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ACADEMY TEXAS BOWL: OKLAHOMA STATE VS TEXAS A&M

December 27, 2019

Mike Gundy

Houston, Texas

Texas A&M - 24, Oklahoma State - 21

MIKE GUNDY: We had a good game. Wish we'd have made a couple more plays in the fourth quarter. They started to wear us down a little bit on both sides of the ball in the latter part of the game, and we didn't play very well on special teams.

But I can't say enough about our team, our senior leadership, guys like Dru. And I mentioned it to the team in the locker room. The middle part of the year, when we started struggling a little bit, we got unbelievable leadership from our seniors and Dru and the other guys on the team, rallied back, won some games, competed. Played a good football team in the Bowl, right? They're a good team.

I said this early, and I'll say it again. They lost to No. 1, No. 1, No. 1, No. 4, and No. 12. So they're definitely a top-20 team in my opinion.

Our guys competed. Had a heck of a football team in a great environment. I can't say enough about the Texas Bowl accommodation. Everything they gave us, it was awesome. We had a great week. Our team handled themselves with respect. Our families had a great time, played a great game. Just came up a little short in the end.

But I am so excited about the future of Oklahoma State football. I can't wait to get started. I told the team, I told the seniors, you've led these guys to where they are now. We'll fly home tomorrow, and I'll probably go to work the next day after tomorrow because I'm so excited about the players we have coming back and where we're at, the improvements we've made in all areas.

First thing we wanted to do this year is be a more disciplined team, and we were by far a more disciplined team. We improved toughness; not as much as we needed to, but we were tougher. So we'll make some adjustments in the off-season. I'm really excited about the future of Oklahoma State football, and I can't thank the seniors, the fans.

We had a great crowd down here. Obviously I know it was an A&M crowd because they're right down the road from us. I don't think any of our guys noticed it. Oklahoma State fans were loud. So it was an awesome trip for us.

Q. After you guys jumped out to the early lead, what do you think happened to allow them to get back in the game?
MIKE GUNDY: Well, they just forced us down a little bit up front on both sides of the ball. We didn't protect Dru very well. Dru made a lot of great plays with limited protection.

We had concerns coming into the game. They're pretty physical up front on both sides of the ball, and they kind of wore us down a little bit. We had some good schemes, gave ourselves a chance, and we played good defense until we got beat up a little bit at the end of the game on the option play, on the read zone option play. We made the adjustment, and we got the -- we didn't take the quarterback when we were supposed to, we made a mistake, and that cost us a long run.

With the exception of that, overall defense plays great with the exception of the one long run. And we got worn down a little bit up front on our offensive line.

Q. Coach, what did you see out of Dru in the weeks leading up to the Bowl that made you all think he'd be the best option to score points in this game?
MIKE GUNDY: Well, Dru's been awesome all year, and certainly since he's taken over from Spencer, when Spencer went down. Dru's been prepared all year -- preparation, study, attitude, he's been excellent, and he had great Bowl practice. Spencer could have played. He could do some things, but he wasn't the most prepared to play in this game. Dru was. Dru did all his homework, did all his work, got all his practices, and as I said, Dru played good.

We didn't do a good job of protecting him and we got worn down a little bit, but Dru played a good football game.

Q. Braydon Johnson had a good game. How encouraging is it to see him end the year on a high note?
MIKE GUNDY: Well, he's a guy that we might not have known much about if 2 doesn't go down. He's a reason I'm unbelievably excited about next year. He's just starting to figure it out right now. He's getting what we call confidence. With his act and speed and work ethic, if he continues to develop confidence, he'll be a really good football player.

Q. Chuba surpassed the 2,000-yard mark this season. What does that say about your offensive line, the way they produced all season and especially what it means for the future of the program and the running back position?
MIKE GUNDY: Yeah, Chuba was awesome. Had 160 or whatever, had 15, 20 yards, I don't know, 170, 175-yard night against a defense that's fared fairly well over the majority of the season, particularly against the run, and he's been good. Chu got tired during the season a little bit and had some time to rest, got fresh. We're unbelievably excited about him next year. I think there's a really good chance he's on our football team next year. I don't think any of us could say 100 percent.

We'll be in a position to protect him a little bit next year. He won't have to carry the ball 30 times a game. Will be around 20 times a game if that all works out for us because we've got some maturity behind him.

Q. With Chuba clinching that 2,000-yard mark, how do you think he's going to be remembered in the greater Oklahoma State football lore?
MIKE GUNDY: I think he's already made a good name for himself. He's got a marketing tool in that he's from Canada, drawn a lot of attention there. He leads by example. He lets his play do his talking. He's very quiet, doesn't talk a lot. I think people are attracted to him for that reason, and he's got a great future.

Q. Coach, from what you saw in film study, what did you see in A&M's running backs, two freshman running backs, especially Smith that they moved from wide receiver out to the backfield?
MIKE GUNDY: They've got skill. They've got wideouts that can make plays. Their running backs obviously have skill. And you have to watch the quarterback, he's an issue, as we saw tonight when they went to the triple option basically. You've got to try to be in the gap. Got to get off the block and make the play. I think they wore our front down a little bit as the game went on. Scheme wise they got us a time or two. Scheme wise we got them a time or two.

As I said, we were right there to the end. We went toe-to-toe and just came up a little short.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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