WWLS The Sports Animal has Total Coverage of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State all season long! Check out the complete schedule of coverage for this weekend and come back to read previews and notes from The Animals!

SAT 09/23/23

6:30a-8a: Unsportsmanlike Conduct LIVE from the Grand Casino Hotel & Resort in Shawnee with The Morning Animals

8a-11a: Oklahoma Countdown to Kickoff/Bud Light GameTime On The Road with Jim Traber & Al Eschbach. Stop in and join Al Eschbach LIVE at Rooster’s Sports Bar & Grill on W. Main in Norman, map below. The guys preview the matchup and talk with Dean Blevins, Berry Tramel, Mark Rodgers and more to get you ready for kickoff!

11A: OKLAHOMA VS. CINCINNATI (Cincinnati, OH) TV: FOX

11a-1p: Sports Animal LIVE w/ Sam Humphreys and Preston Poole

1p-3p: Oklahoma State Countdown to Kickoff/Bud Light GameTime On The Road with Gideon Hamilton and former OSU DB and current Del City Head Coach Robert Jones. Both Gideon and Robert will be LIVE at Henry Hudson’s at 3509 NW 58th St. in OKC. The guys preview the matchup and talk with other special guests to get you ready for kickoff!

2:30p-4:30p: Oklahoma Football Feedback On The Road with Jim Traber & Al Eschbach, who will be live at Rooster’s Sports Bar & Grill on W. Main in Norman. Our team breaks down the game and wants your feedback with calls and texts at 405-900-WWLS (9957).

3P: OKLAHOMA STATE VS. IOWA STATE (Ames, IA) TV: FS1

4:30p-6:30p: College Locker Room Show with Matt Meyer and Carey Murdock with post-game interviews, highlights, stats and more!

6:30p-8:30p: Oklahoma State Football Feedback On The Road with Gideon Hamilton and former OSU DB and current Del City Head Coach Robert Jones LIVE from Henry Hudson’s on NW 58th in OKC. Our team breaks down the game and wants your feedback with calls and texts at 405-900-WWLS (9957).

Thoughts on OSU by Matt Meyer | @Bluto51 on X (Twitter)

Rough night in Stillwater on Saturday as Oklahoma State fell and fell hard to South Alabama, 33-7. Hard not to overreact to a game like that. Cowboys got whipped on both sides of the ball, from the line of scrimmage on back. When Mike Gundy was asked how the Jaguars were able to pile up 243 rushing yards on 47 carries, Gundy said, quite succinctly, “they blocked us.” Talk about a bitter pill to swallow. South Alabama should not have the players to simply line up and move Oklahoma State’s players out of the way, but that’s what happened. Nothing against the Jaguars, but they aren’t Nebraska of ’95.

On the other side of the ball, OSU was only able to amass 94 rushing yards on 29 carries, and 21 of those were from Gunnar Gundy. Say what you will about the QB situation, and I’ll have my say here in a moment, but if this OL doesn’t improve quickly, it’s going to be a long year for the Pokes offensively. I’ve spoken with people who have seen the Cowboys practice, and they’ve had their concerns about the OL since the spring. Yes, a lot of experience returns, but I’m not sure how much talent returns. I’m not absolving Kasey Dunn of any blame, but Bill Walsh would be challenged to put a successful offense on the field with this group up front. It’s especially frustrating since coming into the season, we had heard about scheme changes, using TE’s and FB’s, and getting back to putting the run game as the focus of the offense. Made sense without a superstar at QB, and I think it still does make sense, but you have to win the line of scrimmage, and the Cowboys aren’t doing that on a consistent basis. I still think Ollie Gordon can be a good back. He’s ran 19 times for 109 yards behind this offensive line. That’s nearly 6 yards a carry. Feed him the ball. Just try it.

Now to the QB’s. I haven’t been a fan of playing three equally since Gundy said they would before the first game. I honestly didn’t believe him then, but that’s what they did. On Monday, Gundy indicated that they’d continue to rotate. I don’t believe him now either. I don’t know who they’ll choose, but my hunch is that they’re getting one ready to be the full time starter. If whoever that is doesn’t play well, the staff may make a change during the game, but this nonsense of playing a guy four series and subbing needs to end and I believe that it will. I think that the coaching staff thought that they could get all three QB’s equal work in the non conference games and then pick their best guy for conference play. Hasn’t worked at all. It wasn’t just the QB’s at fault against South Alabama, not by a long shot, but it certainly hasn’t helped. You cannot adequately prepare three QB’s throughout the week to play in a game on Saturday. There’s not enough time in practice. Not enough reps. Not even close. When Mike Gundy asked a week ago, “what do you say to the two that didn’t get to play in the game,” my answer is simple: the best guy plays, period. If he’s ineffective, we’ll make a change, but this player has earned the right to be the guy. I don’t understand why that’s so hard. It’s the job of the coaching staff to put the best player on the field at each position. For two thirds of the first three games, the best QB, whoever that person is, wasn’t on the field. Time for that garbage to stop. As for who that guy is? I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I think Gunnar Gundy has slightly edged himself from the others. He has a little bit of mobility which appears to be a necessity with this offensive line, and for whatever reason, the offense has seemed to have a spark with him taking snaps. I think Bowman is the best passer, although Gundy has the best completion percentage. I’d start Gundy, and if he’s ineffective, you make a change, but the best thing for the team is to get your starting QB the adequate work in practice to go win a game.

If there’s a team to play to begin the conference schedule that could help you get back on track, it’s Iowa State, and that’s where the Cowboys will be on Saturday at 3:00. Cyclones appear to be pretty good defensively, and pretty bad offensively, much like a season ago. QB Rocco Becht has completed 62% of his passes for 549 yards, with 4 TD’s and 3 INT’s. Iowa State is only running for 3.2 a carry, so OSU’s run defense should look better this week. If it doesn’t, well, have a bucket ready. Keep an eye on Cyclones DB Jeremiah Cooper, who already has 3 INT’s on the season, one of which he returned 88 yards for a TD. Hard to pick OSU to win after what we saw last week, but I also don’t want to overreact and write them off. Over the years, Gundy’s teams have had a way of coming together and winning a game that you wouldn’t expect when the season appears to be spinning away. One of those games that leaps to mind was a 34-27 win in 2019…at Iowa State. Pokes had lost 3 of 4, fans weren’t happy, and OSU started a four game win streak with a win in Ames. Question is, are these Cowboys good enough to do the same thing?

Iowa State 17 Oklahoma State 13