Line Segment: Walterscheid Leads Dominant Defensive Line Into November

It was awfully hard to find a lot to criticize Oklahoma State on as the Cowboys held an explosive West Virginia offense 168 yards under their yearly average and forced 5 turnovers.

Although the back seven has received a lot of the credit forcing Will Grier into 4 INTs (justifiably so), the Oklahoma State defensive line was excellent once again. This is turning into the best defensive line in the Big 12, with the defensive end group starting to come around as the season progresses.

I feel like this can be the blog version of a scheduled tweet, but OSU held their opponent under 2.5 yards/carry. Final rushing totals were 30 rushes, 62 yards for 2.1 yards/carry. West Virginia isn’t a dominating rushing team, but they came into the game averaging over 170 yards/game which is pretty solid. Justin Crawford coming into this season was widely viewed as a top two RB in the Big 12, and he was completely shut down by the Oklahoma State defense.

If you’ve read this segment in previous weeks you know I’ve mentioned several times that the defensive line hasn’t had sack numbers that have been up to par. I blame part of this on them not wrapping up and finishing the job, as their QB hurry numbers are excellent. There were a few instances where you would like to see more QB pressure, and this will almost certainly something Glenn Spencer and his staff will be working to fix as Baker Mayfield can roast a defense when he has time.

A variety of defensive fronts and the addition of Calvin Bundage and Justin Phillips coming on various blitzes off the edge have done a decent job of sparking an otherwise average pass rush.

Oklahoma State was credited with 1 sack, 3 QB hurries and 5 tackles for loss. Good thing that here at Pistols Firing we have our own scoring system, and we would like to award Cole Walterscheid his second sack of the game for the highway robbery 15-yard penalty they called on him.

On that note, I would like to officially welcome Walterscheid to the dominant defensive lineman club.  I think Spencer may have found his top four guys alongside Daniels, Osborne and Brailford, although we have seen a lot of three-man fronts in the last few games.

Observations from film

1. Here is the play that Walterscheid was penalized on. I thought it was a terrible call as his hand was inside the back shoulder area, then slid down toward his number and not the nameplate. Great awareness by Walterscheid as he is unblocked and expected to crash down the line of scrimmage.  Instead he stays home, and doesn’t hesitate. Attacks the QB and gets the “sack.”

2. Darrion Daniels has turned into a beast in the last 5 games. He’s playing incredible football — this is the Darrion Daniels we have all been waiting for. Bull rushes the guard and completely blows up this draw play.

3. This play ended up in a 4-yard gain, but I think it’s a great example of how disruptive this defensive line is. WVU pulls a guard and he ends up on the ground 4 yards behind the line of scrimmage. The penetration here is tremendous and guys are flying to the ball. It was extremely lucky for WVU this didn’t end up in a 4-yard loss instead.

4. Walterscheid is playing so much more aggressive at this point in the year (as Gundy noted). He is seeing things quicker and playing fast, he seems to be rounding into form at just the right time. Bold strategy by WVU to leave him unblocked as well.

5. Good example of when the pass rush lacks, this was a traditional 4-man rush and no one is able to shed.

6. Another great push by the line here, penetration was excellent on this 4th and 2.  No one can wrap him up and WVU converts, but consistent push like this will lead to success in short yardage situations.

Overall, it was a tremendous effort by the Oklahoma State defensive line. The defense as a whole is hitting their stride just in time for a tough November stretch.