HOOKED 'EM: More Quarterback Issues Stifle Offensive Flow

OSU head coach, Mike Gundy, is the leading
candidate for the head coaching job down in
  Florida, according to the Las Vegas oddsmakers.

  No offense, no spirit, and no defense when it mattered. Those were the reasons why the Oklahoma State Cowboys lost to the Texas Longhorns on Saturday, 28-7. OSU has had offensive issues ever since the Iowa State game, and has never really recovered from their home loss against West Virginia. With Baylor on Saturday and then OU following that, the Cowboys are in some serious trouble of possibly missing out on making a bowl game for the first time since 2005. Yes, that was head coach, Mike Gundy's first year as head coach, and with Vegas putting Gundy atop their list of coaches that are most likely to take the recently opened Florida job, could this be it for Gundy? It might be fitting that he go out 5-7 like he did in 2005 just for the sake of people who like statistics, but if Gundy were to really leave, most people bet on Oklahoma State Athletic Director, Mike Holder, to call up former offensive coordinator and current West Virginia head coach, Dana Holgorson, to be Gundy's replacement. But has the football play of the Pokes gotten so bad that the biggest story line isn't even the fact OSU might have to burn freshman standout, Mason Rudolph's, redshirt, because Daxx Garman left Saturday's game with a slight concussion and some shoulder soreness? The unfortunate answer to that question, is yes, but could Rudolph possibly be the one light at the end of this darkening tunnel that the Cowboys seem to be heading down?
  When it comes to redshirting players, coaches will normally jump at any chance to if the kid is talented enough. According to Gundy, Rudolph has impressed him, but the offensive line just isn't good enough to protect a pocket passer, and frankly, the kid could use a year to study the offense more and get even better. The problem for the Pokes is that they already lost J.W. Walsh after the Florida State game, and with Garman supposedly not at 100%, the only other option other than Mason Rudolph is the walk-on freshman that probably never expected to get even a single snap in a live-action game in his career! So with that in mind, do you take the walk-on off the bench and pretty much surrender your season, or do you burn the redshirt on Mason Rudolph and try to become bowl eligible? For fans of OSU, the situation leaves them in a position where their disappointment is warranted, but they know if they would have had their intended starter in for all these games, instead of Garman, then they might be bowl eligible already. Mike Gundy has elevated this program for sure, but the facts are that he has doomed this team for the remainder of this season, and possibly another couple years after this, as well. With Wes Lunt, former quarterback for the Pokes, playing very well up in Illinois for the Illini now, and former offensive line coach, Kevin Wickline, gone and now at Texas, the two departures seem to be directly affecting the current Cowboys' season. Think about this: The offensive line is terrible and the back-up quarterback for this season would've been the third-string quarterback if Lunt would've stayed. In other words, Mike Gundy drove off the one player that could have kept this program heading in the right direction, and then lost his offensive line coach that has been helping him acquire some of the best talent for those positions, and the offensive coordinator for OSU has no clue how to get the ball into the most dangerous player on the field for the Cowboys' opponents!
  I'm sorry for all you OSU fans, but this team, is a debacle, and is a disgrace to the standards Mike Gundy has built this program up to. The situation could be so much better for OSU, but the bottom line is that you can't predict injuries, and losing J.W. cost the Pokes a decent 7 to 8-win season. That's just something to think about, as the Cowboys travel down to Waco to face the intimidating Bears of Baylor at 6:30 CT on FOX.