Defensive substitution rule becomes ‘kind of a trainwreck’ for Oklahoma State football

FORT WORTH, Texas — Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy has become a master of the late defensive substitution.

But that hit a snag Saturday in the eighth-ranked Cowboys’ 43-40 double-overtime loss to No. 13 TCU at Amon G. Carter Stadium.

After the Cowboys used a late substitution in the first quarter to force TCU to use a timeout, they were unable to get the advantage again.

And officials reportedly warned Gundy about using the legal strategy.

“I’m not sure right now,” Gundy said about the warning. “It’s kind of a trainwreck. I’m not saying whose fault it is. I’m just not clear on what’s going on, to be honest with you. So, we’ll have to try to figure it out and see what’s going on.”

With 2:58 remaining in the first quarter, OSU waited until late in the play clock to substitute Brock Martin for Trace Ford. Martin was slow to the field as officials held up the play and time ticked to near zero.

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TCU was forced to call a timeout and first-year coach Sonny Dykes was livid.

After halftime, officials spoke with Gundy. OSU was penalized once in the second half trying to use the strategy, an offsides penalty with the extra player unable to get off the field in time. Officials did not prevent the snap as long.

“We had a little substitution thing going on,” OSU linebacker Mason Cobb said. “I feel like we were a little timid in there.”

But NCAA rules state that once the offense makes a substitution that officials cannot allow the football to be snapped until the defense has a chance to make its own substitution and the outgoing player leaves the field.

The rule also states that the defense must “react promptly” with its changes.

Gundy said the application of the rule has changed recently.

“There needs to be some clarity on how it’s supposed to work now,” Gundy said. “It’s been different these last two weeks for us than it has been for a long time for me.

“And then we have to be better as coaches in the adjustment as we go on through the game.”

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Missed tackles plague defense

Cobb went straight to the point.

“I think our tackling was poor,” he said.

For the second straight week, OSU’s defense was plagued by missed tackles. Gundy said the Horned Frogs rushed the football better than OSU.

A big reason was the inability to get TCU running backs Kendre Miller — who rushed for 104 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries — and Emari Demercado. Quarterback Max Duggan was also tough to get to the ground.

“We’re a much better team than that,” Cobb said. “We’re hitting guys in the backfield, they’re slipping out. That’s something that can’t happen if you want to win a game.”

Cobb had a career-high 16 tackles, the most by a Cowboy since Jordan Sterns’ 19 on Dec. 3, 2016. Safety Sean Michael Flanagan also had a career-best 11 tackles.

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But the Cowboys also allowed 5.2 yards per carry, the highest average since Texas Tech rushed for 6.7 yards per carry in 2020.

“It’s frustrating, especially when me, myself is missing tackles” Cobb said. “They can be TFLs. That’s what we do as defenders is tackle. We can’t have bad tackling. Easy fix.”

Gundy said one factor that aided TCU’s rushing success was the presence of 6-foot-4, 212-pound receiver Quentin Johnston.

Johnston had eight receptions for 180 yards and the game-tying touchdown in the fourth quarter.

“When you’re trying to protect against him, it’s hard to play the run a lot,” Gundy said. “He draws a lot of attention and I thought we did a good job defensively. He made some plays. We lost him there at the end of the game.

“But overall, our defense, our plan, the way we said make them run 10 or 12 plays to score, worked pretty good. And then we were able to make them kick field goals for a long time, which was good.”

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Tanner Brown remains perfect

OSU kicker Tanner Brown appeared to solve his kicking woes on natural grass.

He entered the day with four career misses with the Cowboys, all coming on grass fields. But on TCU’s natural grass, Brown had no issue.

He made four field goals for the second straight game, including a career-best 52-yard kick to open double overtime.

“He did a nice job,” Gundy said. “That might max out (his range) right there.”

Brown is now 12 for 12 on the year.

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Cowboys without Preston Wilson

OSU was without starting center Preston Wilson, who suffered a lower leg injury last week against Texas Tech.

That led to former Plainview star Eli Russ making his first-career start. But even he had some injury issues.

Russ left the game early in the third quarter with what appeared to be his own leg injury, going to the locker room. He returned later.

Joe Michalski, who started four games at center last season, replaced Russ.

OSU was also without receiver Jaden Bray and defensive back Demarco Jones due to injuries.

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OT struggles continue for Mike Gundy

The double-overtime loss drops the Cowboys to 3-5 in overtime games during his tenure.

The Cowboys have lost two straight games that went beyond regulation. The last win came in 2017, a 13-10 win in overtime at Texas.

Jacob Unruh covers college sports for The Oklahoman. You can send your story ideas to him at junruh@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at @jacobunruh. Support his work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State football: Defensive substitution rule is a ‘trainwreck’