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Mike Gundy: ‘Recognition’ comes with Oklahoma State playing Notre Dame

Mike Gundy said he tried to get Oklahoma State brass to set up a home-and-home with Notre Dame a few years back. Much to the dismay of the longtime Oklahoma State head coach, the deal never got done.

“What I was told is Notre Dame has been booked up for a long, long time,” Gundy said. “So it never worked out.”

Many years later, however, it’s finally working out. No. 5 Notre Dame (11-1) and No. 9 Oklahoma State (11-2) will face each other for the first time ever in the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl Jan. 1 in Glendale, Ariz.

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Gundy said he is thrilled by the opportunity to face the Fighting Irish.

“I think it’s cool,” Gundy said. “It’s going to bring a lot of national recognition. We have a team that ended up fifth in the country. So just right there on being in the College Football Playoff [conversation], obviously the committee feels like they’re the team that’s just right there. And it will draw a lot of recognition across the country because of their history.”

Gundy has just shy of four weeks to scout the Irish, but he already has a sense of what the blue and gold are bringing to the desert.

“I’ve watched them a couple times, not the entire length of the game,” Gundy said. “I’m aware they’ve got a running back that’s rushed for about 1,200 yards. Their quarterback has thrown for just under 3,000.

Oklahoma State Cowboys head coach Mike Gundy vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy is excited to play Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl. (AP)

“I know that they doubled their opponents in scoring average during the year. And they’ve got a fantastic defensive coordinator they named as the head coach. I think it’s a really cool matchup, and we’re looking forward to competing against Notre Dame.”

Gundy isn’t too familiar with coaching changes. He’s been the man in charge in Stillwater since 2005. He’s had coordinators come and go like any other program, though, so he knows the importance of retaining those staffers. Notre Dame lost Brian Kelly to LSU, but offensive coordinator Tommy Rees stuck around in South Bend, and defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman was elevated from defensive coordinator to head coach.

Gundy isn’t taking Notre Dame lightly just because Kelly is no longer with the program.

“As all we know, essentially players play in the games and not coaches,” Gundy said. “And with them hiring within, their system will stay pretty tight, would be my guess, up through the Fiesta Bowl. We’re going to be playing a really talented team.”

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