'I Really Like The Attitude Of Our Team:' Oklahoma State Turns Its Focus To West Virginia

The Oklahoma State Cowboys are facing a situation they haven't seen in almost two decades. After Saturday's loss to Kansas State in Manhattan, the Pokes are in an 0-2 hole in the Big 12 standings for the first time since 2005.

The Cowboys now turn their attention to the West Virginia Mountaineers. The Mountaineers are coming off a bye week after beating Kansas by 4 on September 21st.

Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy met with the media Monday in Stillwater to preview Oklahoma State’s upcoming game against West Virginia.

Mike Gundy:

On his takeaways from the Kansas State game:

“When you play a good team, you play on the road, you play in a good college football environment, you have to capitalize on your opportunities, and we didn’t do that. We left some points on the board in the first half. It was very similar to what it was like when I watched the Utah video. I kept watching where we made mistakes, made mistakes, made mistakes, and I looked up and we’re only down three… When you don’t (capitalize), sometimes it can snowball on you in the latter part of the game then it starts to add up really quick.”

 On West Virginia:

"You've got to stop their quarterback. He's a good runner, very similar to what we saw last week. 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.”

 On bouncing back from a slow start in conference play:

“I'm really excited. I told the team after the game that I'm excited about today's walk-throughs. 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. I really like the attitude of our team. They're acting like grown men for the most part. They're competing, they're playing with effort, so I get excited about today (and) tomorrow. We need a good week of fundamental practice and I'll be excited about playing West Virginia."

 On playing for the sixth week in a row:

“In my opinion, most teams across the country are tired, but we’re still playing Saturday at 3:05. It doesn’t make a difference if we’re tired. So, we have to find a way to have a really good mental and physical practice throughout the week and get ready to play in a game. After that, I have to give them a chance to recover both mentally and physically. Give them a chance to get away, give the coaches a chance to get away so we can reprogram and get ready for the next one.”

 On culture helping the team get back on track:

“There needs to be a culture where we look and see, no matter what, what can we do to improve, even if we win, for the next game. I think that’s what we have here. That’s all we accept here. For that reason, I think they’re fine. I thought they were fine last year.”