularly in back-to-back Pac-12 title games, ’21, ’22. He's not a superstar. You know, Lincoln Riley tried to recruit him to Oklahoma, almost got him. He's not one of those OU quarterbacks that was just a superstar. He's sort of a … I'm trying to think of a guy. He's a little bit of a Mason Rudolph type in that, he's big.
Jenni: Very popular.
Berry: Very popular. Strong. You know, the old cowboy type, the strong silent type. Really cool looking dude. Had the long hair. Don't know what he's doing with his hair these days, but he's not the guy that's going to come in and just wow you.
But man, can you depend on him. Man, can you lean on him. Man, can you think ‘This guy's been through it and he's going to take us through.’ So I think he inspires a lot of confidence in the Utes. Now he hasn't played … since that Rose Bowl, January 1, 2023. So we're talking 20 months. He's played a quarter and a half, quarter and an eighth. So he hasn't done a lot of football in the last couple of years, but I do think he would sort of emotionally and mentally lift the Utes as they trot on to Boone Pickens Stadium Saturday.
Jenni: Obviously two teams that everybody expects to be in the mix for the Big 12 title game, that Big 12 championship, and then obviously that means playoff possibilities. Last week you did the mock selection for the College Football Playoff. Do you have any insight after that experience as it relates to this 12-team playoff and how games like what we're gonna see on Saturday in Stillwater are gonna impact things?
Berry: Well, the one thing that really matters, I think, for these Big 12 heavyweights, K-State, Utah, OSU. OSU plays at K-State next week. Even if you win those games, even if OSU beats Utah, even if OSU beats K-State, they need Utah and K-State to win (their other games). The last thing the Big 12 needs is great parity. It's what they have, but it's not what they need. They need a couple of 11-1 teams. They need the third-place team to be 10-2. They need some really high-profile, highly successful teams.
If the whole dang league is 9-3, it's fantastic, everybody says it's a great league, and they'll get one team in the playoff bracket I think is what it amounts to. So we'll have to see how the schedule plays out. We still have no idea who's the best teams in the Big 12. Could be Central Florida. Could be Iowa State. Could be OSU, Utah, K-State, which we sort of thought it would be. So we'll just have to see how that's all going to go. But what the Cowboys and the Utes need is, even if you win Saturday in Boone Pickens, you want the guy you just beat to go ahead and have a really good year.
Jenni: I definitely agree with that. We're starting to sort of see some separation, too. Kansas falling away, a team that we thought might be in the mix. They don't look like they're going to be there, but these next couple of weeks are going to start to tell us. We’ve sort of found out who's not going to be in the mix. But now we're to find out who's going to be in the mix. So this is going to be a fun time.
Before we get to predictions, Berry, do you have an X factor in this game? Something that you think will make a difference in victory or defeat on Saturday?
Berry: Well, I think the OSU secondary has not played great. They got with it in the second half against Arkansas much better. And Cam Smith … did I get that right? Or was it Kale Smith?
Jenni: I think it was Cam Smith. (Note to the reader: I thought Berry was talking about something else; the interception in the Arkansas game was Kale Smith.) Every week we have the discussion about the Smiths and the Cams.
Berry: Sorry, Smiths. I apologize. But, so he makes the big pick-six that sort of, revived OSU's fortunes. and they got burned some at Tulsa, but Tulsa throws a lot and only scored 10 points. So I don't know how you can get too worked up, but I do think the ability is there for Utah to really take advantage of that OSU secondary if they don't buck up and play really well. So that's the one I want to keep an eye on.
Of course, the OSU offensive line run blocking. We talk about that all the time, but off the radar, I think the OSU secondary against a solid Utah offense, I think is pretty important.
Jenni: All right, time for predictions. Who you got winning this one, Berry?
Berry: Well, I picked the Utes. I just don't know that OSU is playing great. They're playing good. Playing fine. They're getting the job done, but this is a step up. I think it's going to be a classic. I got Utah winning 21-20. These are both winning cultures. These are teams that when the games get tough and they get tight over the course of two, five, eight, 20 years, Kyle Whittingham and Mike Gundy have produced cultures that come out on top more than not. I just, and this might be, this might be not recency bias, but regional bias. You know, we know so much about these teams. I know more about OSU's flaws than I do Utah's flaws. I'm sure in Salt Lake City, they're sitting around talking about Utah's flaws and what they need to fix. But I got the Utes winning 21-20.
Jenni: Yeah, I'm going to go the opposite. Very close game. I think OSU wins and I think that if this game was in Salt Lake City, I think I would pick the opposite. But I like Oklahoma State’s chances to win on home turf. I've got 31-27 as my score, so a few more points. But yeah, I'm with you. I think this is going to be a great one to start Big 12 play again. I wish it was the 11 o 'clock kick that everybody was watching nationally with Fox, but that's about my only regret about this game.
Berry, you got anything coming up on Oklahoma State you want people to know about in the Tulsa world?
Berry: Yeah, this week I've got a story on Big 12 parity. Who is the best team in the Big 12? Are we headed for a wild race that really hurts everybody's playoff hopes? I'll be writing about that. And also, Kyle Whittingham, the Rocky Mountain twin of Mike Gundy and the historical relationship, not personal, but the career paths of Kyle Whittingham and Mike Gundy, how similar they are.