Marcus Freeman And Notre Dame Well Aware Of What Makes Oklahoma State Dangerous
It’s an old defense.
That why Oklahoma State's defense it’s so good, at least according to Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman.
Every defensive starter for Oklahoma State is at least a redshirt junior. OSU started four redshirts seniors and six seniors against Baylor in the Big 12 Championship game.
The Cowboys are a sack machine. They lead the country with 55. One starter from that game, Tanner McCallister, a safety, has entered the transfer portal but according to head coach Mike Gundy still plans on playing.
The one freshman who is more like a starter, Collin Oliver, leads the team with 11. 5 sacks. Oliver is listed as a 6 foot 2, 225-pound defensive end. Malcolm Rodriguez, a 5-11, 225-pound senior linebacker, leads the team with 14.5 tackles for losses. Jarrick Bernard-Converse is a shutdown defensive back who has nine pass breakups and Kolby Harvell-Peel leads the team with three interceptions. Oklahoma State is 3rd in total defense, (278 yards), 12th in passing defense (187 yards), and 5th in rushing defense (91 yards).
It’s the most complete defense the Fighting Irish (11-1) have faced this season. Wisconsin and Cincinnati were also good, but not as good as the Cowboys.
It’s a fact not lost on Freeman.
“They do a lot of different things,” Freeman said. “When you talk about a team that is senior-led and a team with as many returning starters as they have, you can do all those things. They’ve been doing those things for four years.”
To find creases in the Oklahoma State defense will be a challenge.
“It’s a very sophisticated system that has been built over the years,” Freeman said. “The players know the ins and outs of it. It’s not something where they are running around and creating havoc. To me, it’s something these kids know what they are doing.”
Freeman isn’t just worried about the defense.
He said the Cowboys have a big-play offense.
Oklahoma State is averaging 181.7 yards rushing and 221 yards passing per game. They have five receivers with at least 12 receptions who average more than 14 yards per catch. Tay Martin is their most productive home run receiver. He has caught 70 passes for 942 yards with seven touchdowns. He’s averaging 13.46 yards per catch.
OSU is a run-first team.
Jaylen Warren is their leading rusher but he was injured and missed the second Baylor game. Warren is expected to return. He has rushed for 1,134 yards and he’s averaging 4.8 yards per carry.
“They want to run the ball so we have to stop the run,” Freeman said. “We have to do whatever it takes to make sure they can’t run the ball downfield on us and limit their explosive plays.”
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