live: Video: Impeachment trial of President Donald Trump

NewsOK: Oklahoma City News, Sports, Weather & Entertainment

Blog: OSU's Mike Gundy anchors Coaches Film Room broadcast of CFP title game

Oklahoma State's Mike Gundy is one of four head coaches on the ESPNU Coaches Film Room broadcast, joined by TCU's Gary Patterson, Vanderbilt's Derek Mason and new Boston College coach Jeff Hafley.

Here's a diary of the night with Gundy in the Coaches Film Room:

7:12 p.m.: No ESPN talking head in the room. Gundy is working as the anchor of this thing. Before the coin toss, he's asking the others questions and going around the room to the other coaches. And he has control of the wide-angle film, with the power to rewind and fast-forward the game tape.

7:16 p.m.: Let's go ahead and get this out of the way. The mullet is on point, and the silvery stubble fits with his jokes. "I don't think the wind's gonna be a factor," he says. The game, of course, is inside the Superdome.

7:18 p.m.: Gary Patterson mentions that Clemson players aren't wearing their helmets at the coin toss, but LSU players are, and suggests it might be a sign of comfort for Clemson, having been in the big situations before.

7:27 p.m.: Here's a bet I would have already lost, Gary Patterson has been somewhat entertaining. Where's this guy during Big 12 media teleconferences in October?

7:34 p.m.: Gundy just asked Patterson to explain Cover 1 for the fans. Gundy holding it down as the host.

7:38 p.m.: Are you over 21 and looking for a drinking game tonight? (Not that we encourage that sort of thing...) Drink every time Hafley says "Great job."

7:41 p.m.: The Coaches Film Room shouldn't be held to the same commercial schedule as the regular game broadcast. The best stuff is going to come when these guys have some time to talk, rather than watch the action.

7:42 p.m.: Gundy tosses to Mason for analysis. "Coach, give me 20 seconds before we get going here."

7:43 p.m.: Gundy offers his thoughts on the blindside block rule that was instituted this season. "I'm all for protecting players, but that guy's gonna make the tackle... At some point, we're still playing football."

7:59 p.m.: Derek Mason is finding his groove. Hadn't heard him in a while, but he's chiming in with some strong analysis on this LSU drive.

8:01 p.m.: The defensive coaches with their "That was pass interference," vs. the offensive coaches' "No, it wasn't," will continue to be a popular theme.

8:03 p.m.: Patterson is going Tony Romo trying to predict offensive plays. "You know what's coming now, play-action. They're gonna come back to it."

8:05 p.m.: Gundy jokes he's going to get fired if he doesn't keep the live game action on the screen. Patterson: "They're not gonna fire you, Coach Gundy. You're Coach Gundy!"

8:10 p.m.: Second-level drinking game, the kind you play if you want to have to take the rest of the week off from work (not that we encourage that sort of thing...): Drink every time someone addresses someone else as "Coach."

8:12 p.m.: Gundy with another offense vs. defense jab. "Offensive guys see the whole field."

8:15 p.m.: I know Gundy is being fed a lot of stats from the ESPN folks, but I think he's more into analytics than he puts off. "Joe Burrow with no blitz, he's 5-for-6. With the blitz, he's 1-for-5." And that came after this one. "Look at the third downs. Combined, 1-for-8, With two fantastic quarterbacks and a bunch of NFL receivers."

8:22 p.m.: Hafley is just showing off with the illustrator tool now that he's figured out how to use it.

8:24 p.m.: Gundy's stubble shines a little brighter every time an offense goes up-tempo. "Somebody says, 'Do you wanna run tempo this week?' Yeah, I do, if we're scoring. If we're not scoring, I don't like it so much."

8:25 p.m.: Clemson just scored to go ahead 17-7 early in the second quarter. If you're here looking for score updates, I apologize.

8:28 p.m.: Gundy twice used the phrase, "He bingo'd it," twice in a 60-second span on a long LSU pass play.

8:35 p.m.: Gundy poses the question about how much the Clemson defense should worry about the QB run game with Joe Burrow inside the 5-yard-line just before Burrow rushes for a TD. Later, Gundy adds, "Our quarterback this year was a decent runner, but prior to that, we had throwers. But if we needed a play, we'd run the quarterback." Mason Rudolph at Texas Tech in 2017 comes to mind.

8:47 p.m.: Gundy gets the chance to discuss his theory for stopping defenses for faking injuries to stop up-tempo offenses, which is to force the injured player to sit out the rest of the series if play is stopped.

8:53 p.m.: Is Gary Patterson texting right now?

8:54 p.m.: Patterson says he's going to start calling Gundy "Naked Eye," after Gundy makes the right call on a replay before they see the replay. "That'd go great with the mullet and everything."

8:56 p.m.: Yes, Gary Patterson was texting. He shows the pic his wife texted him about "Football for Dummies." Gundy asks, "Are we still live?"

9:02 p.m.: Gundy calls a deep throw over the top by LSU. "I'm getting rid of it, I'm getting interference, I'm making a play, or I'm punting." LSU gets pass interference on third and 19.

9:10 p.m.: Gundy is making programming decisions. "We're gonna rewind it. Forget the PAT. We're gonna assume they made it." Running the point like Chris Paul.

9:13 p.m.: Halftime as LSU takes a 28-17 lead. Gundy on Clemson: "The thing that's interesting, though, is Clemson's plan was good. They had some stuff, but... big plays..." Fade out to commercial.

9:13:30: Potty break. Coaches couldn't get out of their seats fast enough for the halftime commercial break.

9:27 p.m.: Back at it just before halftime. Gundy with a solid Tour de France crack while Joe Burrow rides a stationary bike on the sideline. Then Gundy gets back to dishing out assists, setting up the other coaches for commentary.

9:36 p.m.: Four grown men and they get one cheese pizza?

9:51 p.m.: Gundy is riffing now. From a sponsor reference, he goes to a Hawaii vacation, then to Gary Patterson swimming with sharks. "He doesn't like playing man in the score zone, but he'll swim with sharks."

9:55 p.m.: I'll let my beat partner Jacob Unruh handle this entry.

10:09 p.m.: The coaches talked right through the targeting review, including Gary Patterson teasing us all with some behind-the-scenes transfer portal talk. "Remind me to show you something, somebody that went in the portal," he told Gundy. "When we go in the break, let me show you."

10:17 p.m.: I had no idea what to expect from  Jeff Hafley, but he's been rock-solid in his analysis. Mind is working fast.

10:19 p.m.: I'll let this Gundy quote stand alone. "I don't get on the field. I stay behind the white. I'm a rule follower."

10:27 p.m.: Patterson doesn't care for LSU going for the field goal on fourth-and-4 with a 10-point lead. LSU misses the field goal, driving his point home. Gundy says the analytics tell you to kick it.

10:30 p.m.: Has anyone figured out the new entry into the NCAA transfer portal Patterson was talking about??

10:31 p.m.: Apparently so.

10:33 p.m.: By this point in the night, I have to imagine the commercial breaks are far more entertaining than the game analysis (which has been strong).

10:42 p.m.: I stepped away from the blog to cruise Twitter to see what's being said.

Also, this take from Brandon Weeden.

10:47 p.m.: Clemson has a TD taken off the board by offensive pass interference. Gundy (the solo offensive guy) seems to be the only one who is buying the call. 

10:49 p.m.: If we've learned anything tonight, it's that the Coaches Film Room doesn't need a professional broadcaster going in and out of commercials, etc. Just letting the guys talk has worked out much better, even if it doesn't feel like a traditional broadcast.

10:51 p.m.: The discussion in the room is about whether LSU should keep playing up-tempo, or slow it down. The room is split, and LSU can't seem to make up its mind, either.

10:57 p.m.: Patterson predicts the LSU play call, gets it right, and is mind-blown that Clemson didn't see it coming.

10:59 p.m.: Did they take the remote away from Gundy? We haven't had any rewinding action in a minute.

11:04 p.m.: As the game approaches the four-hour mark, the Coaches Film Room is running out of gas. Just like the rest of us.

11:08 p.m.: Gundy gets philosophical after Clemson's Trevor Lawrence fumbles to essentially put the game away. "It's about competing to get to -- the journey to get to this point. Everybody wants to win this game, but what Clemson has done to get to this game, and they're competing, there's something to be said about that."

11:15 p.m.: Ballgame, a 42-25 LSU victory. "Happy New Year," Gary Patterson says. "We're all 0-0." 

Related Photos
Scott Wright
