Bob Stoops Responds to Austin Kendall's Comments Calling OSU's Defense 'Basic'

The Oklahoma Sooners lost in blowout fashion to the Ohio State Buckeyes on Saturday, but head coach Bob Stoops had more concerns than the 45-24 final score.

Stoops called comments backup quarterback Austin Kendall made prior to the game “ridiculous” on Monday "and said that he will restrict media access to only include older players,” according to Jake Trotter of ESPN.com.

Trotter noted Kendall, a freshman, called Ohio State’s defense “basic” and predicted starter Baker Mayfield would “light up” the group during an interview with Sooner Sports TV before the game.

Mayfield failed to light up the Buckeyes, instead throwing two interceptions, one of which linebacker Jerome Baker returned for a touchdown. He nearly threw three picks, but a would-be interception by cornerback Marshon Lattimore was overturned by a replay review.

Ohio State also held running back Samaje Perine to 60 rushing yards on 3.5 yards per carry.

Stoops didn’t seem to think the Buckeyes defense was basic.

“I don’t know what [Kendall] could've been watching, to be quite honest with you," he said, per Trotter. "He must not have watched any tape, if he had that to say.”

Had Kendall watched more tape, he would have seen an Ohio State program that's 53-4 under head coach Urban Meyer and has yet to lose in 19 road games under his direction.

“Defensively, this was a mismatch," Stewart Mandel of Fox Sports observed. "Ohio State continued its ball-hawking ways, notching its eighth and ninth interceptions only three weeks into the season.”

While the Buckeyes were likely already motivated to prove themselves on the road against a college football blue blood, Kendall’s comments stuck with them as they prepared for the game. As they celebrated the win with the Ohio State faithful that made the trip, linebacker Raekwon McMillan held a sign mocking Kendall’s quotes, as Brian Bennett of ESPN.com shared:

Ohio State’s defense did not allow a touchdown against Bowling Green or Tulsa in its first two games and kept Oklahoma in check enough for the Buckeyes offense to create comfortable separation in the statement win Saturday.

The team's official Twitter account highlighted some of the impressive stats:

Seven of Oklahoma’s points came on special teams—thanks to a Joe Mixon kick return that shouldn’t have counted because he dropped the ball before crossing the goal line, as Fox Sports pointed out:

On the other side of the ball, J.T. Barrett found wide receiver Noah Brown for four touchdowns alone, which was more than the Oklahoma offense scored.

Barrett, Brown, Curtis Samuel, Mike Weber and the rest of the Ohio State offense is third in the nation with 56.7 points per game. If that type of production continues alongside the Buckeyes’ stout defense, the 2016 campaign will be anything but basic for Meyer’s program.