‘Hasn’t Been Great’: Why Oklahoma State’s Red-Zone Defense Is Lacking Despite Top 25 Ranking

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STILLWATER — Eric Morris has made no secret that he tossed the book out a long time ago when it comes to the Cowboys’ offense and the red zone.

On Tuesday, he sort of did the same thing when he discussed the Cowboys’ red-zone defense, tied for 23rd. Not exactly a normal move in a press conference.

OSU gives up opposing scores only 76% of the time. That number might seem high, but only nine teams give up points less than 70% of the time, and Miami (57%) is the only team doing better than 62%.

“It hasn’t been great,” Morris said. “I don’t know what the stats are. I don’t know what our red-zone defense is rated right now.”

Had Morris been confronted with the Cowboys’ ranking in this particular stat, he likely would have dismissed it. Because, well, the stat is a rather bad one.

What Morris probably thought about when he offered up that critique was the fact that OSU is giving up touchdowns 71% of the time that opponents reach the red zone.

This time 70% is bad.

The Cowboys have allowed opponents to reach the red zone 21 times this season. That puts OSU in a nine-way tie for 41st nationally, a four-way tie for 27th among the Power 4 and Notre Dame, and a two-way tie with BYU for seventh in the Big 12.

All together, that paints a picture of a slightly above-average defense elsewhere on the field. Then comes the red zone, where the Cowboys wish they were average.

Of the 49 teams allowing 21 or fewer red-zone attempts this season, Oklahoma State ranks 47th in touchdowns allowed.

Nineteen of those teams, so nearly half, gave up touchdowns on 50% of red-zone drives or less, and a whopping 31 teams limited opponents to touchdowns less than 60% of the time.

Here is where the Big 12 ranks in red-zone touchdown percentage.

1. Baylor: 40%
2. Colorado: 46%
3. Utah: 47%
4. Arizona: 50%
5. Arizona State: 52%
6. TCU: 53%
7. Cincinnati: 53%
8. UCF: 54%
9. Kansas: 56%
10. West Virginia: 57%
11. Texas Tech: 61%
12. Iowa State: 65%
13. Kansas State: 65%
14. BYU: 67%
15. OSU: 71%
16. Houston: 73%

Not the best look. Although OSU’s red-zone offense has dominated discussion lately, the defense came up on Tuesday because the Cyclones entered the week with the best red-zone offense in the nation, scoring on all 18 of their trips this season.

“They are super effective once they get down there,” Morris said. “And I think they’re creative once they get down there, watching their tape.”

Although Iowa State capitalizes on points, the Cyclones are tied for 124th in red-zone opportunities this fall, and they aren’t elite at scoring touchdowns either, only finding the end zone on 67% of red-zone drives. That puts them right in the middle of the conference.

Just maybe don’t let children see look too closely at the bottom of the list.

Big 12 offensive touchdown rate (red zone):

1. Cincinnati: 86%
2. BYU: 77%
3. UCF: 75%
4. Utah: 74%
5. Arizona: 74%
6. Houston: 69%
7. West Virginia: 69%
8. Kansas: 68%
9. Iowa State: 67%
10. Kansas State: 62%
11. Arizona State: 63%
12. TCU: 56%
13. Colorado: 55%
14. Texas Tech: 52%
15. OSU: 50%
16. Baylor: 50%

“They’ve done a lot of different things and scored in a variety of different ways,” Morris said. “They’ve got a quarterback that can really hurt you with his feet, as well. Not just designed quarterback run game, but being able to pull the ball and hurt you on some scramble drill stuff, which showed up a little bit for us last week. I mean, we’re gonna have to be really disciplined in our pass rush alignments.”