Keys to the Game: The Blueprint for an OSU Win Over Texas Tech

Oklahoma State looks to extend its win streak to 10 against the Red Raiders this weekend in Stillwater. Below I’ll cover several keys to the game which I believe the Cowboys will need to accomplish if they want to come out victorious on Saturday night.

Get Pressure on Bowman

Texas Tech freshman quarterback Alan Bowman is coming off an impressive 605-yard, five-touchdown performance against Houston. For the Oklahoma State defense to slow down the young gunslinger, they most get pressure on him and make him uncomfortable early.

The Grapevine, Texas product has only been sacked one time through three games. One reason for this success has been pretty solid play from the Tech offensive line. Against the Cougars, they were able to send extra guys at talented defensive lineman Ed Oliver, and no other Houston defender was able to make them pay.

This is a problem I think the Tech O-Line is going to have with this Poke defense. They won’t be able to send double or triple teams at one specific pass rusher, or someone else will easily get to the quarterback. Oklahoma State is too talented up front to key on just one guy.

Additionally, when Bowman has been hurried this season, he’s looked uncomfortable at times and has shown a tendency to throw the ball up for grabs.

According to my guy Adam Lunt, the Cowboys only brought five or more pass rushers on 29 percent of their defensive plays last weekend. This is much lower than we’ve seen from Jim Knowles-led Duke defenses, and they were still able to rack up seven sacks on the day.

Even though we’ve seen some positive things from the Red Raider offensive line at times this season, I don’t think they will be able to handle the Poke pass rush throughout the course of a game. The young quarterback hasn’t thrown an interception yet this season, but I think that changes on Saturday.

Containing Tech’s Two Big Targets

Texas Text lost their top two receivers from a season ago, and they had some questions about who would step up behind T.J. Vasher in 2018. Well, through the early part of this season, that guy has been Antoine Wesley. Vasher and Wesley have combined for 36 reception, 624 yards and six touchdowns.

One of the reasons these two are so productive is their size. Vasher is listed at 6-6, 190 pounds while Wesley stands 6-5, 200. Both of these players are incredibly fast for their size and have nice moves in the open field. The Cowboys’ cornerbacks will have their work cut out for them this weekend and they will have to be disciplined when in man coverage.

We saw a few lapses last week, but I think the OSU corners will make up for those on Saturday. However, when the Tech wideouts are making plays like the one below, it’s going to be a challenge.

Attack the Red Raider Secondary

David Gibbs’ defense is allowing 399 passing yards per game so far this year. That ranks them in the bottom five of the entire country. Taylor Cornelius and the Cowboy receivers should have a field day against this Red Raider secondary. Now, there’s a chance they get talented senior safety Jah’Shawn Johnson back this weekend, who has recently missed some time due to injury, but I don’t think he’ll be the solution to fix all of Tech’s issues in pass coverage.

Ole Miss found success throwing to the outside, over the middle and down the field.

While Houston found a lot of their success throwing to the middle of the field, including up the seam.

Gibbs runs a lot of Cover 3, Quarters/Cover 4 variations, and other zone looks. This should leave open Cornelius’ bread and butter, the intermediate passing game. I see TC connecting on lot of hitches, curls and posts on Saturday.

I believe the protection will be there, so Cornelius should have plenty of time to get to the ball to one of his many weapons.

Back to Basics for the Run Game

The Red Raider defense bases out of a three-man front. They will run both three- and four-man fronts throughout the course of a game, but this is their base alignment. That being said, I think the Cowboys should be able to get back to basics with their running game. Don’t get me wrong, I love the zone-read and the designed quarterback runs, but I think this is a game where Justice Hill and J.D. King should be able to do a lot of damage.

The Pokes had some issues run blocking at times against Boise State, but as I mentioned above, TTU’s line is not as talented as the Broncos and I believe the O-Line will have a far better showing. Both Ole Miss and Houston were able to gash the Red Raiders up the middle for big runs.

Tech does have some studs at linebacker in Dakota Allen and Riko Jeffers, but I’ll take Hill against the second level of pretty much any defense. So, if the OSU offensive line can open up holes, similar to what the Rebels and Cougars did in the videos above, I think the Pokes will have a huge day on the ground.