Oklahoma State Prepares For Kansas

See what the Cowboys had to say as they prepare for Saturday's matchup against the Jayhawks.

Tuesday, October 4th 2011, 10:50 am

By: News 9


News9.com

STILLWATER, Oklahoma – The Oklahoma State Cowboys enter week six on fresh legs thanks to last week's bye week.

Despite the week off, head coach Mike Gundy said the team had a productive week of practice with excellent enthusiasm from the team in preparation for their next game against the Kansas Jayhawks.

Monday, Gundy and some of the players addressed the upcoming matchup during their weekly press conference and gave some insight into how they are preparing for Saturday's game.

"They are an improved team. Our preparation will be very important this week," said Gundy. We need to stay focused on the task at hand. We need to avoid distractions. By doing these things, we will give ourselves a chance to play well on Saturday."

"They (Kansas) have the ability to score and they have some athletes. They're a big physical offensive line, big tight end and they have a whole stable of running backs," said OSU defensive coordinator Billy Young. "They're a Big 12 team, so we better have ourselves ready to play."

"We're expecting a great game," said OSU running back Joseph Randle. "We want to go out there and give it our best shot."

"The team has had a chance to look at Kansas and we see a much-improved offense. Kansas' offense is earning 150 to 160 more yards per game. The Jayhawks are rushing for about 230 yards per game and 219 yards passing. They have really improved in that area," said Gundy.

"Last year they got up on us and the game was a dog fight," said defensive lineman Cooper Bassett. "This past week, they also got up on (Texas) Tech pretty quick. Unfortunately, they had too many turnovers and they lost the game in the end. We know that we have to be focused on them and I believe that we will be focused just like we were for our previous games."

"We have watched film and they can be a high-powered offense like we have seen," said linebacker Joe Mitchell. "We will just have to come out and play fast against them."

"The Wildcat is going to be the biggest concern of what we have to stop," said Cowboy cornerback Justin Gilbert. "The Wildcat and the running game, basically."

"The biggest thing is playing our assignments, understanding the schemes and playing hard," said safety Markelle Martin. "I think those guys run the ball very well, so we're going to have to stop the run, but overall, it amounts to what we are capable of."

"Yes, we absolutely want to run the ball more this week," said Cowboy quarterback Brandon Weeden. "Joseph and Jeremy didn't get many carries at the A&M game because they were out to stop the run, but you have to pick your poison and I believe coach Monken does a good job of taking what the defense gives us."

"We are just trying to be fundamentally sound and that is really our goal every week," said offensive lineman Lane Taylor. "We just want to be sound at what we do, no mistakes, and we just want to be flawless."

When asked about the expectations for this game, Mitchell summed it up saying, "Just to get a win. We just want to win."

Oklahoma State will kick off against the Jayhawks Saturday Oct.8 at 2:30 p.m.

logo

Get The Daily Update!

Be among the first to get breaking news, weather, and general news updates from News on 6 delivered right to your inbox!

More Like This

October 4th, 2011

March 14th, 2024

December 4th, 2023

September 25th, 2023

Top Headlines

March 28th, 2024

March 28th, 2024

March 28th, 2024

March 28th, 2024