Mike Gundy's Press Conference Ahead Of Bedlam: Cowboys Aim For 5th Straight Win

Mike Gundy met with the media Monday in Stillwater to look back at Oklahoma State’s fourth straight win and preview the upcoming Bedlam game.

Head Coach Mike Gundy

On the defense:

“We’ve played pretty well as of late. We’ve given up some yards and some big plays, but we’ve minimized points, which is important. There’s times where I felt like we needed to stop the rush better. We gave up a big pass (against Cincinnati) on a play-action boot where we got caught and left the over route. We have made some progress, we still have a ways to go. It’ll be important in this game, as always, that we play physical up front.”

On Leon Johnson III’s performance vs. Cincinnati:

“I think we were all surprised and very impressed with his performance in essentially his first game at this level. He has shown signs in practice of performing at a high level. Practice is one thing, games are another. We talked about that a number of times, and until we get a young man on the field in a game, we never know what they can do. So, that’s why we have tried to play as many as possible this year. Nobody would’ve thought that he could’ve come in at his first game in what was not a great day weather-wise for throwing and catching. It wasn’t bad, but it was not like a normal day in September, October and perform at the level he did. He came in and did something we didn’t know he could do in a conference game.”

On Ollie Gordon II’s rising publicity:

“For the last month, I've talked to him several times every week, usually later in the week on a Friday. Talked to him during the game when he lost his composure, it’s an ongoing process. This is (more) different now than ever with young people because of social media and because of phones and notoriety… Ollie is still young. He’s only been here a year and a half and he’s playing great, but he’s still a young person and is learning. He can get valuable information from those who have been ahead of him and before him. So, we try to give him as much as possible.”

On quarterback Alan Bowman:

"He's making plays. I would like to see him set and not flush the pocket as much. I would like to see him not drift as much, but he's manufacturing and we're productive. I like his ability to distribute the ball where it needs to be. My thoughts with him are going to be similar to what they were a month ago. His strengths and what he does are very similar to Mason (Rudolph)'s. Mason learned very early in his career to stay in the pocket, stay in the pocket then move, then stay in the pocket and dump the ball off. Don't flush. Early in the year, he flushed, and he sacked himself a lot of times. He's better in this game than he was, but we need him to sit in there and play to his strengths."

On eliminating distractions:

"We just try to continue to work. It's like this week, we can feel good about ourselves, and this is coach's talk, but it's the truth. It's the challenge we have with young people now, and it's always been this way, but it's more now than ever. They have to absorb information in meetings today, be productive in our walk-throughs tonight and mentally prepare for tomorrow's practice, Tuesday and Wednesday's practice, to get ready for a walk-through Thursday and a walk-through Friday. If they get out of their box and let their minds go different directions, they're not going to play very well."