Every series was a boxing round…

If you read the Special Edition Sunday Coach Report, you know that after Oklahoma State upset Oregon, I reached out to Mason Moss, a former player of mine who is now on the Oklahoma State staff.

I wanted to know what happened behind the scenes mentally.

Oklahoma State had lost 21 straight games to FBS opponents. Oregon was No. 6 in the country and a 23½-point favorite.

How did they get their players to truly believe they could win a game almost nobody else thought they could?

So I asked Mason.

His response was fascinating—and it helped shape my “Pleasure Cruise vs. Battleship” mentality that I shared with you Sunday.

But there was another part of Mason's response that was too good not to come back to today.

Oregon could show up expecting a pleasure cruise.

Oklahoma State couldn't. They had to prepare for a fight.

EVERY DRIVE IS A ROUND

Here's exactly what Mason told me:

“We told the defense this game was going to be a fight and every drive was a round (they averaged 14 drives a game). We’d tell them what round it was every drive and tell them nothing else mattered but doing their job and throwing punches one play at a time. We even played into it in the last few drives and said we were in the championship rounds.”

— Mason Moss, Oklahoma State

O - M - G! 

This is awesome.

It was 100+ degrees on the field, and the Pokes were throwing haymakers and winning rounds.

I love this because it's not complicated. It's a mental game plan your players can understand and carry with them for four quarters.

Today's message is one simple idea the Oklahoma State defensive staff gave their players:

Every drive is a round. Every play is a punch.

Win the play. Win the round.

Simple. Memorable. And most importantly—

You can take this straight to your team this week.

WIN THE PLAY

Think about how simple they made the game:

Every drive is a round. Every play is a punch.

So what's your job?

WIN THE PLAY.

Don't worry about winning the game right now. Win this play. Then line up and win the next one.

Bad play? Throw the next punch.

Give up a touchdown? That round is over. Get ready for the next round.

Make a big play? Great. Throw the next punch.

Win the play. Win the round.

MAKE THE GAME SMALL

Big games can become too big in a player's mind.

The ranking. The crowd. The scoreboard. The guy across from you who's supposedly going to the NFL.

Forget it.

What's the next punch?

That's what I love about the round mentality. It shrinks the game.

You're not asking a 17-year-old to beat the No. 6 team in the country. You're asking him to do his job for one play.

Stack winning plays and you win rounds.

Win enough rounds and you've got a chance to win the fight.

TAKE IT ONE STEP FARTHER

Oklahoma State didn't use physical round boards, but if I used this approach, I would.

Make big cards:

ROUND 1. ROUND 2. ROUND 3.

Keep going through however many possessions you expect.

Defense comes off: Round 5 is over. Make corrections. Get water.

Then somebody holds up:

ROUND 6

There's your reset.

And I'd put four words on every card:

WIN THE PLAY.

“WELCOME TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP ROUNDS”

Keep counting normally:

ROUND 9. ROUND 10. ROUND 11.

But late in a tight game, change the message—not the system.

The card says:

ROUND 12

The coach says:

“Fellas, we're in the championship rounds now.”

You don't need a new message. Make the message you've used all game more powerful when the fight gets tight.

That's what Oklahoma State did.

The Cowboys won 39–31 and outgained Oregon 554–281.

START YOUR MESSAGE MID-WEEK

One last coaching point.

The right message isn't just a pregame speech.

It starts during the week.

Introduce it. Build it. Then keep it alive during the game.

If I was going to copy this exact theme I'd show my guys clips from Rocky (Rocky 1 of course :) on Wednesday and describe how it will be a physical heavy weight type event.

If you want more examples of game themes I have eleven for $9 each!

That's exactly how I've set up my Arena Pregame Motivationals:

Wednesday/Thursday: Introduce the message with a video.
Friday: Reinforce it with another video.
Pregame: Deliver the script.

We install our physical game plan all week.

Install your mental game plan too.

Then when the game gets hard, make it simple for your players:

EVERY DRIVE IS A ROUND.
EVERY PLAY IS A PUNCH.
WIN THE PLAY.
WIN THE ROUND.

And when you reach those championship rounds...

SWING FIRST AND KEEP SWINGING.