Oklahoma State University Athletics
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Camping World Bowl: Defensive Preview
December 24, 2017 | Cowboy Football
Camping World Bowl: Defensive Preview
ORLANDO, Fla. – The Oklahoma State football team takes on No. 22 Virginia Tech (9-3 overall; 5-3 ACC) Thursday in the Camping World Bowl at Camping World Stadium. The Hokies' offense presents some interesting wrinkles for the Cowboy defense to stop, and the matchup should be a fun one to watch.
"They do a great job of stretching the field in different ways," Defensive Coordinator Glenn Spencer said. "They've got a great jet series, use different formations and they're balanced, but they stretch the field well and they're fast on the perimeter as well. They run a lot of play-action. I think they do a great job of packaging play-action, RPOs and pop passes off their run game and that's always a challenge for us as a defense."
Tech's offense averaged 404.1 yards of offense in the regular season, including 236.9 passing yards and 167.2 rushing yards. All three of those numbers rank in the top half of FBS teams.
"We want to try to make them as one-dimensional as we can," linebacker Chad Whitener said. "Their quarterback is good, but he's young. We just need to put them in uncomfortable situations."
Quarterback Josh Jackson has led the way in the passing attack with 2,743 passing yards and 19 touchdowns to just eight interceptions. His favorite target has been wide receiver Cam Phillips, who has 71 catches for 964 yards and seven touchdowns on the year and has set several Tech receiving records in his career. Sean Savoy is the second leading receiver, with 39 catches for 454 yards and four touchdowns on the year.
"Cam Phillips is really good and Sean Savoy is a really fast guy," Whitener said. "We just have to know what we need to do and understand our plays, as well as how they want to run their guys around. That's the biggest thing for us."
The rushing attack has been more of a committee approach, as six Hokies have rushed for at least 200 yards this season.
Leading rusher Travon McMillian (104 carries for 439 yards and two scores) will not play in the game, but the Cowboys will have to worry about running back Deshawn McClease (406 yards and three touchdowns on 90 carries) and Jackson as well, who leads the team with four rushing touchdowns (274 yards on 108 carries). Additionally, running backs Coleman Fox, Jalen Holston and Steven Peoples have all rushed for at least 200 yards this season.
The offense will bring a change of pace from what the Cowboys typically see in Big 12 play.
"We study the tempo of everybody we face, and they're not as fast turbo-wise as some of the Big 12, but they can go fast with the best of them too," Spencer said. "We still practice like we always practice – going fast – so snap count is not as much of a factor as it is with most of our other teams, but maybe some of the physicality of their run game will be something that maybe we don't see from a lot of the teams in our league also. They pose a different challenge for us."
One plus of facing such a different offense in the bowl game is the extra time to prepare, although the Cowboys did get a somewhat similar look at the beginning of the season with Whitener comparing Tech's offense to Pitt as the most similar that OSU has faced this season.
"It's a big advantage to have extra days to prepare," Spencer Said. "You have to kind of fight against doing too much because you have more time and you can kind of get away from your base stuff – so you have to fight that.
"As a coach though, you love it. You feel a little bit more prepared, but that doesn't mean anything. When the game starts, you still have to execute against a good, balanced attack that are led by a good group of coaches."
Kickoff is set for 4:15 p.m. CT on ESPN.
ORLANDO, Fla. – The Oklahoma State football team takes on No. 22 Virginia Tech (9-3 overall; 5-3 ACC) Thursday in the Camping World Bowl at Camping World Stadium. The Hokies' offense presents some interesting wrinkles for the Cowboy defense to stop, and the matchup should be a fun one to watch.
"They do a great job of stretching the field in different ways," Defensive Coordinator Glenn Spencer said. "They've got a great jet series, use different formations and they're balanced, but they stretch the field well and they're fast on the perimeter as well. They run a lot of play-action. I think they do a great job of packaging play-action, RPOs and pop passes off their run game and that's always a challenge for us as a defense."
Tech's offense averaged 404.1 yards of offense in the regular season, including 236.9 passing yards and 167.2 rushing yards. All three of those numbers rank in the top half of FBS teams.
"We want to try to make them as one-dimensional as we can," linebacker Chad Whitener said. "Their quarterback is good, but he's young. We just need to put them in uncomfortable situations."
Quarterback Josh Jackson has led the way in the passing attack with 2,743 passing yards and 19 touchdowns to just eight interceptions. His favorite target has been wide receiver Cam Phillips, who has 71 catches for 964 yards and seven touchdowns on the year and has set several Tech receiving records in his career. Sean Savoy is the second leading receiver, with 39 catches for 454 yards and four touchdowns on the year.
"Cam Phillips is really good and Sean Savoy is a really fast guy," Whitener said. "We just have to know what we need to do and understand our plays, as well as how they want to run their guys around. That's the biggest thing for us."
The rushing attack has been more of a committee approach, as six Hokies have rushed for at least 200 yards this season.
Leading rusher Travon McMillian (104 carries for 439 yards and two scores) will not play in the game, but the Cowboys will have to worry about running back Deshawn McClease (406 yards and three touchdowns on 90 carries) and Jackson as well, who leads the team with four rushing touchdowns (274 yards on 108 carries). Additionally, running backs Coleman Fox, Jalen Holston and Steven Peoples have all rushed for at least 200 yards this season.
The offense will bring a change of pace from what the Cowboys typically see in Big 12 play.
"We study the tempo of everybody we face, and they're not as fast turbo-wise as some of the Big 12, but they can go fast with the best of them too," Spencer said. "We still practice like we always practice – going fast – so snap count is not as much of a factor as it is with most of our other teams, but maybe some of the physicality of their run game will be something that maybe we don't see from a lot of the teams in our league also. They pose a different challenge for us."
One plus of facing such a different offense in the bowl game is the extra time to prepare, although the Cowboys did get a somewhat similar look at the beginning of the season with Whitener comparing Tech's offense to Pitt as the most similar that OSU has faced this season.
"It's a big advantage to have extra days to prepare," Spencer Said. "You have to kind of fight against doing too much because you have more time and you can kind of get away from your base stuff – so you have to fight that.
"As a coach though, you love it. You feel a little bit more prepared, but that doesn't mean anything. When the game starts, you still have to execute against a good, balanced attack that are led by a good group of coaches."
Kickoff is set for 4:15 p.m. CT on ESPN.
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