Drive Charts: OSU Goes 9 Drives Between Touchdowns Against K-State

Oklahoma State ran 53 plays between TDs on Saturday, from James Washington’s 38-yard touchdown grab in the first quarter to Justice Hill’s 2-yard score late in the third.

Coming into Saturday, the Cowboys averaged just over a half point per snap. By that stat, OSU should have scored four TDs in the time it scored none.

So let me make you cry some more as we dissect the Cowboys’ 45-40 loss to KSU, its third home loss of the season.

OSU Drive Chart

Ahh, that’s bad.

In the six drives after Matt Ammendola’s second field goal, OSU gained 55 yards. Six drives – 55 yards – zero points – two turnovers. I would venture to guess those are stats more typical from the 1991 team that went 0-10-1, not the 2017 one, the one that some picked to make the College Football Playoff.

To OSU’s credit, those four straight touchdowns that followed looked great and fit the team’s statistical DNA.

“There was more rhythm, obviously,” offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich said postgame. “Any time you’re able to get first downs, you get lined up faster, you exhaust the defense, you’re able to sustain drives and play with more rhythm. I think that was the case there.”

But that ran out. For the second straight home game, Mason Rudolph overthrew one of his many NFL-bound receivers on fourth down with a chance to win or tie the game.

Against Kansas State, he tossed it over Marcell Ateman, who is the tallest scholarship receiver at OSU.

“We thought everything was going well down the stretch and we gave ourselves a chance,” Rudolph said. “Obviously on that fourth down, I threw it a little high over Marcell. I’ve got to give him a chance and I failed to do that.”

OSU’s Pertinent Stats

• Points per drive (offense): 2.50
• Points per drive (defense): 2.53
• Yards per play: 6.1 (4.37 during touchdown drought)
• Third-down conversions: 3/13 (23 percent)
• Average starting field position: own 30-yard line
• Red-zone scoring: 6/6 (2 touchdowns)
• Points off turnovers: 6
• Time of possession: 24:59

OSU was still in it. If you want to take the positive road, which you probably shouldn’t at this point. It’s amazing the Cowboys played probably their worst game in years and only lost by five.

K-State was not a great team by any metric. The OSU defense was gashed with chunk plays. If you take away the Wildcats’ scores of 39 yards or more, the final would have been 40-10.

“You have to play some man coverage to stop all the quarterback runs,” defensive coordinator Glenn Spencer said. “They’re a great running team. Those big plays count though. It’s not like you can say, ‘Hey, you guys did all right except for the big plays,’ you know. Big plays count. Again, it’s all about scoring defense. We didn’t score too much.”

K-State Drive Chart

While OSU came alive in the fourth quarter, K-State died.

The Wildcats were trying to run the clock out, but outside of their first drive in the quarter, K-State gained 23 yards on 12 plays. OSU knew Bill Snyder was going to run the ball, but getting four straight stops is impressive regardless, especially with the game on the line.

KSU win probably was 99.1% just three minutes ago. #analytics pic.twitter.com/J8RlGdjvBr

— John E. Hoover (@johnehoover) November 18, 2017

Had OSU gone on to score on its final drive, it would have been the biggest comeback in school history. Listening on TV was so exciting, which made it all worse at the end, particularly when you put the loss in context.

Pretty incredible that a team so heavily criticized for not being able to win on the road during Gundy’s early tenure is 6-0 away from Stillwater, and, well, this at home this year.

— Mike Harris (@TheMikeHarris) November 19, 2017

K-State’s Pertinent Stats

• Points per drive (offense): 2.53
• Points per drive (defense): 2.50
• Yards per play: 6.8 (13.6 in second quarter)
• Third-down conversions: 3/12 (25 percent)
• Average starting field position: own 34-yard line
• Red-zone scoring: 2/2 (1 touchdown)
• Points off turnovers: 7
• Time of possession: 35:01

K-State scored 21 in the second quarter. OSU scored 3.

All of the Wildcat’s points in the second frame came on plays of at least 39 yards, including Byron Pringle’s 89-yard kickoff return.

Snyder said the team has been on hiatus from big plays, a drought that has probably lasted since Collin Klein was there. But he said he wasn’t shocked that his team, a three-score underdog, won on the road against a top 15 team.

“They don’t surprise me,” Snyder said postgame. “Because it’s expected. I expect them to play well, and I expect them to be successful ballgame in and ballgame out. There isn’t anything that was a surprise. They got closer to playing to what I would expect they’re capable of playing.”

I remind you, K-State started its third string freshman quarterback, who got hurt in the fourth quarter. Those guys knocked OSU out of Big 12 title contention.

“It sucks,” Rudolph said.