'You've Got To Control The Quarterback:' OSU Head Coach Mike Gundy Previews Oklahoma State’s Upcoming Road Game At Kansas State

No. 20 Oklahoma State travels to No. 23 Kansas State on Saturday for the Cowboys' first Big 12 road test of the season. The Cowboys have won 10 of the past 15 meetings in the series, as well as four of the past five.

Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy met with the media on Monday to preview Saturday's showdown in Manhattan.

Head Coach Mike Gundy

On the Kansas State offense:

"You've got to control the quarterback. You can't let him take off and run. He's really good. You've got to be careful when you're pass rushing him. If not, he can take off and run. They do a good job on their quarterback run game and then they've been good the last few years on flooding the zones, four and five people getting out eligible to one side of the field and the quarterback keeping the ball and running the other way where the numbers aren't good for the defense. You've got to be able to stop the quarterback run."

 On first-year punters and kickers coach Sean Snyder:

"You haven't seen a lot of results, statistically or point wise, but I like the transition we're making in the special teams categories based on his philosophies that we brought into what we were doing. Some of what we were doing, he was already doing, because we stole it from him while he was (at Kansas State), but then there's about 50% of what we're doing that he brought with him. The fundamental side, the execution, there's a real art to special teams. It's pretty interesting when you get into it… I'm very pleased with the transformation we're making scheme wise and fundamentally with the players understanding the concepts at this point, and I think that we'll start to see results."

 On Trey Rucker’s strong start to the season:

“He’s playing awesome, great leadership. Fourteen tackles, two interceptions and an IV (against Utah), the guy had a full day’s work. He just keeps playing and keeps hitting. You run him in there and you watch him, the violence of the game that he plays just makes you cringe. Thrilled to have him, and he’s been a great leader for us.”

On the defense against Utah:

“The defense played good. You look at 42 minutes (on the field), which is 70% of the game. The air temperature is 103, the field temperature is 157… But, they improved. We were better against the run. You’re going to say, ‘Well, they rushed 256 yards,’ but we gave up two plays and 110 yards and missed five tackles on those two plays, both of which would’ve been behind the line. Now it still counts, but the majority of the percentage of the runs, our fits were better. We played better against the run.”

 On how the run game can improve:

“When we’ve had equal numbers in the box or a half-man disadvantage, we’ve run the ball effectively. When we’ve had one or two extra people in the box, we haven’t been as effective, which is kind of the way it’s going to be. So, there’s not anything we need to change from a scheme standpoint. We need to continue to improve a little bit in fundamentals and technique and things we would work on every year.”