He's a Man in Orange

Originally posted July 3, 2009

We have all seen the rant, coach comes to the defense of his quarterback, and no, we are not talking about Corch Meyer, today we are talking about Mike Gundy, Head Coach of the Oklahoma State Cowboys. After a 9-4 season in 2008, Gundy begins his 5th season at his alma mater with a 27-23 record as a head coach. No, the 2007 opener in Athens didn’t count as 2 Ls for Man Gundy. Outside of the above mentioned “I’m a man” rant, what do we know about these orange clad cowboys and their coach?

The most fascinating thing I discovered is they had one helluva a punter. Frankly, I was not aware they punted in the Big12. Apparently some of those swiss cheese defenses were able to stop Zac Robinson and his natural gas, or is it wind, powered offense. In addition to Robinson’s gun slinging, the Pokes present 2 running backs that both averaged over 6.5 yards per carry last year. I dare not even mention Dez Bryant. So either Man Gundy actually knows a thing or two about offense, or just he just knows how to pick his opponents.

Les Miles appears to have left while the leaving was good, but Gundy has filled the empty cupboard the “Hat” left behind. Their offensive line is proven. Their skill position players are talented and experienced. Their video department has enough footage of Tuscaloosa, Gainesville, and North Avenue to make a Dawg tuck its tail. They will enter the game with a national ranking of somewhere around 10. Vegas has already placed them a 3.5 favorite against our visiting Dawgs.

How will we survive?
40.8 pts/game, 245.5 rushing yds/game, 242.2 passing yds/game. Hell, they only suffer 54.3 penalty yds/game. They punted 37 times in 13 games. They are converting 3rd downs at a 45% clip. 89% red zone efficiency with 68% touchdowns. They didn’t miss a PAT. I have no proof but I bet they didn’t have a single kickoff go out of bounds.

Outstanding offense, outstanding special teams, a top ten ranking, a new stadium to open the season, a “Man” for a coach, enough “Z”s on their roster to win any scrabble game, how will we survive?

We bring an unproven QB and unproven RBs. Our defense lacks depth and experience in the secondary. Our pass rush was non-existent last year. Okie State will not play by our practice rules (touch football). They are not going to put boards up along the sidelines so our kick offs do not go out of bounds. How will we survive?

WE WILL SURVIVE AND THRIVE by playing Georgia Football. We will be healthy and at full strength. We will have something to prove. Last year was an aberration, an anomaly. We lost three games, to three good teams. In those three games, we only played three halves of football.

Coach Martinez is going to show us all why he IS the Defensive Coordinator at the University of Georgia. Rennie Curran is going to show the world why he is leather-seeking missile. Jeff Owens is going to remind all of the NFL scouts what Georgia DTs are all about. Reshad Jones is going to remember how to tackle TO THE GROUND.

Joe Cox IS A WINNER, and he is going to show the world. Someone, if not several, is/are going to step up at running back. The offensive line is going to turn that swiss cheese defensive into slices so thin a deli would be proud. AJ Green is going to be AJ Green, and the other receivers are going to be wide open. Blair Walsh is going to kick it straight and true through the uprights and Brandon Bogatay is going to kick it deep and inbounds.

The Georgia Bulldogs are going to be the Georgia Bulldawgs and the Oklahoma State Cowboys are going to wear orange!