Tag: Oklahoma State

Former Saints defensive line coach heading to Oklahoma State Cowboys

A former New Orleans Saints defensive line coach is heading to the Oklahoma State Cowboys to team up with head coach Mike Gundy

Chris Low of ESPN has reported that the Oklahoma State Cowboys and head coach Mike Gundy will be hiring former New Orleans Saints defensive line coach Todd Grantham as their defensive coordinator. Grantham had moved from the defensive line coach position to a senior advisor role in early November after Darren Rizzi took over as the interim head coach. The defensive line for the Saints had been struggling mightily with stopping the run in the early phases of the season, and this ultimately led to the move of Brian Young taking over as defensive line coach.

Grantham will join long-time Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy as he looks to facilitate some staffing changes on his team. Gundy had recently just agreed to a restructured contract to remain with the Oklahoma State Cowboys according to ESPN, which will include the former Saints defensive line coach as a start.

Notre Dame left off Jerry Palm’s College Football Playoff projection

Pin this one on the bulletin board.

All Notre Dame has to do is win the games it’s supposed to win in 2024, and it very likely will make the College Football Playoff. At least that’s what most people seem to believe. However, one expert has dared to challenge that belief.

Jerry Palm, CBS Sports’ College Football Playoff expert, has released his projections for the first year of the expanded playoff. Unlike most experts, he doesn’t have the Irish in his bracket.

Palm also has released his projections for the remaining bowl games, and he has the Irish facing Oklahoma State in the Pop-Tarts Bowl, which would be a rematch of [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag]’s coaching debut in the Fiesta Bowl three years ago.

While the idea of the Irish eating a mascot as a postgame snack is fun to think about, it would signify disappointment in a season with high expectations. But it shows how the Irish won’t just be handed anything this season. They’ll need to earn their spot in the playoff, and it looks like that will involve proving some people wrong.

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Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Former Notre Dame safety Thomas Harper gets NFL preseason sack

Is this the start of something special for him?

[autotag]Thomas Harper[/autotag] was not among those taken during the 2024 NFL draft.

However, the Los Angeles Chargers saw some professional potential with the former Notre Dame safety, so they signed him not long after the draft’s conclusion. He got the chance to prove himself late in the Chargers’ preseason opener against the Seattle Seahawks.

Late in the fourth quarter of a 16-3 Chargers loss, Harper blitzed and then sacked Seahawks quarterback P.J. Walker:

Harper obviously has a long way to go to prove he definitely belongs on an NFL roster. Still, this only can help him in making that a reality. We’ll see how much more playing time he gets this preseason and whether he even gets to the end of it.

Harper spent four seasons at Oklahoma State before transferring to Notre Dame for his final year of eligibility in 2023. In 11 games, he recorded 39 tackles, six tackles for loss and two sacks. He also defended three passes and forced one fumble.

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Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Saints waive undrafted rookie Nathan Latu to make room for new signings

The New Orleans Saints waived Nathan Latu to make room for new signings. The undrafted rookie from Oklahoma State will be looking for his next opportunity:

Letting go of young players so early in their careers is an unpleasant side of the business, but that’s life in the NFL. The New Orleans Saints waived defensive end Nathan Latu on Thursday to open a roster spot for veteran cornerback Mac McCain. Offseason rosters are capped at 90 players, and the Saints were at capacity after waiving cornerback Faion Hicks last week while signing tight end Jesper Horsted.

Latu had signed with them in late April as an undrafted free agent out of Oklahoma State, but he didn’t participate at rookie minicamp, OTAs, or last week’s mandatory minicamp. He may have been dealing with an undisclosed injury. The Saints only guaranteed $3,000 of his contract so there won’t be much of an impact on their salary cap by releasing him.

Still, it’s a disappointing end to his time in New Orleans. But that’s the case for many young pros as teams churn the bottoms of their depth charts over the summer. They’ll be recruited hard by NFL teams in the hours after the draft in April and cast aside by roster cuts in August if they can’t make a quick (and positive) impression. Good luck to Latu in wherever he lands next.

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Huskers bounce back in elimination with 7-5 win over Niagara

The Nebraska baseball team entered Saturday afternoon facing elimination in the NCAA Regional. The Huskers clashed against Niagara in Saturday’s showdown and, following a rough start, bounced back to survive, winning 7-5. The Purple Eagles took off …

The Nebraska baseball team entered Saturday afternoon facing elimination in the NCAA Regional. The Huskers clashed against Niagara in Saturday’s showdown and, following a rough start, bounced back to survive, winning 7-5.

The Purple Eagles took off in the first inning, scoring three runs off the opening five pitches before earning another run in the second. But Nebraska responded, outscoring Niagara 7-1 through the following five innings. Mason McConnaughey earned the win on the mound, throwing for 6.0 innings and facing 28 batters.

McConnaughey coughed up five hits and five runs but delivered 10 strikeouts on the day. Jalen Worthley pitched the final three innings and earned the save. Worthley stood against 11 batters and allowed two hits while throwing two strikeouts.

Nebraska delivered eight hits and earned six RBIs and three home runs. Gabe Swansen and Case Sanderson led the way for the Huskers in the batter’s box. Swansen slammed two solo home runs on the afternoon, bringing him up to six total home runs in the postseason. Sanderson drove in four RBIs, the majority coming off a three-run home run in the third.

The Huskers earned their 40th win of the season, their first 40-win season since 2014. Nebraska moves on to the second elimination game and will await the loser between Florida and Oklahoma State on Sunday.

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Nebraska baseball set to face Florida in Stillwater Regional

The Huskers return to the NCAA Tournament after a two-year absence and will travel down to Stillwater, Oklahoma.

The Huskers return to the NCAA Tournament after a two-year absence and will travel down to Stillwater, Oklahoma. Now, Nebraska will look to make its first super regional since 2005.

The Huskers are in the Stillwater Regional along with Florida, No. 11 Oklahoma State, and Niagara. Nebraska punched its ticket to the tournament following its first Big Ten Tournament Championship and is entering with a 39-20 record.

The championship win is the Huskers’ first tournament win as a member of the Big Ten Conference after winning the conference regular season in 2021.

Tournament MVP Josh Caron launched six home runs across the Big Ten Tournament, the most home runs in a single Big Ten Tournament. Caron also set the total bases record in the tournament with 28.

Nebraska even set a Big Ten Tournament record with 17 doubles in six games. The Huskers’ pitching staff recorded 56 strikeouts over six games in the tournament.

Nebraska opens the regional against Florida on Friday. This is the second meeting between the Huskers and Gators on the diamond. The first pitch is set for 3 p.m. The Gators enter the tournament with 28-27 following a first-round knockout in the SEC Tournament.

Niagara is 38-15 on the season and punched its ticket in with a MAAC Championship win. Oklahoma State, which won the Big 12 Championship, plays host in the Regional.

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Oregon baseball projected to be a 3-seed in Stillwater Regional

D1Baseball.com has put out its final NCAA tournament projection ahead of Monday’s selections and it has the Ducks heading to Stillwater.

The Pac-12 baseball tournament didn’t go in the way the Oregon Ducks baseball team thought it would, but it seems as if the Ducks are safely in the NCAA tournament.

According to D1baseball.com, Oregon is projected to be a 3-seed in the Stillwater, Okla. Regional that will be hosted by Oklahoma State. In the latest Field of 64 projection, the website has 2-seed Southern Miss and 4-seed Penn also in that particular regional. The Ducks would open with the Golden Eagles to begin the tournament.

Oregon finished the season with a 37-18 record and 19-11 in conference play.

Oklahoma State would be the national 13-seed with a regular season record of 39-17 with a Big XII record of 19-9. They play Oklahoma in the conference tournament Saturday night.

Southern Miss is 39-18 and finished 20-10 in the Sun Belt and are playing in their league’s tournament against Appalachian State.

As for Penn, they have already qualified for the NCAA tournament by winning the Ivy League tournament with an overall mark of 24-23. The Quakers defeated Cornell twice to advance in the postseason.

Kentucky softball loses to Oklahoma State in NCAA Tournament game

Kentucky softball drops their NCAA Tournament game against Oklahoma State on Saturday.

Kentucky softball opened the NCAA Tournament with a win over the Michigan Wolverines on Friday. Their second game was on Saturday was against Oklahoma State, but didn’t go quite as well and the Cats took a 6 -2 loss.

The heroes from Friday, Grace Lorsung and Ally Hutchins, got the Wildcats out to a 2 – 0 lead in the first inning. However, Oklahoma State scored four of their own in the bottom of the first, and never looked back. Kentucky wouldn’t get back on the board again.

Kentucky had just five hits on the day, and no player had more than one. Lorsung and Hutchins drove in the only two runs they scored, and the offense just never got going.

Stephanie Schoonover was on the mound for the Wildcats, but gave up five runs in three innings of work. She surrendered six hits and one walk.

The loss doesn’t knock them out of the tournament, since it’s double-elimination. They will play Michigan later on Saturday in an elimination game.

 

Lady Vols defeat No. 1 seed Oklahoma State in Sweet 16

Lady Vols defeat No. 1 seed Oklahoma State in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.

No. 16 seed Tennessee defeated No. 1 seed Oklahoma State, 4-2, in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday. The match was held at Greenwood Tennis Center in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

Tennessee ended Oklahoma State’s 29-match win streak.

“I am incredibly proud and excited for this group,” Tennessee tennis head coach Alison Ojeda said. “We have been telling this team all semester, there is something special about you. It is not the tennis that is going to separate us. It is our heart and our desire to come together in big moments. That’s what you saw against Duke, and that is what you saw today and you will see it again on Friday. Win or lose, you allow yourself to perform at a higher level when you get to that place together as a team. I couldn’t be more excited.”

The Lady Vols will next play No. 8 seed UCLA on May 17 in the Elite Eight. Tennessee advances to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight for a third time in program history (2002, 2010, 2024).

PHOTOS: Lady Vols advance to NCAA Tournament Sweet 16

Oklahoma Sooners must figure out road struggles

The Oklahoma Sooners have had a really solid season in 2024. No one thought this would have been a tournament team this after they were picked to finish last in the Big 12. Not only are they primed for a tournament berth, but they’ve also been …

The Oklahoma Sooners have had a really solid season in 2024. No one thought this would have been a tournament team this after they were picked to finish last in the Big 12.

Not only are they primed for a tournament berth, but they’ve also been ranked for much of the year as well. It doesn’t look like they’ll be ranked again this year barring a great run to close the regular season.

One area where they have struggled however is on the road. The Sooners are 2-4 on the road and 13-3 at home. Their only road wins were at Cincinnati and Kansas State. Three of their final five games of the season are on the road starting with two straight, at [autotag]Oklahoma State[/autotag] on Saturday and then at [autotag]Iowa State[/autotag] the following Wednesday.

They then end the season with a trip to Texas. The issue with how they’ve played on the road is even heightened given one of their final road teams is against Houston, who is the No. 2 team in the country currently.

Still, the goal should be to get to 20 wins. It’s not going to be easy. It’s why blowing some of the games they have were so big when they happened. It’s going to make getting to that 20-win mark even harder.

That final five-game stretch all starts this Saturday in Stillwater with the Sooners needing to win 2 of 3.

More: Despite recent struggles, Sooners a NCAA tournament team

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