The road not taken
Cameron Batson thought OSU would offer him out of high school, but instead the Millwood receiver signed with Texas Tech where his career has flourished.
Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury knows what his offense could’ve done better in last year’s 45-44 loss to Oklahoma State.
The Red Raiders rushed the ball 44 times in that game, but produced only 142 yards, an average of 3.2 yards per carry.
OSU played almost exclusively in a three-man front last year, getting more linebackers and defensive backs on the field. That influenced Kingsbury’s offensive decision-making.
“We couldn’t run the football last year,” he said. “Hopefully, if that’s the look we get, we’re able to run the football better, because that’s kind of what they’re daring you to do at that point.
“They mix it up pretty well this year, so we’ll be prepared for both.”
Kingsbury has been impressed by the variety of highly active players on the Cowboy defense.
“Disruptive up front, smart linebackers,” he said. “It seems like (Tre) Flowers on the back end has been there forever, makes a bunch of tackles. (Ramon) Richards, who I thought was one of the best corners in the league last year, they moved to safety.
“They’re a good defense. They don’t give you anything easy. Everything’s earned and you can tell they’ve played a lot of football together.”
OSU’s Brad Lundblade a semifinalist for Campbell Trophy
Oklahoma State center Brad Lundblade has been named a semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy, given to college football’s top scholar-athlete.
The National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame announced the list of 181 semifinalists on Wednesday. Lundblade is one of six players from the Big 12 Conference on the list.
Each player selected as a semifinalist was nominated by his respective school. In order to be eligible for the award, the player must be a senior or graduate student in his final year of playing eligibility, have a GPA of at least 3.2 on a 4.0 scale, have outstanding football ability as a first-team player or significant contributor and have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship.
Lundblade walked on at OSU in the fall of 2014 and earned his first start late in his true freshman season. He was put on scholarship prior to the opening of 2015 fall camp and has started every game for the Cowboys each of the past two seasons.
Lundblade received several academic honors, highlighted by earning a spot on the CoSIDA Academic All-America Division I Football first team. He was the only player from a Big 12 school to earn first-team honors in 2016.
The NFF will announce 12-14 finalists for the award on November 1, with the winner of the Campbell Trophy being announced at the 60th NFF Annual Awards Dinner on December 5 in New York City.
Quotable
OSU offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich wasn’t interested in messing around, trying to rehash the struggles of last Saturday’s 44-31 loss to TCU. Here’s what he had to say when asked about the difficulties his offense faced in the loss:
“It’s Tuesday of Texas Tech (week). I’m focused on Texas Tech. Our players are focused on beating Texas Tech, so that’s where our minds are right now — to improve this practice just like we tried to focus on improving in last Tuesday’s practice.” STAFF WRITER