Cowboys ‘ready to play’ after postponement
STILLWATER — Oklahoma State linebacker Devin Harper learned about Saturday' s game against Baylor being postponed the way many 20- somethings l earn most of their news: through social media.
As frustrating as it was to have the game delayed, the news wasn't a shock to Harper.
“I found out through Twitter ,” Harper said. “Obviously, I was upset and wanted to play, but I guess it's COVID, so you kinda expected it, but obviously didn't want it to happen.
Baylor had shut down i ts football operations on Oct. 8 because of COVID-19 issues, so the Cowboy players were on alert that a postponement could happen.
“We heard they had some quarantine stuff going on,”
Harper said .“We stayed focused and we planned on playing, but we knew( a postponement) could possibly happen.”
Throughout this week, practice has maintained a strong intensity with players anxious to get back on the field.
“Everybody' s ready to play,” Harper said. “We're all hyped up getting ready for Iowa State and practicing our butts off.”
Coach Mike Gundy has been pleased with practice effort as well.
“They've practiced well.
Their attitudes are good,” Gundy said. “Our enthusiasm's good, effort's good. We're getting a lot of work accomplished. I feel about as good as a guy can feel going through another open week.”
Offense still sees lots of room for improvement
The 47 points Oklahoma State posted against Kansas on Oct. 3 was a boost to the offense's confidence.
But i t didn't heal all the wounds of a group that managed 43 total points in the previous two games.
“Our confidence is definitely up,” said sophomore right guard Hunter Woodard. “There's still a whole lot that we have to work on. We can put more points up than that. But finally breaking that barrier and putting some real points on the board, it felt good. It showed us that we are able to do it this year.”
Most importantly, the offense found balance in the Kansas game, rushing for 295 yards on 60 carries and throwing for 298 yards on 30 attempts.
Quotable
Gundy on his defense: “I think our defense has a lot of confidence. I really do. I watch them practice, and they enjoy each other. They're playing reckless at this point, which I think is a valuable asset for a defense. I'm looking forward to the next game, and as we progress over the next month, watching and s eeing how we develop and finding out how good we are on defense. That's the strategic part that I really enjoy in coaching. We get out there a week from Saturday, we find out how good of schemes we have and how good of coaches we are, based on the players. The results on the field by the players tell us as coaches if we've done a good job each week. There's your clear-cut evidence. So it'll be interesting to see how it all falls.”