Oklahoma State Football Notes And Quotes

Here is a look at some notable items to come out of Oklahoma State's Monday press conference in Stillwater to preview Saturday's game against UT-San Antonio.

Youth Reason For Half-Hearted Showing Against MSU

Mike Gundy wasn't very pleased with his team's effort on Saturday against Missouri State and didn't dance around it on Monday in the Cowboys' weekly media luncheon.

“I wasn't real fired up about our team and how they played. It was kind of the first sign of an immature team in not preparing well,” Gundy said. “We had warned them throughout the week. But sometimes you have to learn on the run.”

Fortunately for the Cowboys, the opponent wasn't nearly good enough to pose a real threat but the lackluster effort points to a young group letting the praise from last week's near upset of No. 1 Florida State get into their heads.

OSU played nine true freshmen and seven redshirt freshmen, which certainly contributed to the up-and-down performance. Many were impressed following OSU's showing against the Seminoles but Saturday's outing tempered some of that enthusiasm, including the expectations of the head coach.

“I don't know good we are,” Gundy said. “(Youth) could be a factor. We'll find out in about five weeks. I know that the youth affected the way we prepared for the game. We weren't very good and we were flat coming out. Whether our team's any good or not, that's yet to be seen.”

OSU Dominant Against Unranked Foes In Stillwater

UTSA presents a difficult matchup for the Cowboys but OSU has a pretty impressive history in recent years of not slipping up against unranked foes.

Since the beginning of the 2010 season, OSU is 31-4 against unranked teams and has won 22-straight at Boone Pickens Stadium.

The last time the Pokes lost in Stillwater was to the Kevin Sumlin and Dana Holgorsen-coached Houston Cougars in 2009. Overall, Gundy is 20-1 in nonconference home games regardless of ranking since taking over in 2005.

Night And Day From Experience Standpoint

It's no secret Oklahoma State is the youngest team in the country. UT-San Antonio will provide a stark contrast.

The Roadrunners might be the oldest team in the FBS, returning a whopping 38 seniors and 21 starters from last season's squad. UTSA has all five starters back on the o-line and 10 of 11 back overall on defense. Meanwhile, the Cowboys are as green as it gets (see the aforementioned number of freshmen who played on Saturday).

As a result, the Roadrunners have been extremely consistent lately, winning six of their past seven games. The only loss came in their most recent outing in a 26-23 nail-biter setback against Arizona. UTSA just doesn't make mistakes and, regardless of talent difference, team's that don't make mistakes are hard to beat.

OSU showed a lot of its growing pains in a disastrous first quarter against Florida State and a bevy of mental lapses against Missouri State on Saturday. The Cowboys will need to be more focused than they were against the Bears or this senior-laden UTSA squad could set up as a potential trap game.

Decision On Walsh Likely Coming Tuesday

Mike Gundy told media on Monday that J.W. Walsh is still wearing a walking boot after suffering an undisclosed foot injury in the first quarter of Saturday's victory against Missouri State.

Gundy said a decision on his status could come on Tuesday.

According to sources, his foot is not believed to be broken but he is expected to miss a considerable amount of time. Gundy did clarify that the injury might not be as bad as originally thought.

For more, click here Walsh Injury Update

Quotes

Offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich on how the offense changes with Daxx Garman at quarterback:

"We, as an offense, want to maintain balance regardless of who's at quarterback. We want to complement ourselves and J.W. (Walsh), a lot like Daxx, can make a lot of throws down the field. When you talk about arm strength, J.W. Walsh has a very strong arm and Daxx has a very strong arm. They both have their strengths. Obviously, Walsh is a little bit better of a runner. The ability to play-action, throw your quick game, throw your drop-backs, and then being able to change your pace with tempo and be able to complement yourself is the key, regardless of what quarterback is in."

Defensive coordinator Glenn Specter on his final impressions from an up-and-down victory against MSU:

"We had, I think, 12 tackles for loss, five sacks and two hurries, so that's the most negative yardage plays in one game that we've had since I've been here. That was a positive. Effort is tremendous. Guys are really playing hard. That's another great positive. We were really good on third down again. I think we were 71 percent. Negatives are a lot of issues that are going to get taken care of with experience and better coaching. We'll get both of those done. Experience is going to happen because it's time and it's inevitable. And the coaching, we'll get those guys coached up better."

Gundy on his relationship with UTSA coach – and former OSU assistant – Larry Coker:

"Well, he's always been a very special part of our family. He obviously coached myself and Cale (Gundy). He's got a great personality and good people skills. He's got great people skills, and he's smart. I don't know all the details of whatever happened down in Miami, but I know that he was one game away and arguably a call that could have gone either way from winning two national championships in a row. I don't know what his long-term goals are. In my opinion, he'll either come out at some point and say, 'This is where I want to go and retire,' or at some point, there's going to be another job. I would think that some athletic director would eventually go to his board of regents and say that he wants to hire him, in my opinion, especially with the job he has done in such a short period of time."