Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy and his Cowboys want to be more involved offensively in the match against the Houston Cougars than they were in Saturday’s 39-13 victory over the Pac-10 Washington State Cougars.
"Defensively, our guys tackled better," head coach Mike Gundy said in a press conference. "But offensively, (we) did not play very well down inside the red zone."
Junior defensive back Perrish Cox and senior defensive back Ricky Price led OSU in red-zone opportunities with long returns in their special teams duties (90 yards for a touchdown, 68 yards, respectively).
"Special teams were really big for us," Gundy said. "Guys made some nice returns. Perrish has had some success. We have guys in the interior part in both the coverage unit and the return game where blocking is very essential, and they did a nice job."
With sophomore kicker Dan Baily hitting all three of his field goals, Oklahoma State’s special teams have proven to be worth their weight in points. However, Gundy knows it’s going to take more than special teams to beat a speedy Cougar offense.
"This is a good team we’re playing this week," he said. "(Houston is) very athletic and very fast. (They) move the ball on offense and run and tackle on defense.
"Offensively, they throw the ball around very well. Their quarterback does a nice job. So we’ll have to prepare well," he said.
Part of that preparation includes putting more pressure on the passer.
"I thought we were better in this game than we’d been in gap control and being forceful and holding up," Gundy said. "Our pressure of the passer is better, but still average."
Gundy looks to junior defensive ends Derek Burton and Jeremiah Price as well as sophomore defensive end Ugo Chinasa for urgency in getting to the quarterback.
Offensively, the Cowboys look to improve on their red zone failures from last week and get their offense as involved in the game as their defense and special teams were.
Junior quarterback Zac Robinson completed 20-of-27 passes for 193 yards and one interception Saturday. He threw no touchdown passes, but ran from one yard out for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. Sophomore running back Kendall Hunter scored the other two rushing touchdowns, including the final one in the fourth quarter along with Robinson’s score on the quarterback sneak.
Gundy said Cowboys will focus on problems they had in the red zone.
"They were mistakes," Gundy said. "It was a mistake that was made somewhere within the 11 players on the field. It’s not something from an X’s and O’s standpoint that we can’t correct."
