Box Score Dive: Eight Stats That Tell the Story of OSU’s 31-12 Loss to KSU

I’m not totally sure why I’m going back through this box score. Maybe I am the person Mike Yurcich was talking about yesterday afternoon.

Ask a silly question, you get bailed out with a $$ quote…

Me to #OKState OC Mike Yurcich: "So today's loss was more disappointing than typical…"

Yurcich: "Unless you're a masochist."

— Guerin Emig (@GuerinEmig) October 13, 2018

Anyway, here are eight things that stood out as I perused the numbers on Sunday for your enjoyment pleasure consumption hesitant consumption.

6 in 7: Oklahoma State had 6 points in its first 7 drives. That is 0.85 points per drive, which would rank — double and triple checks — yes last in the country behind Central Michigan’s feeble 1.10 points per drive number. They elevated it to 1.2 points per drive by the end game, but it could not have been more anemic.

311 yards: It’s the fewest OSU has had in a game since they put up, gulp, 192 against Texas in 2014. Their 4.9 yards per play ranks No. 102 in the 111 games played since the start of the 2010 season. Of the nine that were worse, five came in the 2014 season.

Yardage flip: Here are the two average yards-per-play numbers for the two teams on Saturday based on half.

Kansas State: 3.8 in 1H | 7.3 in 2H
Oklahoma State: 6.3 in 1H | 3.9 in 2H

That’s an OSU team that got worn down and a Kansas State team that got stronger as the game went on. In case you haven’t gathered this yet from the 25 posts we’ve written this weekend, this is not good.

3:30 | 7 | 60: Those are the time, plays and yardage minimums for Kansas State’s four real drives in the second half (not including a pseudo drive, which ended the game). A “how to play football in the midwest” field guide.

99.1: Skylar Thompson was 11/22 for 130 yards and 0 TDs, and his QB rating was the highest in the game … by a 25 percent margin.

3.1 PPD: Everybody keeps talking about Oklahoma State’s offense as the big problem. And trust me, it wasn’t good. But OSU gave up 3.1 points per drive, which was about an equal performance with the week before when it gave up 3.2 to Iowa State over the course of 15 drives. This is why efficiency matters and you can’t just look at total numbers.

18: There have been 174 games in the Mike Gundy era in Stillwater, and for just the 18th time on Saturday, Oklahoma State failed to produce a defensive turnover.

10th: It doesn’t mean a ton, but for a team that might lack a little confidence on offense, it’s probably not great that they’ve had the ball less than anyone else in Big 12 games. Here’s a look at the TOP rankings through four games for the Pokes. They were out-TOPed 37:52-22:08 on Saturday.