Poll Results: Offense Slightly Edges Defense As Most Impressive

Through the first three games of the season, Oklahoma State has been impressive. I think for most, they’ve exceeded expectations, which is impressive considering how high those were entering the season.

But expectations were already high for the offense. The defense on the other hand had a lot of question marks heading into the season; was the secondary talented enough? Was there “a guy” that would step up and be a difference maker?

That brings us to this week’s poll question about which side of the ball has impressed you more compared to your pre-season expectations. It was… closer than I expected.

Which #okstate unit has been more impressive this year compared to your preseason expectations?

— Pistols Firing (@pistolsguys) September 19, 2017

Out of the 1,390 votes 709 of you chose the offense, while 681 of you said defense.

The comments, as expected, echoed the closeness of the voting.

“If going by headline (more impressive), then the answer is the O. If going by the article (exceeding expectations), then it’s the D. I’m going into conference games with cautious optimism that the D will remain strong even as we face stronger offensive teams.” – Alum in AZ

“I still vote offense. The defense has played really well, but the offense puts so much pressure on the other team’s offense that it makes them play at a level that creates mistakes. Our opponents know they have to go out there and score or else the game will get ugly quickly.” – oSuJones

“I expected the offense to be just gaudy (in the best way). I did not expect the defense to show out the way it has.” – AJ Lilley

“Expected the Offense, the Defense is only losing 38-21 after 3 games and 3 scores, remember 2 TD have been given up on special teams!” – Enrique R. Lopez

If we’re just talking “impressive,” then yes, the offense wins. The offense has been better than expected, and wows us every game.

But, we’re talking exceeding expectations, which were always high for the offense. The defense has been a lot better than most people thought, and done so really quietly. They don’t have the highlight reel plays the offense does, but they’re doing their job holding offense back until the game is out of reach.

I think the real thing is that, despite being a preseason top-10 team in the eyes of fans, both sides of the ball have exceeded expectations. Maybe we should start altering our expectations of what this team is and can do this season.