Mike Gundy hopes to see momentum continue against Kansas

Oklahoma State is coming off a big win last Friday night against Kansas State. The Cowboys were double-digit underdogs and won their first Big 12 game beating Kansas State, 29-21.

Head coach Mike Gundy reviewed the film game and said the key is to take that momentum to the Kansas game. He liked the way his offensive line and running game got on track rushing for 174 yards.

“The challenge for us now is to do it again, to stay where we are and improve, but we ran better against, in my opinion, the best rush defense team that we'd played up to this point,” Gundy said. “And we had quite a bit of success. And so, the challenge is to stay focused and get their motor running and practice well and all the things that actually matter that could affect us this Saturday.”

They know the job against Kansas will not get any easier this week. The Jayhawks are sixth in the nation in rushing offense and feature two of the league’s best running backs in Devin Neal and Daniel Hishaw.

Neal and Hishaw rank third and fourth in the conference in yards per carry. Dylan McDuffie has emerged as a solid option behind them.

“Well, they're both good,” Gundy said of Neal and Hishaw. “The third team guy, they bring in on goal line, he's a problem. He's an issue too. They pound you straight ahead. They've got a good package. They're smart. They know what they're doing.”

Oklahoma State will prepare for Jason Bean at quarterback. He started the last two games as Jalon Daniels recovers from a back injury.

“We have to prepare for Bean,” Gundy said. “I don't know what's going on with Jalon Daniels, but he's not been out there in a couple of weeks, and I don't know that they change a lot when he's in there. They're going to do the same stuff in my opinion. Now he might bring a few things to the table differently, but we have to prepare for the guy that's been out there.”

Gundy was asked if there is a concern going against the Jayhawks offense with an inexperienced secondary. Kansas offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki likes to mix up his looks with different personnel sets and a lot of motion.

Their recent opponents do some of the same things and he hopes that will prepare his defense for Saturday.

“Well, they present challenges for a variety of reasons, but this is the third week we've seen this,” he said. “Iowa State motions and shifts tight ends on every snap, and so does Kansas State. They all do the same thing. They're trying to create leverage and get confusion and not try to give you a beat on number and where he is at and if they run the ball with him in this location and certain things.

He continued: “Creating a lot of eye candy and distraction, which is good. So, the good news is we've worked on that for the last three weeks. The challenge this week is all of that, and then trying to match up triple option after they reset. That's the challenge we face this week.”

On defense Gundy talked about the secondary and the physical style of play he has seen on film from Kansas. He believes the defense has improved going against the offense in practice.

“They're similar to Kansas State because they play in a power run system that they go through in spring and they go through August and compete against their offense,” he said. “So, if you don't start to bring a little bit of heat with you, you're going to get beat up. You're just forced to learn to be physical based on their style of offensive play.”

Gundy said it is the same defense they saw from Kansas last year.

“Their defense hasn't changed,” Gundy said. “They're doing the same thing. They're not real complicated, but they don't get out of place much. They understand where to fit and they know their coverages.”