Notes from the podcast:
- Final score didn't do justice on how we played. We dominated the game for 3 quarters.
- Cameron Epps has a phenomenal game. Seemed to learn a lot from the ISU game and tore it up in practice all week (7 ints in practice last week)
- Rawls, Stribling and Wright out for the season. All 3 will be back next year.
- Dunn called a good first half. Counter, power, reverse flea flicker, lots of short quick routes.
- Was able to sustain drives, but had difficulty finishing.
- 51% zone runs, 11 gap scheme runs. Some ISO (man blocking) runs.
- Rotated LG by quarter between Brooks and Birmingham
- Klieman (sp?) said we were doing things in game we didn't show earlier in the year.
- Ran a lot of air raid route concepts which seemed to help Bowman settle in.
- Offensive line played very well in pass protection.
- Dunn needs to call better plays in the red zone.
- Gundy being conservative at the end of the game was a good call.
Offense
OL
- Dalton Cooper has looked really good at LT. Moving him there from RT has been a game changer. He has looked much, much better at LT. Had several good downfield blocks on Ollie's runs.
- Springfield also had a good game and was kicking guys outside and out of the play consistently.
- Left side runs were very effective behind Cooper, if we run some weakside counter runs, it could match up well with Kansas' defense.
- In the first quarter, Jason Brooks had a really good game, blocked 2 different people and pushed Ollie into the end zone on Ollie's TD run. Regressed a bit in the 3rd quarter.
- Cole Birmingham graded out better as a pass blocker according to PFF, but was not as effective against the run as Brooks. Guard is a better spot for him than LT was.
- Joe Michalski had a good first half despite having a 0 technique lining up on him, as historically, he has really struggled against NTs.
- Preston Wilson also played well at RG. Was able to operate efficiently. Right side of the line played better than in previous games so far this year.
- Line play is starting to improve overall, but they still lack physicality, which is leading to issues in the red zone (combined with playcalling).
- Should be the 2nd best DL they will play all year, which bodes well.
QB
- Bowman 19/35 for 235 yards.
- Dunn said Bowman took every snap in practice this week, which was not what Gundy told the media (good trolling).
- Wore a Bob Fenimore jersey for the post game interview and mentioned that it was Fenimore's bday. Really cool how he carries himself.
- Was 2 plays away from having a really good game at QB, two swpecific drops prevented that. 4 drops total.
- Was 2.35 seconds from snap to throw on average.
- Really wish he was QB he was all season as we would be 4-1. This offense is very different than last year. Uses a lot of middle of the field throws.
- Short quick passing game at start of game seems to calm him down, similar to how running sanders the last few years early would sometimes settle him down.
- Overall good game, PFF game him an 80. Zero turnover worthy plays.
RB
- 5.1 yards per carry for all non special teams runs. 5.6 for RBs. 5 rushes for over 14 yards. Best running game since 2021.
- Ollie had himself a game. Had big runs, but also had several additional moderate length runs. Blocked well on QB rollouts and QB lead. The kind of game which propels him through the end of the season.
- Have not had a player like him before, power and speed combo is rare. Has been jump cutting in the backfield to pick a different hole. Thinks Ollie will run 140+ yards against Kansas.
- Still missed some holes, so there is room for improvement.
- We need Nixon's speed on the field, which is why he is getting more snaps than Collins. Doesn't think Nixon will realize his full potential at RB. Has vision issues and has trouble finding the hole. Still is a RS Soph, so there is some hope.
- Collins only got 1 carry. Would like to see him get more touches, but they shouldn't come from Ollie.
WR
- 4 drops this game.
- Were able to take advantage of KSU's young DBs.
- Owens let the team in receptions, but dropped that long TD pass. Not as good of a route runner as Bray or Stribling, better than Green. Good blocker, especially on split zone RPO. Got separation very well.
- Played Z this game, but has played the X and Cowboy Back and those experiences seem to really help him. May be best Wr against zone coverage. - Excited to see him going forward.
- Bray's run after the catch was great. Hasn't played football that long. Lots of drops, really needs to work on this. Critical catches are being dropped. Otherwise, dynamic with ball in hand.
- If drops are cleaned up, another TD, over 100 yards receiving, etc.
- Did a better job of trying to get the ball to Pressley. Had the 2nd most amount of catches. They paid a ton of attention to him, which was opening things up. Did a good job getting open. Gives good effort blocking, but is small.
- Blaine Green did well blocking and with limited receptions.
- Shettron did ok, but is probably still a year away. Not done a whole lot this season to get one fired up.
TE/FB
- More usage against KSU than in previous games this year. Overall, played pretty well.
- Opening play script had 3 TE passes. Had 5 targets this game.
- Josiah Johnson was banged up coming into the game and got more banged up during the game. Good route running. Had a great play called back on his own facemask. Had a drop. He was the reason why the FG got blocked. Almost had another FG blocked with a wiff block. They think other teams are going to key in on this.
- Not consistent this game. Up and down. Still better when he is out there. Concerned about his ability to stay healthy.
- Cassidy gives good effort, but is just a blocking FB.
Defense
- Played awesome other than some late game TD's.
- Howard threw 3 picks, 152 yards after throwing for 250 the previous 4 games. We took away his first option passing most of the game.
- Did more base defense, was far less cute this game. Coverage was great. Did good disguising of coverages. KSU's WR could not get open.
- Loss of Rawls ended up not being as impactful because of Epps stepping up.
- Will Howard looked very uncomfortable most of the game.
- starting to get a good young defense.
- K State OL did well run blocking.
DL
- Goodlow played a lot more than Latu to get more size on the line.
- Odd front DL made a big impact, but didnt record much stats.
- Jaleel Johnson with the sack looked good on all 10 passing plays. Similar game for Deshaun Jackson.
- Rotated 9 guys on a 3 man DL. Are super deep as a group. Goodlow played more than anyone else.
- Kirkland, Clay and Goodlow did a great job of clogging lanes and stymie their offense.
- Nick Martin was explosive and make a big difference. 7 total tackles, several tackles for loss and 1 int. Dominant performace.
- RS Sophmore, still room to grow. One of the best OL we will face all year and still made a big impact.
- Benson played better, but missed his guy on an rpo twice. Kansas will probably look to exploit this.
- Oliver was pancaked twice, got caught up a couple times on run plays, gave up a few big plays. Looked good in coverage. Swatted 4th down ball to end game.
Defensive Backs
- Our top 3 CBs shut down the outside receivers for only 3 catches for 33 years. (McKinney, Black and
- Slid Black over to the slot WR as a nice wrinkle to keep coverage going.
- Epps ball landed right in front of him in ISU game, against KSU he picked it off. 6'3" 208 at that position, lots of ceiling to go. Was the first guy to watch film after ISU. It paid off.
- He was targeted 7 times, only 2 receptions allowed. 2 picks. Great building time. Played better than Rucker at the field safety spot.
- Kendall Daniels had a rougher game. Was in spots to make plays and he has t really done that. Looks like he is thinking too much. Missed tackle in screen game and looked shy with contact.
Special Teams
- Alex Hale had a great game. FG block was not on him.
- Wes Pauhl had a good punting game.
- Parker Robertson is covering punts really well.
Kansas
- They think we will break 30 for the first time this season against Kansas.
- DBs will be tested with motion and formations.
- Kansas will be a good matchup since they dont pass a ton and will be running.
- This that Kansas will be a tougher game than KSU. Jason Bean will be a good dual threat and will run some triple option. They match up well against us.
- Returned most of their offense from last year run a fun offense, a spread wishbone offense.
- 6th best rushing offense in the country.
- They rotate guards and had 4 OL return from last year. Experienced and nearly as good as KSU.
- Present the biggest challenge OSU will see offensively this year.
- 11 and 12 personel are usual formations. Gap and zone mixed with triple option. Lots of rpo's
- Bean is more of a straight line runner, but very fast. Throws the ball well enough to hurt you. Can be inaccurate at times.
- Will try to put defensive backfield in conflict most of the game.
- Neal really likes to run outside.
- They have had fumble issues. WR, they only have 4 guys with more than 5 catches this season. Talented, but no depth. Scheme really helps their players.
- We might play a lot of even front to limit runs and force them to pass more.
- Kansas defense is a 4-2-5. Its just a defense. They dont do a lot, but are sound. Dont do it super well, but are better than last year. Seems faster than last year.
- Can hurt them with mesh,
- B
- Their better DL have been injured and banged up. Will not be 100% in our game.
- A big game for their program right now.
Cade picked OSU winning 37-28. Dustin took OSU 30-27.
I had an 11 hr drive today, so the notes were a bit more detailed than normal.
