Oklahoma State University Athletics
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Everything To Play For – OSU Football Midseason Report
October 17, 2015 | Cowboy Football
STILLWATER – Oklahoma State is at the halfway point of the 2015 season and still has everything to play for.
At 6-0 overall and 3-0 in the Big 12, the Cowboys are one of only 16 unbeaten teams remaining in college football. Two of OSU's three conference wins have come on the road and four of OSU's final six games will be played in Boone Pickens Stadium.
Unranked to start the season, the Cowboys have ascended to No. 15 in this week's Amway coaches poll and No. 16 in this week's Associated Press poll.
So what has worked well for OSU? It has found ways to win close games, disrupt opposing offenses and put together a productive passing game. A closer look at each of those themes:
Finding Ways To Win Close Games
The Cowboys did not lead with 40 seconds remaining in any of their last three games (at Texas, vs. Kansas State and at West Virginia). They won them all.
Oklahoma State 30, Texas 27 (in Austin)
Against the Longhorns, the Cowboy defense was outstanding, but Texas scored two touchdowns with the Oklahoma State offense on the field. The Longhorns held a 27-24 lead with 4:03 remaining in the game, but the difference between the two teams during the closing stretch was discipline – the Cowboys kept their composure and held it together while Texas did not. The Longhorns committed three consecutive penalties to bring OSU into field goal range and kicker Ben Grogan made them pay with a 41-yarder to tie the game with 1:33 remaining.
Cowboy defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah assisted on two sacks on Texas's next drive to force the Longhorns into a pivotal three-and-out. When OSU pressured Texas punter Michael Dickson with a punt block scheme on fourth down, he was unable to handle what appeared to be a good snap and was forced to scramble around and barely get off a 10-yard punt out of bounds that set up the Cowboys on the Texas 18 yard line. Grogan handled the rest, converting on a 40 yard field goal to win the game with six seconds left.
Oklahoma State 36, Kansas State 34 (in Stillwater)
With both of its top two running backs sidelined due to injury, Oklahoma State was forced to get away from its traditional balanced scheme in favor of a pass-heavy attack against the Wildcats. Following a bye week and having had two weeks to prepare for OSU, K-State started the game looking like a world-beater, scoring touchdowns on four of its first five possessions to claim a 28-13 lead with 4:37 remaining in the first half.
The OSU defensive coaches made significant adjustments at halftime and forced the Wildcats to punt on each of their first five possessions to start the second half. Meanwhile, the OSU offense chipped away and eventually secured a 33-28 lead after quarterback Mason Rudolph found Brandon Sheperd in the end zone from three yards out with 6:06 remaining. The Wildcats responded with a 94-yard touchdown drive to take a 34-33 lead with 3:01 left and set the stage for a dramatic finish.
OSU's first three snaps on the ensuing offensive possession resulted in a two-yard pass and a pair of incompletions to bring the Cowboys into a difficult fourth-and-eight scenario from the OSU 37 yard line, but Rudolph kept his composure under fire and threw a haymaker to the Wildcats by firing a 19-yard strike to Marcell Ateman to keep the Cowboys' hopes alive. With K-State reeling, the Cowboys jumped on the opportunity and marched downfield and into field goal range, where Grogan erased the deficit by kicking a 37-yard game-winner with 32 seconds left in the game. Cornerback Michael Hunter sealed the win by intercepting K-State quarterback Joe Hubener's last-ditch effort with nine seconds remaining on the clock.
Oklahoma State 33, West Virginia 26 (OT) (in Morgantown)
Oklahoma State tempered the raucous night-game-in-Morgantown crowd by jumping out to a 17-2 halftime lead and established itself as the aggressor early on, but West Virginia outscored OSU by a 24-9 margin in the second half to storm back and deadlock the game at 26 with 2:44 remaining, and in doing so, re-ignited its frenzied home-field advantage.
WVU limited the Cowboys to 109 rushing yards on 32 attempts during regulation and seemingly had all the momentum going into overtime, but OSU – perhaps surprisingly – turned to its ground game in the extra stanza and that decision paid dividends, with the Cowboys finding the end zone on the opening possession by running the ball six consecutive times.
OSU faced fourth-and-one from the Mountaineer two yard line and rather than make the conservative call and kick the field goal, head coach Mike Gundy sensed the ability to go for the win and he turned to fifth-year quarterback J.W. Walsh, who found a crease and scored a touchdown to force West Virginia into having to match.
The OSU defense – fatigued and worn down after having defended 90 plays during regulation – made one last stand and won the game for the Cowboys when they kept WVU out of the end zone on its last attempt.
Disrupting Opposing Offenses
Perhaps no defense in America has been more disruptive than Oklahoma State and the numbers bear that out. A look:
Productive Passing Game
Oklahoma State is off this Saturday, but returns to action when it hosts Kansas at 2:30 p.m. CT on Oct. 24 in Boone Pickens Stadium. Should OSU win that game, it would improve the Cowboys to 7-0, marking the third time under Mike Gundy that OSU would have a perfect record after seven games. The previous two occasions were in 2008 and 2011. For some perspective on that, OSU had only one 7-0 start in 103 seasons of football before Gundy took over in 2005. It came in 1945.
A win over the Jayhawks would also mark the Cowboys' ninth consecutive win, dating back to last season, marking OSU's longest win streak since the Pokes rattled off 11 straight wins from Dec. 29, 2010 to Nov. 18, 2011. Nine straight wins would stand alone as the third-longest winning streak in school history. The Pokes won 13 straight from 1944-46 and 11 straight from 2010-11.
Lastly, a win over the Jayhawks would keep the Cowboys undefeated and make it so they would still have everything to play for as the leaves turn and the significance of games is magnified.
At 6-0 overall and 3-0 in the Big 12, the Cowboys are one of only 16 unbeaten teams remaining in college football. Two of OSU's three conference wins have come on the road and four of OSU's final six games will be played in Boone Pickens Stadium.
Unranked to start the season, the Cowboys have ascended to No. 15 in this week's Amway coaches poll and No. 16 in this week's Associated Press poll.
So what has worked well for OSU? It has found ways to win close games, disrupt opposing offenses and put together a productive passing game. A closer look at each of those themes:
Finding Ways To Win Close Games
The Cowboys did not lead with 40 seconds remaining in any of their last three games (at Texas, vs. Kansas State and at West Virginia). They won them all.
Oklahoma State 30, Texas 27 (in Austin)
Against the Longhorns, the Cowboy defense was outstanding, but Texas scored two touchdowns with the Oklahoma State offense on the field. The Longhorns held a 27-24 lead with 4:03 remaining in the game, but the difference between the two teams during the closing stretch was discipline – the Cowboys kept their composure and held it together while Texas did not. The Longhorns committed three consecutive penalties to bring OSU into field goal range and kicker Ben Grogan made them pay with a 41-yarder to tie the game with 1:33 remaining.
Cowboy defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah assisted on two sacks on Texas's next drive to force the Longhorns into a pivotal three-and-out. When OSU pressured Texas punter Michael Dickson with a punt block scheme on fourth down, he was unable to handle what appeared to be a good snap and was forced to scramble around and barely get off a 10-yard punt out of bounds that set up the Cowboys on the Texas 18 yard line. Grogan handled the rest, converting on a 40 yard field goal to win the game with six seconds left.
Oklahoma State 36, Kansas State 34 (in Stillwater)
With both of its top two running backs sidelined due to injury, Oklahoma State was forced to get away from its traditional balanced scheme in favor of a pass-heavy attack against the Wildcats. Following a bye week and having had two weeks to prepare for OSU, K-State started the game looking like a world-beater, scoring touchdowns on four of its first five possessions to claim a 28-13 lead with 4:37 remaining in the first half.
The OSU defensive coaches made significant adjustments at halftime and forced the Wildcats to punt on each of their first five possessions to start the second half. Meanwhile, the OSU offense chipped away and eventually secured a 33-28 lead after quarterback Mason Rudolph found Brandon Sheperd in the end zone from three yards out with 6:06 remaining. The Wildcats responded with a 94-yard touchdown drive to take a 34-33 lead with 3:01 left and set the stage for a dramatic finish.
OSU's first three snaps on the ensuing offensive possession resulted in a two-yard pass and a pair of incompletions to bring the Cowboys into a difficult fourth-and-eight scenario from the OSU 37 yard line, but Rudolph kept his composure under fire and threw a haymaker to the Wildcats by firing a 19-yard strike to Marcell Ateman to keep the Cowboys' hopes alive. With K-State reeling, the Cowboys jumped on the opportunity and marched downfield and into field goal range, where Grogan erased the deficit by kicking a 37-yard game-winner with 32 seconds left in the game. Cornerback Michael Hunter sealed the win by intercepting K-State quarterback Joe Hubener's last-ditch effort with nine seconds remaining on the clock.
Oklahoma State 33, West Virginia 26 (OT) (in Morgantown)
Oklahoma State tempered the raucous night-game-in-Morgantown crowd by jumping out to a 17-2 halftime lead and established itself as the aggressor early on, but West Virginia outscored OSU by a 24-9 margin in the second half to storm back and deadlock the game at 26 with 2:44 remaining, and in doing so, re-ignited its frenzied home-field advantage.
WVU limited the Cowboys to 109 rushing yards on 32 attempts during regulation and seemingly had all the momentum going into overtime, but OSU – perhaps surprisingly – turned to its ground game in the extra stanza and that decision paid dividends, with the Cowboys finding the end zone on the opening possession by running the ball six consecutive times.
OSU faced fourth-and-one from the Mountaineer two yard line and rather than make the conservative call and kick the field goal, head coach Mike Gundy sensed the ability to go for the win and he turned to fifth-year quarterback J.W. Walsh, who found a crease and scored a touchdown to force West Virginia into having to match.
The OSU defense – fatigued and worn down after having defended 90 plays during regulation – made one last stand and won the game for the Cowboys when they kept WVU out of the end zone on its last attempt.
Disrupting Opposing Offenses
Perhaps no defense in America has been more disruptive than Oklahoma State and the numbers bear that out. A look:
- The Cowboys lead the nation in tackles for loss, sacks and defensive touchdowns scored. OSU is second in the country in fumbles recovered.
- Oklahoma State leads the Big 12 in total defense and is second in the league in scoring defense, passing defense and red zone defense.
- In Emmanuel Ogbah and Jimmy Bean, Oklahoma State has perhaps the best pair of defensive ends in the nation. Ogbah and Bean have combined for 13.0 sacks through six games, a mark that is No. 1 in the nation among defensive end duos.
- Ogbah is turning in an All-America and national awards-level season. He ranks fourth in the nation with 7.5 sacks – a mark that leads all defensive ends nationally – and he is eighth in the country and third among defensive ends with 11.0 tackles for loss. So far this season, Ogbah has been honored as national defensive player of the week by both the Football Writers Association of America and by the Lott IMPACT Trophy and has twice been named Big 12 defensive player of the week. With nine quarterback hurries, Ogbah has already set a new single-season school record in that category – and he's only played six games.
- While Ogbah has gotten most of the recognition to this point, Bean has been dominant in his own right, with 5.5 sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss of his own. Both of those marks rank in the top 15 nationally.
- Ogbah and Bean have deservedly been the headliners, but it should be noted that midway through the season, seven different Cowboys have more than one sack and 11 different Cowboys have more than one tackle for loss.
- Even if opposing teams get past Oklahoma State's fierce pass rush, they still have to deal with a deep and talented group of cornerbacks who can effectively play man-to-man coverage and disrupt timing on the perimeter. All-Big 12 candidate Kevin Peterson is the leader of that group, but Ashton Lampkin, Ramon Richards and Michael Hunter have all established themselves as proven playmakers as well.
- Safety Jordan Sterns has quietly performed at an All-Big 12 level, leading the team with 56 tackles. He ranks fifth nationally with 39 solo tackles.
- The end result of having all those playmakers is that Oklahoma State's defense has held four of its last five opponents under 200 yards passing, and the lone exception during that time - Kansas State - barely eclipsed that mark with 207 yards through the air.
Productive Passing Game
- Led by quarterback Mason Rudolph and a deep and balanced group of receivers, Oklahoma State is in the top 25 nationally in scoring offense, total offense, passing offense, third down conversion percentage and fourth down conversion percentage.
- The Cowboys have one of the nation's best red zone offenses, leading the Big 12 and ranking sixth nationally by converting on 97 percent of their red zone opportunities.
- Rudolph ranks eighth nationally with 1,892 passing yards and is 11th nationally with 315.3 passing yards per game. For perspective on that, Brandon Weeden is the only Oklahoma State quarterback to average 300 passing yards or more per game over the course of a season. Beyond Weeden, the next highest single-season per-game passing average mark at OSU is 241.9 yards by Josh Fields in 2002.
- Rudolph has done his damage by spreading the ball around. In four of OSU's six games, at least 10 different receivers caught a pass.
Oklahoma State is off this Saturday, but returns to action when it hosts Kansas at 2:30 p.m. CT on Oct. 24 in Boone Pickens Stadium. Should OSU win that game, it would improve the Cowboys to 7-0, marking the third time under Mike Gundy that OSU would have a perfect record after seven games. The previous two occasions were in 2008 and 2011. For some perspective on that, OSU had only one 7-0 start in 103 seasons of football before Gundy took over in 2005. It came in 1945.
A win over the Jayhawks would also mark the Cowboys' ninth consecutive win, dating back to last season, marking OSU's longest win streak since the Pokes rattled off 11 straight wins from Dec. 29, 2010 to Nov. 18, 2011. Nine straight wins would stand alone as the third-longest winning streak in school history. The Pokes won 13 straight from 1944-46 and 11 straight from 2010-11.
Lastly, a win over the Jayhawks would keep the Cowboys undefeated and make it so they would still have everything to play for as the leaves turn and the significance of games is magnified.
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