Mike Gundy explains decision to turn to Spencer Sanders in second half despite injury

Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy surprised everyone Saturday when he sent in quarterback Spencer Sanders near the end of the third quarter. The starting quarterback this season, Sanders did not play last week against Kansas and also began the start of Saturday’s game against Iowa State on the bench due to a shoulder injury.

But after Gunnar Gundy, who started in place of Sanders, threw his second interception against the Cyclones, Mike Gundy pulled him and decided to run the risk of putting Sanders out there despite his injury. It paid off, as Sanders led the Cowboys on the go-ahead touchdown drive in the fourth quarter in an eventual 20-14 win.

In a postgame interview with ESPN, Gundy explained why he turned to Sanders despite the risk of making his injury worse.

“He’s got 50 games of experience, so when you bring a guy off the bench like that, we wanted to protect him, but he just brings a little bit of charisma,” Gundy said. “We were able to throw the ball a little bit and get it done. So I couldn’t be any more proud of him just the same.”

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Sanders finished the game 9-of-13 passing for 84 yards and also connected with Jaden Nixon on the 14-yard go-ahead touchdown. Gunnar Gundy, by comparison, was 5-of-12 passing for 103 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.

But it wasn’t just Mike Gundy’s switch to Spencer Sanders that helped OSU win on Saturday. The Cowboys defense also looked incredibly stout, forcing five turnovers from the Cyclones.

“For where we’ve been the past few weeks and a lot of different reasons, that’s as ’bout as good of an effort as I’ve seen from the defense,” Gundy said. “The continue to go out and get stops and stops and stops. Our defense matched theirs. They have a really good defense, but today our defense matched theirs and we found a way to win.”

Saturday’s win improved OSU to 7-3 (4-3 Big 12) on the season, and was also their 14th consecutive in Boone Pickens Stadium. Mike Gundy hopes that will give the Cowboys confidence as they head into a Bedlam matchup next week against Oklahoma on the road.

“We needed to play at home,” he said. “We still have some young and immature players. When you play on the road it’s a little bit different. We needed to come home and play in an environment where they feel more comfortable.”