Mike Gundy reveals how Oklahoma State plans to handle T'Vondre Sweat, Byron Murphy

Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy knows the challenge that lies ahead on the Texas defensive front in Saturday’s Big 12 Championship. T’Vondre Sweat and Byron Murphy form a fearsome duo on the defensive line, having combined for 16 tackles for loss and seven sacks.

Gundy was asked what his game plan for containing the tandem of Sweat and Murphy is during his Monday press conference. That led to a simple answer from the Cowboys head man.

“You can double team them some,” he said. “You can let the widest guy go and double team them and let that guy try to go and make a tackle. And we can do what we’ve done the last 15 years, which is block ’em. You’ve gotta block a three-technique. Not necessarily a three-technique that has that uniform on. Go block ’em.”

Sweat and Murphy have been part of the effort that has allowed Texas’ defense to rank first in the Big 12 and fifth in the nation this season with 85.0 rushing yards allowed per game. Given that Oklahoma State gets the bulk of its offensive production on the ground, winning the battle up front will be pivotal to its chances of winning this game.

The Cowboys are led by running back Ollie Gordon, who leads the FBS with 1,580 yards and 20 touchdowns so far this season. He’s managed at least 100 yards rushing in eight of the past nine games, with one outlier against UCF in which he rushed for only 25 yards.

Gundy made sure to not that this type of talent is nothing new for Texas, and he’s still found a way to win six of the past eight games against the Longhorns. Still, he knows that this won’t be an easy game for the Cowboys, giving plenty of praise to the job coach Steve Sarkisian has done.

“We’ve played them a bunch of times,” he said. “They’re this way all the time. When I first started playing them as a head coach 20 years ago, Mack Brown was the coach. They were top five in the country pretty much every year for a while. They got good players. I’ve got a lot of respect for them. Sark does a good job. They’re well-coached.”

Oklahoma State averaged 160 yards rushing against Texas each of the past two seasons and will hope that carries over into the Big 12 title. Kickoff between the Cowboys and Longhorns is set for 11 a.m. CT at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.