STILLWATER – The Oklahoma State football team received four Big 12 Player of the Week honors Monday as the conference honored wide receiver Tylan Wallace, linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez, kicker Alex Hale and quarterback Shane Illingworth.
STILLWATER – The Oklahoma State football team received four Big 12 Player of the Week honors Monday as the conference honored wide receiver Tylan Wallace, linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez, kicker Alex Hale and quarterback Shane Illingworth.
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Matthew Wolff entered the final round of the 2020 U.S. Open as the tournament’s leader, and while he wasn’t able to win his first career major, runner-up isn’t too shabby for a 21-year-old. Wolff was one of five former Oklahoma State golfers who competed this weekend at Winged Foot in New York. Wolff will capture the OSU-related headlines, and deservedly so, but all five former Pokes in the field made the cut and walked away with a good chunk of change.
The win netted Wolff a cool $1.35 million, while Hovland took home $226K and Fowler won $30K. Noren earned $171K and Howell III earned $80K. Not a bad week! Winged Foot provided an interesting challenge, as it played tougher Friday and Sunday than it did Thursday and Saturday. It sent Wolff on quite the roller coaster of shooting a 66 in Round 1, a 74 in Round 2, a 65 in Round 3 and a 75 in Round 4. Despite putting in his worst round of the tournament Sunday, Wolff did eagle the ninth hole, a par five. Hovland’s low round came Saturday when he shot a 70. Hovland’s game is a game of consistency. He didn’t quite go on the roller coaster Wolff did, shooting 71, 71, 70 and 75. Fowler’s inconsistencies provided him struggles, though. After shooting a 69 on Thursday, he shot a 77 and 79 on Friday and Sunday with a 72 squeezed between on Saturday. The post Matthew Wolff Finishes Runner-up at 2020 U.S. Open appeared first on Pistols Firing. Read this original article at Pistols Firing Blog. It’s hard to avoid making prisoner-of-the-moment judgments off small sample sizes. And yet every year, the season-opener elicits commentary that almost never ages well. Truth is, not only can you not make definitive conclusions based off a single game, but for OSU, that single game is often against a not-great team. So let’s not write the season off based on a grind-out win over Tulsa, shall we? (And conversely, let’s not declare OSU the Big 12 favorite when they smash, say, West Virginia.) The injury bug bit in-game Saturday, and it was a weird four quarters. Sometimes … that happens! To avoid knee-jerkiness, I’m starting a weekly Monday column — beginning today called Believe it or Not, an idea I’m ripping from my CBS colleague Heath Cummings — wherein I recap some of the weekend’s hottest #takes. This will be a clear-eyed perspective from a 50,000-foot view, with hyperbole (hopefully) eliminated. The goal is to give perspective but also to assess some of the week’s biggest questions and storylines. So let’s get to it. I’ll try to keep these between three and five items, and make determinations accordingly. 1. Believe it or not: OSU has something in backup QB Shane IllingworthAnswer: Believe it With OSU’s offense on life support, Shane Illingworth supplanted Ethan Bullock and instantly breathed life into the unit, leading the team to a much-needed TD drive. He finished the game 4-of-5 passing for 74 yards, and with one rush for -3 yards. Mike Gundy said after the game that Illingworth has been out “for a long time on contract tracing,” so his practice time has been limited in recent weeks (which likely explains why Bullock got the first reps at QB when Sanders went out). But … Illingworth definitely didn’t look like he missed a beat. He was crisp with his pocket movement, made some confident throws down the field and looked like he had a firm grasp of the offense. He might just be a gamer. “I think he handled it really well, and I didn’t notice them scaling back anything with him being in the game,” said Gundy on Saturday. Sanders’ availability for Saturday’s Big 12 opener is up in the air, but Illingworth looks plenty capable as a passer and showed some spunk and swagger I really liked. He’s already First Team All-Confidence as a freshman, and that’s big should he be thrust into an unexpected lead role earlier than anticipated. 2. A viable backup to Chuba needs more repsAnswer: Believe it How many fourth-year running backs have breakout years as backups? The list has to be small, right? Either way, I think we’ve got to consider the possibility that LD Brown might fall into that category. It was Tulsa, so I’m not ready to say he should get 20 touches a game. But Brown looked as spry and nimble as I’ve seen him in four years, running determined and with surprisingly great vision. His nine carries should be about what he gets every game moving forward, which would be a significant uptick after toting it a total of 23 times in conference play last season. “He’s practiced really well,” said Gundy. “He’s always worked hard, but over the last month, he’s just looked a little different in practice. I wish I could give you a reason why, but he’s practiced really hard, his attitude’s been really good and I thought he was a very physical runner [Saturday]. We’re certainly gonna need him, so I’m excited about what he accomplished today.” 3. The offensive line’s performance is of grave concernAnswer: Don’t believe it Tulsa recorded six sacks (!) on Saturday, and 14 tackles for loss. It was not a sterling performance for the OSU offensive line. And when you factor in offseason losses of Bryce Bray and Jacob Farrell, it’s concerning that there was no real cohesion for a unit that had questions entering the season. “We were playing musical chairs,” said Gundy on Saturday. “We had some guys go out, so we had to move some guys to different positions to try to settle in, to get the guys in there that have practiced the most.” But, no time to panic. The injury bug snipped this unit as well, and things should only improve. At the very least, we need to see more before being overly concerned. OSU still rushed for 141 yards on the ground Saturday. “We were below average [on the offensive line], based on musical chairs,” Gundy said Monday at his weekly presser. “When you move people around that much, the continuity is difficult. Hopefully we can get set in what we need, guys can get quality reps this week, and have them where we want them … when you have six different people moving multiple spots in a game, you’re not going to have as much continuity and consistency as you want.” The post Believe it or Not: OSU Has Something in Backup RB and QB appeared first on Pistols Firing. Read this original article at Pistols Firing Blog. The status of OSU starting quarterback Spencer Sanders is up in the air as the Cowboys prepare for their Big 12 opener against West Virginia on Saturday. Sanders left Saturday’s season-opener with a high-ankle sprain after playing just a series and a play. At his weekly media availability on Monday, coach Mike Gundy didn’t have a definitive answer for Sanders’ availability this upcoming weekend. “We booted him up,” Gundy said. “We’ll take it off on Tuesday and then put him out there Wednesday and go from there.” Gundy, who often holds injury information close to the vest, also said there isn’t an alternate quarterback plan at his time. With that said, it seems highly likely true freshman Shane Illingworth would be the guy given his game-winning performance against Tulsa on Saturday. Illingworth was the third quarterback OSU used Saturday, coming in after several stalled possessions with junior college transfer Ethan Bullock at the reigns. Illingworth finished the game 4-for-5 with 74 yards, and he led three scoring drives. Bullock finished 8-for-13 with 41 yards, he was sacked four times and he led no scoring drives. It will be interesting to see how new offensive coordinator Kasey Dunn handles the uncertainty of the week. After Saturday’s win Dunn said Sanders, a dual-threat, and Illingworth, a pocket passer, were on “opposite ends of the spectrum” in terms of skillset. The Cowboys host West Virginia on Saturday with kickoff scheduled for 2:30 p.m. The post Spencer Sanders in Walking Boot, Status to be Evaluated Wednesday appeared first on Pistols Firing. Read this original article at Pistols Firing Blog. The Cowboys didn’t have to go far to get their second commitment of the 2022 class. Stillwater High linebacker Gabe Brown announced his commitment to Oklahoma State on Monday. Brown is a 6-foot-2, 210-pound inside linebacker prospect. OSU closed quickly with Brown, having just offered him Sept. 10. The Pokes were Brown’s first Division-I offer. As a sophomore, Brown led the Pioneers with 126 total tackles. That included eight tackles for loss. He also had two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and an interception. As of the time of this writing, Brown is unranked in the composite rankings, but 247Sports lists him as a three-star prospect and the No. 10 prospect from Oklahoma in 2022. He is the second commit in the Cowboys’ 2022 class, joining Louisianan defensive back De’Kelvion Beamon. The post Stillwater Linebacker Gabe Brown Commits to Oklahoma State appeared first on Pistols Firing. Read this original article at Pistols Firing Blog. Daily Bullets (Sept. 21): Matthew Wolff Knocked on the Door Cowboys Absurd Start to 2020 Season9/21/2020 The Daily Bullets are brought to you by Hoboken Coffee: Get 20% off your first order. OSU Bullets• Matthew Wolff came up just short at the U.S. Open, finishing second in just his second major • Berry Tramel nailed the absolute absurdity of how the 2020 Cowboy Football season started on Saturday • How’s Spencer Sanders doing? Mike Gundy will surely be asked at today’s media availability but here’s what he had to say Saturday:
The rumor during the game was that it was hip-related but Robert Allen walked that back on the radio, it was just an observation he made, not what he was told. Everything reported is an ankle issue but nobody is sure how bad it is. • LD Brown’s play over the weekend was terrific – really hoping he uses all of his eligibility and starts next year.
• The OSU football documentary on ESPN (“Our Time”) is running as long as the season goes, per the Tulsa World • Pokes fell in the AP Poll this week • Oklahoma State checks in at No. 323 in WSJ’s top college rankings • If you’re looking for reasons for optimism for (however short lived) the Shane Illingworth era, here she is:
Non-OSU Bullets• Miami and Denver have nailed it without lottery picks Not at all a political statement but I’m excited to watch Jim Carrey play Joe Biden on SNL this fall:
The post Daily Bullets (Sept. 21): Matthew Wolff Knocked on the Door, Cowboys’ Absurd Start to 2020 Season appeared first on Pistols Firing. Read this original article at Pistols Firing Blog.
Between the dual blights of COVID-19 and the big, mean Sun Belt Conference, the 2020 Big 12 football season is off to a humbling start. Well, not all of the league's member
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Despite the win — as ugly as it may have been — Oklahoma State dropped several spots in the latest college football polls after Week 4 of the season
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What’s new with WVU?
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To add to the impressive statistics, OSU’s defense held Tulsa to 0-for-11 on third down and 1-for-4 on fourth. “That’s not only great effort, but it’s everybody being in the right place,” Knowles said. “The fact that we knew where to fit, what to do, how to defend in all of those critical situations, it really shows a maturity and great experience. I feel like that’s what really won us the game. “We wanted to get a couple turnovers, you always do. We didn’t get that done. And I thought our pressure on the quarterback wasn’t good enough. We generated some through some blitzing, but I think we gotta keep working on that. But I thought our coverage was great all day. One route against Tanner [McCalister], but he was there. Quarterback [threw] a hell of a ball. Then the one Kolby [Harvell-Peel] undercut it. I just felt we were all over them in coverage.” The Cowboys did force one turnover, a late interception from Kolby Harvell-Peel, but they did sack Zach Smith only once, but it was a big one. In the fourth quarter defending a 6-point lead, OSU’s defense gave Tulsa no hope of a go-ahead score. Malcolm Rodriguez ended the would-be go-ahead drive with a sack on fourth down, giving OSU’s offense the ball back on TU’s 2-yard line. It wasn’t the only time Knowles’ group was good under pressure. At one point, Tulsa had a first-and-goal on OSU’s 4 and ended that drive with no points. On third down, new starter Tanner McCalister made a diving deflection in the end zone, and TU missed the ensuing field goal. McCalister was in coverage for about seven seconds. “I think [the play in the end zone] just one of many,” McCalister said. “I’m still mad about the out-and-up that led them to get the only score they had, so I’m beating myself up about that one. But I think [the play in the end zone] is gonna be one of many. If our defense keeps playing like this, I think everyone’s gonna get the opportunities to make plays.” From most all accounts, OSU’s defense is the reason the Pokes are 1-0 in 2020. It’s inconceivable to believe that a Gundy-led team will look like this offensively all season, so when OSU does start putting points on the board, things could get interesting. “To be a great defense, to be a contributor to a championship team, you can’t be one-sided,” Knowles said. “Regardless of how the offense does, we have to learn how to win games on defense. I think we did that. I think you saw that at the end of last season, and now you saw it today where guys stepped up and took it into their own hands. “Our offense is gonna get going, and they’re gonna get it going. When we do, I think we’ll really be dangerous because we’ll play off each other.” The post OSU’s Defensive Performance Saturday Best against Tulsa in Gundy Era appeared first on Pistols Firing. Read this original article at Pistols Firing Blog. |
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