Football
Oklahoma State Cruising in Big 12 Points Per Drive but Struggling on Defense
We are a whole 10 games into the Big 12 season, but it’s time to overreact to some early numbers. I went back and tallied up the first 272 drives of conference play and discovered a few things about Oklahoma State (and other teams).
Let’s look at the good (for OSU) first. Again, these charts and numbers illustrated only Big 12 games, not the entire season.
Offensive Points Per Drive (B12 Only)
Team | Drives | Points | PPD |
---|---|---|---|
Oklahoma | 24 | 80 | 3.33 |
Oklahoma State | 24 | 72 | 3.00 |
Texas Tech | 29 | 86 | 2.97 |
West Virginia | 26 | 73 | 2.81 |
TCU | 27 | 75 | 2.78 |
Kansas State | 26 | 67 | 2.58 |
Baylor | 26 | 60 | 2.31 |
Texas | 28 | 58 | 2.07 |
Iowa State | 23 | 44 | 1.91 |
Kansas | 33 | 54 | 1.64 |
I should note that none of my numbers include pick-sixes or kickoff or punt returns, for example. That removed six total drives from the first 272 in Big 12 play.
It’s pretty interesting to me that Oklahoma and Oklahoma State — presumed to be two of the faster teams in the league — have the two of the three fewest total offensive drives of all teams in the conference.
Texas Tech has been impressive. Texas Tech has also played Kansas.
Here is how those numbers look on a chart.
Now let’s take a look at defense.
Defensive Points Per Drive (B12 Only)
Team | Drives | Points | PPD |
---|---|---|---|
Texas | 28 | 41 | 1.46 |
Iowa State | 24 | 48 | 2.00 |
Texas Tech | 29 | 61 | 2.10 |
West Virginia | 30 | 65 | 2.17 |
TCU | 24 | 55 | 2.29 |
Kansas State | 25 | 61 | 2.44 |
Oklahoma State | 25 | 71 | 2.84 |
Oklahoma | 25 | 77 | 3.08 |
Baylor | 25 | 82 | 3.28 |
Kansas | 31 | 108 | 3.48 |
Not great for the Pokes (or the Sooners). They are in Baylor/Kansas territory. Two teams that have combined for one win in nine tries. And this isn’t me trying to show you how lousy Oklahoma State’s defense has been compared to Alabama because of points per game allowed. This is tempo-free points per drive allowed, and the Cowboys need to be a lot better. Also, for all of you pointing out that OSU’s defense hasn’t been very good thus far (and there are many of you), this is a post you should be referencing.
Here’s the graph.
Texas has a chance, albeit not a great one, to finish first in the league in defensive PPD and last in offensive PPD. I don’t know what that equates to at the end of the season in terms of record, but it’s at least on the table.
Net Points Per Drive (B12 Only)
Team | Net PPD |
---|---|
Texas Tech | 0.86 |
West Virginia | 0.64 |
Texas | 0.61 |
TCU | 0.49 |
Oklahoma | 0.25 |
Oklahoma State | 0.16 |
Kansas State | 0.14 |
Iowa State | -0.09 |
Baylor | -0.97 |
Kansas | -1.85 |
Texas Tech, eh? Again, they’ve played Kansas, but that’s still a pretty potent number. These figures will widen and gain context as the season progresses, but now we have a base for looking at Big 12-only games and arguing about which offenses and defense in the league are good and bad.
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