OSU blocks out negative noise
STILLWATER — Mike Gundy's postgame news conference was going along as expected after Oklahoma State's 38-35 win over No. 6 Texas on Saturday night.
Praise for his players. A tip of the cap to Texas. And then ... THHWWPPPP!
A sound most appropriately defined as blowing raspberries.
Gundy worked the sound into his news conference a couple more times, primarily in response to questions about how his team — and in particular, quarterback Taylor Cornelius — was able to avoid getting sucked in by outside criticism of the program during the last couple of weeks since the disappointing loss to Kansas
State on Oct. 13. Gundy asked the
reporter what criticism he was talking about.
A few examples were given, one of them being Twitter.
“I don’t give a rat’s a** about Twitter,” Gundy said before letting loose with his sound effects. “It’s a platform for people sitting at home drawing an unemployment check, sitting in front of the keyboard.”
And he closed it out with one more raspberry.
You can agree or disagree with Gundy’s Twitter take, but 18- to 22-year-old types spend a good bit of time on social media. That includes not all, but some of the OSU players. Others shut it down for the season, or keep their social media circles tight, letting only friends and family in.
With the Cowboys' season appearing to be on a southward swirl before Saturday night, it seems it would've been easy for the outside negativity to seep into the locker room. Based on Saturday's performance, the Cowboys seemed to keep the door clamped shut on the outside noise. Otherwise, Saturday night would’ve likely had a very different ending.
“That’s just a part of our culture,” said running back Chuba Hubbard, who accounted for 111 all-purpose yards. “We don’t ever listen to that stuff. It’s just about what we do on the field, what our coaches say and what we say as players.”
The Cowboys (5-3, 2-3 Big 12) are a win away from bowl eligibility, which seemed like a long shot two weeks ago. They visit Baylor for an 11 a.m. kick next Saturday.
Cornelius, who was a favorite Twitter target of the disgruntled fan base — and has been for weeks, with constant calls for his benching — played one of his most complete games of the year. He finished 23-of-34 for 321 yards and three touchdowns against one of the best passing defenses in the Big 12. He ran for 54 yards on nine designed run plays with two touchdowns, including the game-sealing score with 5:44 left.
Twice on fourth-and-1, with the Cowboys well into Texas territory, he checked into downfield passes, rather than run calls to move the chains. Both plays went for touchdowns — one to a wideopen Jelani Woods, the other to star-in-the-making receiver Tylan Wallace, who made an incredible catch between two defenders. The offensive line and the defensive backfield, two other regular targets for criticism, came up big in clutch situations.
The line looked to be rejuvenated in the first half, though it endured some position shuffling and lost a little momentum in the second half.
The secondary was good in coverage most of the night, with cornerback A.J. Green leading the way. He spent a lot of his night covering Texas' 6-foot-6 star wideout Collin Johnson, who finished with five catches for 65 yards.
Green was called for two pass interference penalties, though one on Texas' first drive appeared to be a clean play with incidental contact as he and Johnson got their legs tangled.
Green says blocking out the noise from the outside is just as important when the team is playing good, as when it’s struggling.
“The same people who will talk good about you,” Green said, “will talk bad about you.”