Oklahoma State Must Be Better at Getting Stops in 2016

I’ve been harping on this for about nine months now, but your eyes deceived you last year. Oklahoma State’s defense, while opportunistic, was actually not all that great last season. I have proof too!

Oklahoma State ranked No. 79 in the country in giving up TDs on defense. No. 79 in getting stops, in other words. Opponents scored on Glenn Spencer and Co. 29 percent of the time they received the ball. Here’s how that compares to the rest of the Big 12.

• Oklahoma: 19 percent
• West Virginia: 19 percent
• TCU: 25 percent
• Baylor: 26 percent
• Texas: 28 percent
• Oklahoma State: 29 percent
• Kansas State: 33 percent
• Iowa State: 34 percent
• Texas Tech: 41 percent
• Kansas: 47 percent

On the flip side, Oklahoma State scored touchdowns on 35 percent of its offensive possessions (No. 20 in the country). Compare that to OU at 40 percent. So OU had a 21 percent differential on offense vs. defense, and Oklahoma State had a six percent differential.For reference, OSU’s 2013 defense gave up TDs on 14 percent of possessions which was No. 4 in the country.

And you can see how turnovers come into play here. They are the great equalizer. The Cowboys relied heavily on getting picks and fumbles (which to be fair has been a pillar of the Gundy Era), but I’m not totally positive that’s sustainable in terms of 9-10 win seasons.

Here are the turnover differentials per game for Big 12 teams.

What if OSU drops back down to that .7 or .6 range. With all the close games it had last season, that’s potentially the difference between going 8-4 and 10-2. Gulp. And to add fuel to that fire, the majority of you in OKC Dave’s preseason poll think OSU will be the same or worse on defense this year.

That’s concerning.

“A new group means trying to find out what the heartbeat of this defense is going to be and stimulating these kids, trying to find their reason for doing what they do,” said Glenn Spencer last week. “You’ve got to get it all centered in one direction. It’s fun. It’s a fun time of year.”

It is. It’s also scary.