‘They’re Being Addressed Right Now’: Eric Morris Frustrated by Red Zone Problems

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STILLWATER — For the most part, Oklahoma State’s offense has torched opposing defenses this season.

The Cowboys boast the nation’s No. 2 offense (averaging 548 yards per game), No. 7 passing offense (327 yards per game) and the No. 23 rushing offense (221 yards per game).

That success moving the ball nearly at will has OSU tied for the nation’s No. 30 scoring offense (37.3 points per game), which is actually impressive given that the Cowboys’ worst offensive stats include a 32% success rate on third down (ranked 121st nationally) and a red zone success rate of 83% (tied for 90th).

Both struggles have made Oklahoma State kicker Sam Keltner quite busy through four games as he has converted all 10 of his field-goal attempts this season, nine of which came after OSU entered the red zone.

“I think it’s probably the most frustrating thing for me as a play caller right now is kicking the field goals,” coach Eric Morris said. “And us not being super efficient inside the score zone, which we call the 12 to the five-yard line. We haven’t been good this year.”

Morris’ team last season finished the year ranked 18th nationally with a 91% success rate in the red zone. All that success looks even better considering UNT led the nation with 72 red zone scores overall and 62 of those (86%) were touchdowns.

Of the only 18 teams with a higher red zone success rate, only Utah scored touchdowns at a higher percentage, edging Morris out by just over 1%. However, the Utes scored only 47 red zone TDs in total.

That’s probably what makes OSU’s difficulties through four games especially tough for Morris to swallow.

This season, the Cowboys entered the red zone 24 times. Nine times, OSU settled for a field goal and 11 times Oklahoma State found the end zone. That means only 55% of OSU’s red zone scores are touchdowns.

“Defense has been playing good though, and we’ve kind of shifted our philosophy to be able to take some points at times,” Morris said of the kicking game. “And I just think that’s the best thing for our team right now. But there’s nothing more frustrating. You know, we’ve done a bunch of self-scouting over the course of the last, you know, week and a half.”

At West Virginia, OSU entered the red zone five times, and OSU again struggled in what Morris calls the “score zone.”

OSU’s red zone attempts vs West Virginia:

When asked about personnel groupings in the red zone, Morris mostly dismissed the question, stating so much is dependent on what the opponent does in that part of the field. He briefly touched on running back Caleb Hawkins’ success last season and seemed to suggest he would try to lean on that more.

“You know we were able to use some three tight end stuff last year,” Morris said. “Haven’t used a ton of it this year, and so you know it’s a game-by-game, week-by-week thing. We’re game planning.”

Less use on multi-tight end sets is likely the result of preseason injuries, which seemed to slow Donovan Green’s involvement (28 snaps so far, third among OSU TEs) and Oscar Hammond, who technically made his Cowboy debut at WVU when he took the field for three kneel-downs.

Tight end Carson Kolb has dominated OSU’s snap count at the position, playing 236 snaps while No. 2 tight end Morgan McPhaul has played 47.

This will be somewhat old, or at least repackaged, news to PFB subscribers who read the Final Draw breakdown of the WVU game, but OSU has run 43 plays inside the red zone against FBS opponents this season.

On these, Drew Mestemaker is 10-of-21 for 51 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions.

One of the 23 running plays was Mestemaker’s improvised touchdown run against Oregon. Other non-Hawkins skill players rushed five times and averaged 1.4 yards. That leaves 16 carries for Hawkins, who averages 3.5 yards per carry and has found the end zone only once inside the red zone.

That’s a big change from last season, when Hawkins scored 22 times inside the red zone, with 12 of those coming inside Morris’ “score zone.”

“And really third downs too, like we haven’t been good offensively on third downs or sticking it (in) the end zone you know once we do get into the red zone. … I think you know it’s going to allow us to set ourselves apart if we can get better in those two areas,” Morris said. “And so they’re being addressed right now.”