Stat of the Week: Cowboys, Bears Among Conference’s Worst in Turnover Margin

Although both Oklahoma State and Baylor enter Saturday at 2-3 in conference play, the two teams are trending in opposite directions. The Cowboys come off an upset win over No. 6 Texas in Stillwater while the Bears have suffered two tough losses to both Texas and West Virginia. The Cowboys will try to continue with this momentum against the Bears, and, fortunately for them, the Bears are one of the most turnover-prone teams in the conference.

Baylor has 12 turnovers on the season, tying them for third most in the Big 12. OSU isn’t exempt from that flaw, though. Aside from TCU, both Oklahoma State and Baylor have the worst turnover margins in the conference. The Cowboys’ Taylor Cornelius has thrown the most interceptions in the conference and Charlie Brewer is tied for the worst touchdown-to-interception radio among current Big 12 starters. OSU had a turnover-free performance against Texas last Saturday but Baylor wasn’t so lucky. The Bears had four against West Virginia without forcing one themselves.

Turnovers have played a significant role in these two teams’ past two meetings, with the winner being +2 in turnover margin in both 2017 and 2016. Additionally, the Cowboys have had no less than two turnovers against the Bears in Waco since 2012.

Oklahoma State, we should point out, is 67-8 under Mike Gundy when winning the turnover battle and 34-2 when they commit zero turnovers in a game.

The Cowboys only have four picks on the year but they’ll have a chance to increase that number against backup quarterback Jalan McClendon on Saturday (although OSU hasn’t always performed well against backups). Whether the Bears turn the ball over will play a big role in whether this is a comfortable Cowboy win or a grind-it-out battle in Waco.