Oklahoma State’s Defense Came up Clutch Once Again When It Mattered Most

STILLWATER – The Oklahoma State offense came out against No. 25 Kansas State and played the best half of football they’ve had all season long. They combined for 24 points and 295 total yards, 194 through the air and 101 on the ground. They put up solid yards in the second half but were once again held scoreless in the second half.

It was Jim Knowles’ defensive unit that held Kansas State to just 84 yards of total offense and seven points in the second half that gave the Pokes their fourth win on the season. In fact, it all came down to the final two Kansas State drives that sealed the win for the Pokes.

The Wildcats took over with just over 13 minutes to go in the game, but the Pokes forced a three and out, including holding running back Deuce Vaughn to no yards during the drive. The Pokes offense wasn’t able to make anything happen, but they ran nearly five minutes off the clock before punting the ball back to the Wildcats.

That’s when edge rusher Tyler Lacy made one of the stops of the game. On second on 10, ball on the Kansas State 32-yard line, Lacy strip-sacked back-up quarterback Jaren Lewis for a 12-yard loss, resulting in a 3rd and 22 from the KSU 20-yard line. The Pokes forced an incomplete pass over the middle on 3rd down, giving Spencer Sanders the ball back with just under six minutes left in the game, a drive that lasted the rest of the game.

“I think the one before that, we got them in 3rd and 12,” said coach Gundy. “[OSU’s] offense was sputtering really bad. For some reason a time out was called – It was a change of quarter – I think, that was a big play because we needed to stop them there and not let them get momentum because really nobody had any momentum because there wasn’t anything going on. It was good defense. But that was a big down to stop them because we needed to get the ball back and at least keep them from getting momentum because we had sputtered offensively. Then the next one, that you’re talking about, in a sense, really kind of sealed the game. So, that was a big play.”

This is the second game in a row the Cowboy defense has held an opponent to under 100 total yards in the second half, as they held Boise State to just 64 second half yards. The Cowboys were also great on third-down situations as they held the Wildcats to just 2-of-12 on 3rd down plays.

"I just feel confident in our guys, and I feel confident in our leadership that we're getting,” said defensive coordinator Jim Knowles. “And the ability to make plays in crucial, crucial situations. I'm able to call things and predict exactly how our players are going to respond. That's a really good feeling. They're going to make adjustments to motion and shifts, and they're just going to be in the right place at the right time. I told them that, too. They've earned a lot and with that comes increased expectations. That's what we live for. We want everyone to expect us to play well and we want to expect each other to play well. You always feel like you're in the game, even early on when you take a couple shots."  

At the start of the fourth quarter, Jason Taylor II recorded a pass break up on 3^rd and 15, the defense forced an incompletion on 3^rd and four on the next drive, then finished with another incompletion on 3^rd and 22 in the Wildcats’ final drive of the game.

While it wasn’t in clutch time during the fourth quarter, linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez recorded a quarterback hurry on 3^rd and long to force an incompletion and a field goal during K-State’s opening drive of the game.

Kolby Harvell-Peel held Deuce Vaughn to just one yard on 3rd and short just a little more than nine minutes left in the second quarter to force a K-State punt. Harvell-Peel came up with another clutch stop of Vaughn on 3rd and short as he dropped him for a one-yard loss to force another K-State punt. Devin Harper came up with a clutch stop on 3rd and short late in the third quarter, that led an Israel Antwine sack on 4th and three.

"We were 2-for-12 on third down,” said Kolby Harvell-Peel. “We were really good on third down last year and it made us a really good defense and so far, this year, we've been good again. Yeah 2-12. You win a lot of games if you force a team to third down and then play well like that."

The Cowboy defense has another tough task ahead of them with the Baylor offense next week in Stillwater, a team that’s coming off a 31-29 upset over No. 14 Iowa State. The Bears’ offense was incredibly efficient as they posted just 282 yards of total offense.