What Are Mike Gundy's Thoughts on BYU?
After an impressive victory over the Houston Cougars, the Oklahoma State Cowboys will be back at home on Saturday for one final time this season to take on the BYU Cougars.
BYU is coming off a loss to the Oklahoma Sooners, but it did have success on the ground game. The Cougars had 249 rushing yards, including 182 yards from Aidan Robbins.
“They run speed option. They run the read-zone triple option,” Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy said. “They are going to run the plays that their traditional running has always had.”
One of the playmakers for BYU is tight end Issac Rex. The junior has been amazing for the Cougars, for he has 399 receiving yards and three touchdowns on the season. Gundy said they will use him in different spots in the game on Saturday.
“They split him out to a single. They use him as the No. 3 receiver,” Gundy said. “They put him at the front in a bunch set. They like him.”
On defense, Gundy said the Cougars are similar to what Houston ran on defense.
“They base out of a four down, but they will play some three down,” Gundy said. “They’re going to bring their linebackers a lot. They like to crossfire their inside backers over and over and over.
“They’re going to play man coverage against us. They play a little three-deep to mix it up, but they’re going to get up and press us and play man.”
BYU comes into the contest as the No. 110 team in rushing defense in the nation this season. The Cowboys will take advantage of that by relying on Ollie Gordon, who leads the nation in rushing yards this season.
BYU has had some good games and some bad ones in its first year with the Big 12. While it has been an up-and-down season for the Cougars, Gundy said they are a good addition to the conference because people see them as one of the top schools in the country.
“From coast to coast, their logo would trigger in most people’s minds a power-five school forever,” Gundy said. “They’ve always played difficult schedules, so they are a really good addition to the league.”
The Cowboys will take on BYU at 2:30 p.m. inside Boone Pickens Stadium. The game can be seen on ABC.
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Nick is a sports media student at Oklahoma State University, where he also minors Sports Managment. He has covered OSU softball for 107.7 The Franchise and also covers Oklahoma high school football for Enid News & Eagle.