Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy is preparing his team to face West Virginia as the Mountaineers travel to face the Cowboys this weekend.
On Monday, Gundy gave his thoughts on WVU as well as the implications of this matchup for his team.
Thoughts on the Mountaineers
Gundy is no stranger to West Virginia. He has a favorable record against the Mountaineers in his career, and his squad went to Morgantown and won last season.
Gundy was high on how competitive WVU has been through their first four games of the season even with two of them ending in losses.
"Coach Brown has done a good job with them. They've been in their games, every game they've played, they've been very competitive in it. Penn State kind of took them over later, but not really, it was a very competitive game. Same coordinators, same defensive structure. Neal's offense is the same as what it's been," Gundy said.
Gundy praised WVU QB Garrett Greene's running ability and said he has gotten better each year he has been in the system.
"We got to stop their quarterback, he's a good runner. Very similar to what we saw last week," Gundy said.
Defensively, Gundy said it is the same concepts the Mountaineers have deployed in the past, referencing how WVU moves around certain guys to create pressure on the defensive line.
"They're playing some odd front, they play some four down also, more than what we saw up here. Their odd front is an air guy that stands on the line most of the time, more like an NFL-style defense, but there are similarities with what they do," Gundy said.
"They'll play some one, 13 percent cover one. They're playing majority what would be a cheat quarter-quarter-halves deal to the field and to the boundary. Same stuff they've always done," Gundy later added.
Bye Week Advantage?
Gundy was asked if the factor of WVU coming off a bye week compared to Oklahoma State having played a game last Saturday will have a significant impact.
Gundy said it might have an impact early on but doesn't expect it to give the Mountaineers much of an advantage.
"Most people think if you get a bye, you can recover, you should be fresh, guys that are injured, you get guys back. You get an extra four-and-a-half days-ish game planning. In most cases, their concepts in the first quarter and a half should look really good because time has been their friend to get ready for this game," Gundy said.
OSU Backs Against The Wall
Oklahoma State is off to a 0-2 start in Big 12 play following a home loss to Utah and a road loss to Kansas State.
They now host the Mountaineers as they are desperate for a Big 12 win.
Gundy is excited for the challenge this week will present for his team after their start to conference play.
"I'm really excited, I told the team after the game, they all looked at me like I had three heads, I'm excited about today's walkthroughs, I told them I'm excited about Tuesday's practice. Because I like things like this, I like things that are challenging, I like things that are intriguing," Gundy said.
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