Sunday, January 1, 2012

The devil is in the details

It was review day on Sunday  for the Oklahoma State and Stanford football teams.
Practice is over for the Cowboys and Cardinals. Sunday, the teams held meetings to review game plans and work out anyfinal kinks.
Monday, the teams will go through their game-day routines in preparation for the 7:30 p.m. Monday Fiesta Bowl kickoff at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.
It's OSU's first trip to a BCS bowl, and Stanford's second straight.
Stanford coach David Shaw said Oklahoma State has played in big games and the Cowboys lack of BCS-bowl experience shouldn't give Stanford an advantage.
"They have got some big-time players that are not going to shy away from the spotlight tomorrow night. So I think it is still pretty even."
The quarterback match-up between Stanford's Andrew Luck and Oklahoma State's Brandon Weeden has been hyped since the game between No. 3 OSU and No. 4 Stanford was announced. They will play important roles, but both teams are too talented to rely solely on their quarterbacks to pick up a win.
"Both quarterbacks are very important to their offense and to their teams," OSU coach Mike Gundy said. "I don't think there is any question that these two quarterbacks were certainly the most valuable players to their teams."
Stanford runs first and Oklahoma State throws first.
So Cardinal running back Stepfan Taylor will be critical. OSU will rely on receivers Justin Blackmon, Josh Cooper and others as well as running backs Joseph Randle and Jeremy Smith.
The Cardinal must try to contain the pass and run, Shaw said.
Oklahoma State will have to control Taylor, Luck and prevent big plays.
"We know that Oklahoma State has great weapons. We know they have an opportunistic defense. It is going to be a big challenge tommorrow night," Shaw said.
Oklahoma State will need to be physical against Stanford on offense and defense, Gundy said.
"They players have started to pay attention to the importance of getting prepared for the game. We have practiced well. The players tarted getting in game mode yesterday (Saturday)."


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