Self-scouting is key to productive bowl season for Nardo
STILLWATER — As he spoke to the media immediately following Oklahoma State's 49-21 loss to Texas in the Big 12 Championship Game last weekend, Bryan Nardo sounded like a man ready to get back to work.
The Cowboys' first-year defensive coordinator knew he wouldn't coach another game for nearly a month, and he'll get that chance when the 20th-ranked Cowboys take on Texas A&M in the Texas Bowl at 8 p.m. Dec. 27 at NRG Stadium in Houston.
And Nardo knew he wouldn't coach another practice for eight days, with OSU coach Mike Gundy giving his team a rest after a grinding season.
So, as he stood amid a cluster of media beneath AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, a week ago, Nardo knew his most important next step.
“I'm gonna self-scout, even more than I usually do,” Nardo said of his immediate priority in the Big 12 title game aftermath.
Nardo faced a slew of gifted and experienced offensive minds in his first year coordinating a defense above the Division II level. He saw things he couldn't have envisioned. His defense was attacked in ways that couldn't have happened in stops at places like Emporia State or Gannon University.
And finally with some time to reflect, Nardo knew he needed to dig deeper into the areas where his defense was exploited.
“Getting ready for this bowl is practice and preparation for spring,” Gundy said. “We have a new structure on defense where we have found that coaches are able to identify flaws in our schemes and attack us, and we have to come up with answers for that as we move forward. Bryan has to do the same thing for himself and our concepts and schemes.”
The Cowboy defense ran hot and cold throughout the year. It would get hit with a string of big plays, then find ways to clamp down and preserve victories. The numbers weren't great, but the results often proved to have greater value.
The Pokes ranked 120th nationally in total defense and 90th in scoring defense.
But they countered that with moments like the final five possessions of the Kansas game, when they had two interceptions, two turnovers on downs and another stop to end the game as OSU rallied for a 39-32 win.
In Bedlam, the Sooners had just three points on their final five possessions as OSU again rallied for victory.
After OSU fell behind 23-9 late in the second quarter at Houston, it was a defensive play that sparked the turnaround as Houston managed just a solitary touchdown over its last nine possessions.
In the second half against BYU, the defense allowed only a field goal late in the fourth quarter, then came up with the game-clinching play in the second overtime.
In all, OSU trailed in the second half of six of the nine games it won, and in four of those, it trailed in the fourth quarter, but got defensive stops down the stretch to give the offense a chance for comebacks.
Nardo knows what he saw, not just from his players, but from opponents, and that's where his focus has been for the last week.
“Really trying to look at formation recognition, look at what other teams do successfully that look similar to us,” Nardo said.
The idea of 15 more practices ahead of a bowl game excites Nardo, because he knows he will get to use several of those sessions to solely focus on the Cowboys themselves, without worrying about game plans or schemes for Texas A&M.
“Keep teaching our guys technique,” he said. “I think this is a great opportunity. I've never done it. We had bowl games at Emporia State where we got about six or seven practices and we used it like spring ball, so our young guys get a lot of reps.
“I think that's a very good advantage that we get, really looking at our scheme and seeing what we liked, what worked well for us this year, what do we need to keep teaching to our young players so we can continue to move forward.”
Trying to self-scout in the middle of the season is a balancing act. How much time do you devote to looking at yourself, when you know you have another opponent and only a few practices to fully prepare for them?
“You wanna make sure you're not looking too much into it, because you don't wanna chase ghosts,” Nardo said. “But you wanna make sure you're seeing what they see from an offensive perspective.
“That's where I've been very fortunate to have some good people who are able to see things as well. Coach Gundy is very good at it. He gives us an offensive perspective all the time.”
So Nardo dove into his self-scouting early this week before hitting the road to recruit. And to aid the process, OSU's team of analysts — which includes veteran defensive minds like Gary Gibbs and Stan Eggan, each in their fourth decade of coaching — have continued the process while Nardo has been on the road.
Coaches often say a player's biggest development comes between his first and second year, but there's no reason to think that isn't also true for a coordinator in Nardo's position.
And that development is happening now.
“We have a few weeks to try to correct some of our flaws in all three phases,” Gundy said. “But it's a bigger offseason for Bryan than any of them, because this is all new to him, and the concepts we're using are new to Oklahoma State. So we've got a lot of work ahead of ourselves over the next month.”