Are OU, Oklahoma State due for youth movement? It's all about present in college football
Joe MussattoThe Oklahoman
STILLWATER — With OU and OSU facing slim odds of making a bowl game, Brent Venables and Mike Gundy have to balance the now vs. what’s next. Do good by the veterans and dial up an all-out bowl blitz, or prioritize young players even if it means punting away a postseason berth.
Of course there’s a middle ground, but it would be unwise to get caught in between.
Missing a bowl would be embarrassing for both programs, but way worse, it would cost the Sooners and Cowboys an extra month of practice. Ask any coach and they’ll tell you, bowl practices are vital for young players. It’s basically a December training camp, where most of the focus is not on the bowl opponent, but the upcoming season.
Per NCAA rules, bowl teams are allowed up to four hours of practice a day, or 20 hours a week, from the end of the regular season to their bowl game. Teams that don’t make bowls aren’t allowed to practice — players can only lift weights, condition and watch film for a maximum of eight hours per week up until Jan. 1.
OSU (3-5, 0-5 Big 12) needs three wins over its final four games to secure a bowl spot. The Cowboys host Arizona State at 6 p.m. Saturday. Then they play at TCU, vs. Texas Tech and at Colorado to finish the season. OSU is likely to be the underdog in each of those four games.
OU (4-4, 1-4 SEC) will notch win No. 5 Saturday vs. FCS Maine. Then OU will either need to beat Alabama at home or Missouri and LSU on the road to get to six wins.
If there aren’t enough six-win teams to fill every bowl slot, a 5-7 team or teams will be chosen based on APR (academic progress rate).
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Asked Monday about the balancing act of prioritizing the present vs. future, Gundy wasted no words.
“Do everything we can to win the game on Saturday,” he said. “That’s the most important thing. Especially in this day and age, right? We don’t even know who we’re coaching for next year.”
Gundy is right about that. Traditional tenets of college football aren’t applicable. Development isn’t dead, but it doesn’t always bear fruit in this transfer portal era.
The Cowboys and Sooners could exclusively play guys who have eligibility left, but just because they can come back doesn’t mean they will come back. A coach might work for a month to mold a freshman, only for him to transfer to Virginia Tech or Purdue.
This isn’t the NBA. Sam Presti’s draft and develop rebuild model wouldn’t work in college football. Not to mention there’s no impetus to tank.
College football is a week-to-week sport. And every season starts with a blank slate.
“This game, this Saturday, is more important than anything,” Gundy said.
But what about practices? OU and OSU need to see what they have in their freshmen and sophomores who haven’t played. Does the possibility of missing a bowl change how practice is organized?
“No,” Gundy said. “We have to get everybody ready to play at the highest level on Saturday.”
For what it’s worth, Gundy said his second-and third-teamers get plenty of reps already.
“We work the threes all the time,” Gundy said. “They’re tired. Those guys are getting a lot of reps. … At the end of practice, the young guys go play a 10-play scrimmage and by the time they go out they’re gassed.”
Both OU and OSU have mixed in more and more underclassmen as the season has gone on, but don’t expect an all-in youth movement. A bowl game is still in play, and with it the prize of another month of practice.
Joe Mussatto is a sports columnist for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Joe? Email him at jmussatto@oklahoman.com. Support Joe's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
