Glenn Spencer’s Defenses Among Nation’s Best at Forcing Turnovers

The headline probably won’t shock many of you. Oklahoma State’s defenders have been touting their “We’re Takin’ It Back” mantra for years. And it’s been a huge part of their defensive identity.

So when CoachingSearch.com complied a list of college football’s top-20 defensive playcallers at forcing turnovers, Spencer was predictably included. The list ranks the best among FBS teams by average takeaways from 2013 to now.

Coincidentally, that time frame corresponds with Spencer’s tenure as lead man on defense. He lands at No. 7 on the list with his teams averaging 1.92 takeaways per game. The Cowboys hold a record of 37-15 during that time. That’s just behind the likes of Gary Patterson and Phil Bennett and ahead of defensive coordinators like Brent Venables and Manny Diaz.

Winning the turnover battle goes a long way towards winning a game, no matter who you are. But when you field some of the explosive offenses Spencer’s crew has faced on the practice field, you want to get them as many extra possessions as possible.

This defense is going to pitch very few shutouts. We know that. They’re going to give up some yards and some points. But when they dispossess other teams and defend the red zone well, this style of defense can be very effective.

Here’s a breakdown of Spencer’s defenses when it comes to turnover margin.

We can see a direct correlation between turnover margin and wins and losses. In fact, during Spencer’s time in office, OSU is 24-3 (!) in games in which they won the turnover battle.

So what about that 2014 season? Did the Cowboys’ worst year in seven fall squarely on Spencer’s shoulders? Not exactly. The Cowboys graduated 17 defenders the season before, including Justin Gilbert, Caleb Lavey and Shaun Lewis. Those three accounted for 14 of OSU’s 21 interceptions in 2013.

More importantly, OSU lost its starting quarterback in the second game of the season and was starting from scratch in terms of offensive line depth. If your offense can’t exceed three consecutive snaps before trotting back to the sideline, your defense is going to get stretched thin and become ineffective — especially when you’re they’re trying to slow down the Bryce Pettys and Trevone Bokins of the world.

One thing this 2017 defense has in common with 2013 — the team it should hope to emulate — is that they’ve got the most seniors on defense since Spencer took over. His opportunistic 2013 squad had 13. He had eight in 2014. Followed by nine and eight in 2015 and 2016. But Spencer will embrace 14 of his guys on senior night 2017.

Mike Gundy has built this program into a perennial Big 12 contender and they’re stacked at several positions moving forward. But record-setting quarterback-wide receiver duos don’t come along every year. And let’s not ignore the coaching change due south on I-35. One of these years, Texas might prove their preseason hype-mongers right? Tom Herman will have something to say about that now that he’s taken over.

The Cowboys enter this fall with a fully installed second defensive scheme, as well. They’ve had all offseason to learn the three-man front they found some success with down the stretch in 2016. They’ve also made some position changes that may help, as well.

Let’s hope Spencer’s 2017 defense can “take it back” like his 2013 group did. The Cowboys will need it they want to live up to some gaudy expectations.