douxpaysan
11/9/2007, 08:25 PM
Delayed action speaks volumes
ON-THE-FIELD NUMBERS
Chris Collins: The 6-foot-2, 235-pound sophomore linebacker from Texas High School in Texarkana, Texas, has played in four games for the Oklahoma State football team this season. He has 20 unassisted tackles, 11 assisted tackles, two pass breakups, one quarterback hurry, one forced fumble and one tackle for loss for the Cowboys.
By JOHN KLEIN Senior Sports Columnist
11/9/2007
THE LAST THING Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy needed this week was another black eye as the Cowboys face a make-or-break game against Kansas on Saturday.
Linebacker Chris Collins pleaded guilty to aggravated sexual assault on Tuesday. That should have been the end of OSU's affiliation with Collins.
There's no place for felons in college football. And, the way things are starting to play out in the NFL, there's no room in the pros, either.
Yet, here was Collins causing Gundy another headache he doesn't need. What was needed was immediate action, not a wait-and-see attitude. The legal system has run its course. Collins is a felon. Time for him to hit the road.
On Thursday, about 24 hours later than it should have happened, Collins was pushed off the OSU football team.
We believe in second chances in life. Just not in college football. When Collins walked in and plead guilty, he forfeited the privilege to play college football in the Big 12.
There may be a place for him somewhere else, but OSU can't take the hit of having a felon in the lineup.
There are plenty of non-felons who would probably love to play linebacker in the Big 12 and get a good education for free.
The NCAA has tons of rules. Here's one to add. If you are a felon, you forfeit the chance to play NCAA football.
The Cowboys, with high hopes early in the season, have suffered through a wild up-and-down season full of on-the-field disappointments.
There was also Gundy's well-publicized meltdown after the Texas Tech game.
Now this.
When he said on Wednesday the media knows more about the Collins incident than he does, Gundy was either lying or is totally ignorant on something that he should be monitoring.
Either way, he's a man. He's 40. And, he's responsible.
OSU made a mistake by not immediately kicking Collins off the team. Gundy didn't hesitate to boot players three years ago for various legal and academic reasons. He kicked off nine players in his first eight months.
Among those were potential impact players like Prentiss Elliott and Brad Girtman.
Those two were among the first to be pushed out the door during spring practice just two months after Gundy got the job.
Deservedly, Gundy was praised for cleaning up the program as he took over from Les Miles. This latest incident should have been a no-brainer.
Instead, because Gundy didn't handle it immediately, it appears as though the OSU coach doesn't know what is happening on the inside of his program.
The Collins case is important. It is important for the image of OSU's football program.
So, when Gundy says he doesn't know anything about it, it appears he doesn't care what his players do off the field.
However, given the way he has handled the program in the previous three seasons, we would assume that is not true.
Gundy took a hard stand, kicking off a number of players that would have probably turned Gundy's first season (2005) into a winning year. He said there would be zero tolerance for bad behavior. He took action by booting players who were difference-makers.
Now, this latest development certainly changes the perception.
All of this could not happen at a worse time.
The Cowboys face Kansas (No. 4 in BCS standings) on Saturday in a game that could salvage what has been somewhat of a disappointing season or send the Cowboys into what could be an unending downward spiral.
O-State could easily be unbeaten in the league. Or, it could easily have lost four of its five conference games.
In four tossup games, the Cowboys are 2-2.
It is the manner in which OSU has won and lost those games. With any kind of defense, the Cowboys probably should have won without any fourth-quarter drama.
"We have to get them back on track and as painful as it is, we still have to correct everything that happened in the game to make us better for the next week and then get back on track," said Gundy.
Instead, OSU's lack of defense has kept Texas Tech and Kansas State in the games to the end before the Cowboys escaped with victories. And, there's little question that with any defense the Cowboys would have beaten Texas A&M and Texas.
The latest disappointment was a fourth-quarter collapse against Texas. The Longhorns overcame a 21-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat OSU.
Now, the nation's Cinderella team, Kansas, comes to Stillwater.
"The thing that works to our advantage this week is that we get to play the No. 5 team in the country," said Gundy. "It's not every day you get to face a team like this. I would think our players would be excited to face a team that's highly regarded like they are.
"More importantly than that, we play for a reason and that's the competition and the game. No matter what your situation is, we all have a responsibility to go out and prepare hard and have fun and give it all on Saturday, no matter what."
The Cowboys have been resilient. They followed a bitter disappointment at Troy by beating Texas Tech. They followed a bitter disappointment at Texas A&M by beating Nebraska and Kansas State.
"We just believe in preparing for the next game," said Gundy.
Bouncing back and winning this week, in a game many figure the Cowboys have a fighting chance, would put OSU back in the picture for a number of attractive bowl games.
Either way, Gundy made another public relations mistake by not booting Collins.
Now, the season and perhaps his future, rests with his ability to make OSU bounce back once again -- both on the field and in the court of public opinion.
By JOHN KLEIN Senior Sports Columnist
ON-THE-FIELD NUMBERS
Chris Collins: The 6-foot-2, 235-pound sophomore linebacker from Texas High School in Texarkana, Texas, has played in four games for the Oklahoma State football team this season. He has 20 unassisted tackles, 11 assisted tackles, two pass breakups, one quarterback hurry, one forced fumble and one tackle for loss for the Cowboys.
By JOHN KLEIN Senior Sports Columnist
11/9/2007
THE LAST THING Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy needed this week was another black eye as the Cowboys face a make-or-break game against Kansas on Saturday.
Linebacker Chris Collins pleaded guilty to aggravated sexual assault on Tuesday. That should have been the end of OSU's affiliation with Collins.
There's no place for felons in college football. And, the way things are starting to play out in the NFL, there's no room in the pros, either.
Yet, here was Collins causing Gundy another headache he doesn't need. What was needed was immediate action, not a wait-and-see attitude. The legal system has run its course. Collins is a felon. Time for him to hit the road.
On Thursday, about 24 hours later than it should have happened, Collins was pushed off the OSU football team.
We believe in second chances in life. Just not in college football. When Collins walked in and plead guilty, he forfeited the privilege to play college football in the Big 12.
There may be a place for him somewhere else, but OSU can't take the hit of having a felon in the lineup.
There are plenty of non-felons who would probably love to play linebacker in the Big 12 and get a good education for free.
The NCAA has tons of rules. Here's one to add. If you are a felon, you forfeit the chance to play NCAA football.
The Cowboys, with high hopes early in the season, have suffered through a wild up-and-down season full of on-the-field disappointments.
There was also Gundy's well-publicized meltdown after the Texas Tech game.
Now this.
When he said on Wednesday the media knows more about the Collins incident than he does, Gundy was either lying or is totally ignorant on something that he should be monitoring.
Either way, he's a man. He's 40. And, he's responsible.
OSU made a mistake by not immediately kicking Collins off the team. Gundy didn't hesitate to boot players three years ago for various legal and academic reasons. He kicked off nine players in his first eight months.
Among those were potential impact players like Prentiss Elliott and Brad Girtman.
Those two were among the first to be pushed out the door during spring practice just two months after Gundy got the job.
Deservedly, Gundy was praised for cleaning up the program as he took over from Les Miles. This latest incident should have been a no-brainer.
Instead, because Gundy didn't handle it immediately, it appears as though the OSU coach doesn't know what is happening on the inside of his program.
The Collins case is important. It is important for the image of OSU's football program.
So, when Gundy says he doesn't know anything about it, it appears he doesn't care what his players do off the field.
However, given the way he has handled the program in the previous three seasons, we would assume that is not true.
Gundy took a hard stand, kicking off a number of players that would have probably turned Gundy's first season (2005) into a winning year. He said there would be zero tolerance for bad behavior. He took action by booting players who were difference-makers.
Now, this latest development certainly changes the perception.
All of this could not happen at a worse time.
The Cowboys face Kansas (No. 4 in BCS standings) on Saturday in a game that could salvage what has been somewhat of a disappointing season or send the Cowboys into what could be an unending downward spiral.
O-State could easily be unbeaten in the league. Or, it could easily have lost four of its five conference games.
In four tossup games, the Cowboys are 2-2.
It is the manner in which OSU has won and lost those games. With any kind of defense, the Cowboys probably should have won without any fourth-quarter drama.
"We have to get them back on track and as painful as it is, we still have to correct everything that happened in the game to make us better for the next week and then get back on track," said Gundy.
Instead, OSU's lack of defense has kept Texas Tech and Kansas State in the games to the end before the Cowboys escaped with victories. And, there's little question that with any defense the Cowboys would have beaten Texas A&M and Texas.
The latest disappointment was a fourth-quarter collapse against Texas. The Longhorns overcame a 21-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat OSU.
Now, the nation's Cinderella team, Kansas, comes to Stillwater.
"The thing that works to our advantage this week is that we get to play the No. 5 team in the country," said Gundy. "It's not every day you get to face a team like this. I would think our players would be excited to face a team that's highly regarded like they are.
"More importantly than that, we play for a reason and that's the competition and the game. No matter what your situation is, we all have a responsibility to go out and prepare hard and have fun and give it all on Saturday, no matter what."
The Cowboys have been resilient. They followed a bitter disappointment at Troy by beating Texas Tech. They followed a bitter disappointment at Texas A&M by beating Nebraska and Kansas State.
"We just believe in preparing for the next game," said Gundy.
Bouncing back and winning this week, in a game many figure the Cowboys have a fighting chance, would put OSU back in the picture for a number of attractive bowl games.
Either way, Gundy made another public relations mistake by not booting Collins.
Now, the season and perhaps his future, rests with his ability to make OSU bounce back once again -- both on the field and in the court of public opinion.
By JOHN KLEIN Senior Sports Columnist