Posted by: Chris Vannini on October 22, 2012

Mike Gundy knows some jobs are harder than others.

Coming off a win against Iowa State, Gundy expressed his respect for Paul Rhoads while on SiriusXM College Sports Nation, and not just because the Cyclones ended the Cowboys' national championship hopes last year.

"I have a lot of respect for coaches that are at schools that don't have the traditions and luxuries that some people have," Gundy said. "They have work at everything they do. They have to find a way to recruit, they have to find a way to stop people, manufacture points, be smart, special teams, team attitude, all those things. Paul knows this. I told him before the game how much respect I have for what he's accomplished.

"I know they gave him a 10-year contract. They should give him a 20-year contract because he maximizes the talent that he has, and they play smart football."

In typical Gundy fashion, the Cowboys lead the nation in total offense at 605.3 yards per game, although they're just 71st in total plays. Gundy explained how many teams are getting more plays in because of how much the deep passing game has increased in college football.

"The number of balls that are being thrown past 15 yards down the field in a game is five times more than it ever was, he said. "Maybe 10 times more than what it used to be even 10 years ago. Because of that, the percentages are some of those are going to be complete. If they're not complete, the clock stops. So there are more plays in the game.

"The tackling comes up all the time. We work on tackling all the time. We try to maximize the tackling that we can practice without beating our players up so it lessens their chance to perform well on Saturdays. But there's more skill players that are in space playing outside of the hash."

You can listen to part of Gundy's interview by clicking here. Below is his postgame presser.

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Chris Vannini is the lead writer for CoachingSearch.com and has covered Michigan State sports for The State News, The Oakland Press and MLive.com. He writes a weekly column for the Detroit Free Press on behalf of SB Nation. Vannini lives in Big Ten country, so his foot speed is far from SEC caliber, but his pulse on coaches is hard to match. Be sure to follow @CoachingBuzz on twitter and send your feedback to chris@coachingsearch.com