Colorado football opponent preview: Oklahoma State

Intro Welcome to our latest Colorado Buffalo's opponent preview and I'm excited to be joined by Jenny Carlson who covers Oklahoma State for beyondthe boox score.com uh which is part of the substack uh Network correct yes that's right yeah awesome and I you've been covering the Cowboys for a long time I feel like I've covered the bus for a while this will be my 15th football season but you've been covering Oklahoma State longer than that yeah yeah since uh the fall of 1999 I'm heading into my 26 football season being in Oklahoma cover both Oklahoma and Oklahoma State but yeah I uh I've seen the Cowboys go through many many iterations in the last 25 years but uh they're definitely in one of the best stretches uh they've had in their program history which for a lot of cowboy fans is a lot of fun yeah well Oklahoma State and the Big 12 you and I might be two of the uh very small number of people that cover the Big 12 previously you've been covering it the whole time but like the when car was back there the previous time and are still covering the Big 12 so um you know it's it's nice to see you and uh you know uh we'll talk some cowboys here and you know I'm I'm curious first off how do Oklahoma State fans uh you know feel about this new Big 12 and um you know I know how Colorado fans you know they're excited for some of these games I think this is one they're very excited about uh this I think CU Oklahoma State it's not see Nebraska CU Oklahoma things like that but CU Oklahoma State feels right like that that needs to be in college football you know because it's a it's an old rivalry so how do Oki State fans feel about this new Big 12 yeah I mean I think it's uh it's definitely a better feeling than it was three years ago when news broke that Oklahoma and Texas were leaving obviously at that point a lot of uncertainty about whether the Big 12 would survive where would Oklahoma state land uh would their future be in the Big 12 or somewhere else so I think the fact that the conference has solidified itself with not only the four new schools out of the Pack 12 this year but the four additions last year you don't replace Brands like Oklahoma and Texas very easily but obviously that guy in the head coaching office in Boulder is a pretty good brand in and of himself so I definitely feel like you know the Cowboys feel like their brand is strong they uh you know I think are a pretty good draw on TV maybe not to the level of some of the Blue Bloods out there but you know I think they feel like they're in a good position in the league and then they've got a team that they feel really good about so while the Big 12 has been known over the last I don't know three four five years for its parody quite honestly even with Oklahoma and Texas in the league uh Oklahoma state has been uh as good really as anybody in getting to the Big 12 championship game so I think there's a sense of yeah the conference has changed the conference has expanded but it really does add to the you know how solidly this conference is in place and Oklahoma State feels good about the way they've navigated it to this point so I think they feel pretty confident moving ahead yeah I will say real quick I think that we cover the two head coaches that people would most tune into to see what they have to say for different reasons because you never know what Mike Gundy is gonna say you never know what Deion Sanders is gonna say yeah no doubt about it yeah Mike Gundy the filter is off we saw that filter maybe take him into some areas he didn't intend to go at Big 12 media day but uh yeah I think he's at this point you know one of the longest tenure coaches in college football uh behind Kirk fence at Iowa and now Kyle Winningham in the Big 12 at Utah but you know he's been there a long time he feels good about this team and I think lots of times when he feels good about his team is when we see him maybe with the least filter so I think that yeah he's definitely one of those people that if they put his weekly press conference on TV I think people would just tune in to see what he might say but he's definitely I think feeling good about the team he's going to put on the field this fall yeah and obviously I'm going Mike Gundy to ask you about the team this year but I do want to ask one thing because um I met Mike hendy last year I went to Big to days in in uh Fort Worth and got a chance to meet him talk to him for a couple minutes and then uh Oklahoma State let me get um him on the phone when Colorado joined the Big 12 we talked for a little bit then I ran into him again in Vegas so I've had like three interactions with him all of them super nice guy like I really enjoyed talking to him what's he like to cover yeah I mean pretty pretty good you know like I said the filter is kind of off at this point in his career he doesn't really hold much back uh at least he doesn't seem to so you know uh it's it's not perfect I mean you're never going to have a perfect uh you know Source reporter relationship but I think as far as you know him feeling comfortable he's a lot more like college basketball coaches are than most college football coaches are I think so many of the college football coaches around the country are you know it's such a big business that there's so much money that revolves around football on campuses that they really feel like they have to always be in protect mode and Mike Gundy doesn't sort of have that way about him he tends to be a little more open so yeah interacting with him is a lot more like you might think interacting with a college basketball coaches where most of those coaches are just a little bit more at ease it seems like in dealing with us so yeah it's it's great um it's great dealing with him it's it's a pretty it's a pretty open conversation when you're talking to Mike Gundy Yeah well yeah I Oklahoma State team enjoyed my conversation with him and you know you you've alluded to this but you know he's had really good teams uh you know 18 straight bowl games which is one of the longest streaks in the country right now and uh you know this year's team um looks like a pretty good one he's had some really good teams in the past obviously uh but as I look at this one you know Jenny when I first did my uh you know Big 12 media poll I put Utah at the top um and The more I've looked into it I'm like man I think I might if I could switch it I might go to Oklahoma State I really like what they at least on paper what they have coming back what do you think of this team yeah this is a team that is really runs counter to what we see around college football and really College athletics right now depending on how you want to do your math it's either 18 or 20 starters that return which you know that's nearly everybody and yeah even 10 or 20 years ago 40 years ago those kind of returner numbers are almost unheard of and then today's day and age I mean it's just nobody has that many returners on their on their squad so for Oklahoma State to bring back so many guys um yeah it's remarkable and I think that sets them up really well they've got a team that you know knows each other they're I think there are some inherent things that come with that that you just can't you just can't you know get when you have big roster turnover and not say that it's going to be perfect but I think having that experience they have a a a line an offensive line that their average age get this their average age Oklahoma state is higher than when the Buffalo Bills had the offensive line that the block for OJ Simpson so I mean this is a veteran offensive line stuff like that you can't really put a value on when it comes to wins and losses but obviously you know that is going to be big but then I think probably the biggest thing is that one of those 18 or 20 or how many ever returners you want to say they have one of those returners happens to be olly Gordon a guy that really burst onto the scene last year at running back won the do Walker got Heisman votes is probably one of those guys that if he comes out and starts putting up big numbers will be in the Heisman conversation again which obviously in today's era quarterbacks tend to be the the the leaders when it comes to Heisman Trophy but you know I think if he can put up some of the big numbers that he put up last year which he had some 300 yard rushing games which you know it's just it's crazy it's crazy numbers that he was putting up a couple points last year if he can do that sort of thing again um I think that's going to be significant for this team you know it's runs contrary to most of college football when teams are throwing it around like they are went to SEC media day after I went to Big 12 media day and pretty much every team brought a quarterback to SEC media day only one brought a running back so it tells you something when the SEC you know sort of the ground and pound and the power Football League that they're known to be are now like nope we're just we we're a quarterback league so it definitely that running back Centric offense is a little bit different Oklahoma State to really maximize is going to have to have something out of the passing game you just can't allow defenses to crowd the box and just stop Oly Gordon he's great but he's not superum so uh you know Alan Bowman who is in his seventh season as a college football player is going to be quarterbacking the Cowboys and then they've got a wide receiver group that's not super deep but the three guys that I think they're looking to depend on most Brennan Presley Rashad Owens and um dejon stribling stribling as a transfer last year who got hurt early in the year but if those three guys can make some plays in the pass game if Bowman can make some plays and really keep defenses honest I think that's the kind of offense that they're going to look to build around and really let Ali Gordon do what Oly Gordon does and their defense they've got a a second-year defensive coordinator last year uh they really saw some good returns and some improvements as the season went on but I think they're looking to make even bigger strides year two under their defensive coordinator Brian Nardo so lots to like but I think it really kind of all revolves around Oly Gordon and that offense yeah and I agree with you Alan Bowman and you know it's such a good running back League you mentioned the SEC a quarterback League there's so many good running backs in this conference in the Big 12 um you know oi Gordon is one of several you know thousand yard rushers that are coming back actually uh but I I wonder if when I look at this team if the key to them to Oklahoma State taking the next level is Alan Bowman uh being in his second year uh you know transferred from Michigan and previously played at uh was it Tech Texas Tech yeah previous played at Tech didn't play much at Michigan comes here last year finally secures that job a few weeks into the season uh do you feel like him being more comfortable being second year at Oklahoma State uh is that a key to this team maybe taking that next step I think so and yeah you mentioned the fact that he did he wasn't named the starter until um really after non-conference play they had uh him and two other quarterbacks that they used in the non-conference the three non-conference games kind of like a pitching rotation they have a starter a middle reliever and a closer and they basically you know whenever that first third of the game was over that guy was out and the second guy was in and it didn't matter how well the first guy was playing or how well the second guy played when he came in they stuck to that rotation to give those three guys a chance to all show what they had and I think what that did I mean they lost a game in there that they probably should have won to South Alabama you know you can argue that that was maybe detrimental to their you know their their season but still made the Big 12 title game still made a good bowl game so I'm not sure that killed him but I think what it did was it kept Alan Bowman from having all of those first team reps with the offense and there's something to be said for timing with you know your receivers with you're getting to really be comfortable with your offensive line and so while he had a good amount of time with those guys he didn't have the full amount so I think knowing that he's the guy in Spring practice in Fall practice in you know gameweek practice I think that's going to continue to move him forward um but yeah I think him really being able to make good decisions he doesn't have to necessarily go win a ton of ball games for this team I don't think but he does have to be a good game manager um and really you know no mistakes don't turn it turn don't turn it over don't throw it to the other team I think those are the types of things that they're going to need Alan Bowman to do a lot of this Defense season yeah the other thing is I look at this team and you can correct me if I'm wrong but is that defense has to get better I mean they were not great last year but returned almost everybody they got two allconference linebackers uh that looks to me like that's the strength of this defense but um how much better does that defense have to be for Oklahoma State to again be in that that conversation with her playoff maybe yeah I think it definitely has to improve and I think they feel like they are going to improve you mentioned you know their linebackers Nick Martin Colin Oliver are really the guys that that defense revolves around Kendall Daniels in the secondary is also a guy that you know when you see him you think dang this is a this is a prole safety so they've got some guys that um will play and do you know do well um individually but yeah they really need to uh coales around Brian Nardo and his defense they changed defensive schemes with him a year ago so you know a lot of Veteran guys had to relearn an off relearn a defense and so I think that that was probably part of what you saw was you know guys just figuring out where do they fit in what does this look like how are they supposed to adjust and I think we saw them improve as the year went on uh you know the last time they changed defensive coordinators at Oklahoma State it was Jim nolles who's now the defensive coordinator at oh Ohio State and it took him really the better part of two seasons to get to the point where you started to see you know really steps forward you could see what the defense was going to become I think that that turnover was shorter we we saw it really within last season but it still needs to be more consistent their secondary was really young last year which obviously is good for getting experience but really hard for learning on the job um so I think that the hope is that they can they can be better in the secondary but they also had a defensive line that from time to time they would you know make a make a make themselves known but they really didn't pressure the quarterback sack the quarterback you know get uh tackles for loss like I think need their defensive line to get so that's going to be um that's going to be an area to see playing this different defense playing 3 three4 you're um you're really asking your your your guys in the secondary to make plays but your defensive lineman on occasion have got to do some things so I think that's where um I think that's where they're going to be looking for some improvement out there yeah and you mentioned a DJ McKenna little bit ago how Oklahoma State's kind of an anomaly this year and then they got everybody back uh the portal movement was not a whole lot but one of the guys they lost was DJ McKenna who's now at Colorado um you know and looking like he's going to be a starting corner and had a really good spring uh you know he played a lot last year I was not a starter but you know what's your thought on DJ mckin what can you tell buff fans about what they're getting out of this G yeah he was one of those guys that as they had some injuries and needed to continue to bring younger guys into that secondary he did get to play a lot and I was impressed by him you know I think that he showed some good flashes and I think he's a guy that you know again given a chance to get comfortable get more reps with the first team defense I think he's definitely a guy that uh you know can make plays and can can be a strong performer in the defensive secondary so yeah when he transferred you know Oklahoma State didn't lose a lot in the transfer portal the year before they did in fact there were questions about you know what's going on in Oklahoma State because they lost not just transfers but they lost starters which lots of times you see guys leave who aren't getting opportunities or maybe they go want to be closer to home but this was a situation where guys who were getting good playing time left Still Water a couple years ago and so that really was setting off alarm Bells but this last off season they really didn't lose much and DJ McKenna was probably one of the guys that when he transfer I thought uh that's a guy that Oklahoma state would like to keep around they lost a couple years ago a guy named Jabar Muhammad who ended up at Washington played for national championship last year was a starter in that secondary you just don't want to lose guys like that that's not if you know from from Oklahoma State's perspective you don't want to become a program that develops these guys and then loses them to somebody else to go be a starter so I think DJ McKenna was one of those guys this last off season that probably hurt most to see him leave but uh I think in the grand scheme it was definitely not nearly the uh The Exodus that we saw two years ago for Oklahoma State yeah well buff fans are Oklahoma State excited to have DJ because uh you they're they're liking what he did this spring and I think he's going to give them some options you know at corner so it'll be interesting to see that but uh this game it's it'll be the finale the regular season finale uh when Oklahoma State comes to Boulder for the first time in in a long time I don't I don't I don't remember the last time they were here the only time I've ever covered Oklahoma state was the Almo Bowl which wearing the hat right here and and it didn't go well for the Buffs but I I I know buff fans are hoping that there's something on the line that they're playing for Oklahoma State could be playing you know to get into that uh big that almost said pack that big 12 title game but are you looking forward to coming to Boulder that last game and spending your Thanksgiving in Boulder Colorado absolutely yeah uh definitely a game I'm looking forward to uh you know I think Cowboy fans and the Cowboys themselves are as well you know obviously it has been a while since there was a game in Boulder between these two teams I think this is one of those uh environments especially in the last year or so that's been roked to be one of the you know more um you know active environments Lively environments is obviously a beautiful setting there in Boulder um you know being where it is in the mountains and Ralphie and all of the things that come with Colorado football and now people are super excited about Dion and what he's done there but yeah it's I I think you know where these two teams are when they meet is a great you know it's a great question it's a great unknown Oklahoma State's two toughest games at least on paper are their first two in Big 12 play they open with Utah at home and then the very next week they go to Kansas State a couple teams that along with Oklahoma State State um probably Kansas and maybe Arizona are the five teams that people expect we will probably be in the race most for the Big 12 title game but obviously going to Colorado uh you know being a last game of the year are the Buffs in the conversation with all the transfers and all the changes that Deion Sanders has brought in his second year we don't know we we saw what they were at the start of last year if they're that at the end of this year this is obviously a game that could determine who makes to Jerry world to the Big 12 title game and maybe even makes the college football playoff with this expanded playoff more games mean more later in the year and this is one of those games that you know depending on how these two seasons go could be really really high stakes in Boulder come Rivals November well it's already set up for National TV it's at 10: amm I think ABC is that right so I can't wait set up yeah and I I I do want to ask you one more thing because you know Colorado a lot of the talk about them when they left the Big 12 uh 13 years ago 14 years ago whatever was that Nebraska was always kind of their rival and they don't have that anymore uh and they've never really had one like they packed 12 tread to manufactur Utah and CU but it never really felt right Oklahoma State now loses Oklahoma yeah who is their rival now and could it be Colorado I mean can these two teams like hey you know we don't have a rival do you guys want to be our Rivals you know like is this a is this one that could be a rivalry I I think it could be and you're right you know I think one of the one of the things that most strikes me about about this changing uh evolving Big 12 is that it doesn't include a bedum rivalry anymore um you know one of the oldest rivalries in all of college football is not going to be played this year and it's going to be weird you know it's it was weird last year to think it was the last one on the schedule I think at some point it'll get back on the schedule I'm maybe I'm maybe I'm GL has full half full on that but um I think it will get back at some point but clearly the old big eight Rivals getting a chance to renew their rivalry and especially if if this game this year is a high stakes game I think it only helps to make the the possibility of a rivalry built you know even higher um I think anytime you get sort of that bad blood and close games and high stakes games that helps to start to stoke some of that you know I think for Oklahoma State right now as they look around for Rivals somebody like Texas Tech is probably towards the top of that list um a team that again they've played on a regular basis um you know sort of similar type of uh mindset in terms of uh you know the the fans and uh sort of you know fighting for fighting for their uh standing in the college football world I mean all those sorts of things I think probably lean towards maybe somebody like Tech becoming a rival but clearly Oklahoma state is trying to figure out who that next big rival is and if a game like Colorado this year becomes uh you know sort of a a wow game you know a a dog fight type of game and then you know I think that could be the start of something if the and then if these two teams could find themselves in the Big 12 title game against each other even better because I think that only adds to the potential but yeah I think the fact that it is you know big eight renewed uh you know Big 12 renewed I think it does have a chance to be one of those games that could become a rivalry yeah well I'm excited for it it's because of that that old history with these two teams and it's going to be a lot of fun so Jenny I appreciate it and uh hey we'll see you around Thanksgiving thanks Brian appreciate it