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Oklahoma State 2021 Season In Review

A look back at how Oklahoma State got to its 11-2 finish and berth to the Fiesta Bowl against Notre Dame

Oklahoma State finished the 2021 season with an 11-2 record but came up just short of a Big 12 Championship and possible College Football Playoff berth last weekend against Baylor. Despite the disappointment, the Cowboys will be fired up to play Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl.

Oklahoma State had a great record this year with four victories over teams ranked in the top-25 at kickoff (including two top-ten wins), but until late in the season did not really get much appreciation from the polls. A win against a well-respected Notre Dame squad will go a long way toward validating this team and allowing OSU to step into a leadership role in a new-look Big 12.

The Cowboys are coached by Mike Gundy, a former Oklahoma State quarterback who has turned his alma mater from a program that had a losing record historically when he took over into a consistent contender for conference titles. Normally, OSU has a high-flying offense and a defense that considers it a “win” when holding an opponent to a field goal, but not this year.

This season, Oklahoma State is led by not just the top defense in the Big 12, but one of the top defenses in the entire country. The Cowboys lead the Big 12 in every major defensive statistical category and ranks third nationally in total defense. The core of the defense is a dominant defensive line, which leads the nation in sacks and tackles for loss and only allows opponents to convert 25.8% of third-down conversions, good for second nationally.

In the past two games against top-ten opponents (Oklahoma and Baylor), the Cowboys did not allow a defensive point in the second half. It will be interesting to see whether the Cowboy defense is distracted by the fact that coordinator Jim Knowles will be coaching his last game at the school, as it was announced this week that after the Fiesta Bowl he will take over as defensive coordinator at Ohio State.

With the Irish and Cowboys set to meet in just a few weeks in the Valley of the Sun, let’s take a look at how Oklahoma State got there. Much like the Fighting Irish, Oklahoma State started slow and had to rally for early-season victories over lesser opponents. However, the team steadily improved as the season went on and played its best football at the end of the year.

OKLAHOMA STATE 23 MISSOURI STATE 16 (1-0)

Oklahoma State got off to a sluggish start in the 2021 season with a 23-16 win over FCS Missouri State. The Cowboys were without starting quarterback Spencer Sanders, but his backup Shane Illingworth carried the offense with 315 yards passing and a touchdown. Most surprising was the fact that OSU rushed for only 54 yards on 28 carries against an FCS team.

However, the defense was up to the challenge. Led by star LB Malcolm Rodriguez’s fifteen tackles, the Cowboys racked up five sacks, nine TFLs, and eleven QB hurries. Even though Missouri State had 23 first downs and possessed the ball for 35:30, they converted only 6-18 third downs and were 0-2 on fourth down.

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OKLAHOMA STATE 28 TULSA 23 (2-0)

Even though QB Spencer Sanders returned, the OSU offense still struggled in Week 2 and trailed Tulsa 14-7 heading into the fourth quarter. However, a Sanders touchdown pass to Bryson Green knotted the game, and after a Tulsa field goal, LD Brown returned the ensuing kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown to given Oklahoma State a lead it would not surrender.

Though the Cowboy running game continued to struggle, averaging only 3.3 YPC, Utah State transfer Jaylen Warren emerged as the feature back with a team-leading 14 carries.

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OKLAHOMA STATE 21 BOISE STATE 20 (3-0)

Oklahoma State’s season turned in a 2:10 stretch at the end of the first half in Boise. Trailing 20-7 on the “Smurf Turf”, Spencer Sanders engineered a ten-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a Jaylen Warren touchdown to cut the lead to 20-14. Two plays later, the Broncos fumbled, giving the ball back to the Cowboys, and Sanders punched it in with a one-yard rush with only six seconds in the half. Trailing by two scores, on the road, in the rain, in an environment where the road team almost never wins – Oklahoma State found a way.

The defense carried the day in the second half, holding Boise State to only 79 total yards and blocking the game-winning field goal with 2:05 remaining. The Cowboys dominated at the line of scrimmage, with the defensive line posting four sacks and seven QB hurries and the offensive line paving the way for Jaylen Warren to step into the spotlight with 218 yards rushing and two TDs.

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OKLAHOMA STATE 31 KANSAS STATE 20 (4-0)

Unlike previous games, Oklahoma State’s offense started fast against Kansas State, jumping out to a 31-10 first half lead and taking a 31-13 advantage into halftime. Oklahoma State was held scoreless in the second half, as the offense continued to struggle with consistency, but the defense held Kansas State to just 260 total yards, with only 62 yards rushing and 2-12 third down conversions.

Spencer Sanders had his best passing performance of the season, throwing for 344 yards and two TDs, and Jaylen Warren built on his performance against Boise State with another 123 yards on the ground.

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OKLAHOMA STATE 24 BAYLOR 14 (5-0)

Oklahoma State’s defense dominated the matchup against the previously undefeated Baylor Bears to move the Cowboys to 5-0 on the season. A Baylor team that would lead the Big 12 in rushing at 215.2 YPG could muster only 107 yards on the ground, a big reason the Bears had only 25:27 of possession. Baylor’s inability to generate offense on early downs led to them going only 3-15 on third down conversions.

The strong defensive performance helped OSU overcome a three-interception game from Spencer Sanders. Unable to throw consistently, the Cowboy offense fed Jaylen Warren 36 times, which he turned into 125 yards and two touchdowns.

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OKLAHOMA STATE 32 TEXAS 24 (6-0)

If we needed more proof that Texas was not “back” this year, we found it in Oklahoma State’s road win over the Longhorns. One week after Texas blew a double-digit fourth quarter lead against Oklahoma, they did it again. The Cowboys overcame a 24-13 second half deficit by relying on defense and the run game.

Jaylen Warren continued his strong season with 193 yards rushing on 33 carries, and the Oklahoma State defense held Texas to only seven second half points by controlling the line of scrimmage with seven TFLs. After the Longhorns scored on their first drive of the second half, OSU forced four straight punts and turnover on downs before picking off Casey Thompson on the last drive to seal the win.

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IOWA STATE 24 OKLAHOMA STATE 21 (6-1)

The dream of an undefeated season came to an end against Iowa State at a raucous Jack Trice Stadium. Iowa State flipped the script on Oklahoma State by possessing the ball for 34:11 through a well-designed game plan. Rather than line up and try to run against a stout defensive front (the Cyclones had only 67 yards rushing), they attacked the Cowboy defense with quick passes and let their tight ends and wide receivers do damage after the catch. QB Brock Purdy completed 27 of 33 passes for 307 yards and two touchdowns.

Oklahoma State still had the ball with a chance to win the game on its final drive, but the Cowboys were stopped on fourth down. This was the story of the day, as the offense went only 2-11 on third and fourth down conversions, wasting a defensive effort that was good enough to win.

You can expect that Notre Dame coaches will be watching this film when designing a game plan to attack Oklahoma State’s defense, as Notre Dame’s offense has some similarities to Iowa State’s, with an efficient quarterback and strong tight ends.

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OKLAHOMA STATE 55 KANSAS 3 (7-1)

Oklahoma State rebounded from the loss to Iowa State with a resounding victory over Kansas. Yes, it’s Kansas, but the Jayhawks showed this year that they were good enough to beat a more talented – but unfocused – team (looking at you, Texas). Oklahoma State responded the way that a great team should respond to a tough loss – by dominating.

The Cowboys outgained Kansas 535-143, threw four touchdown passes, and racked up 292 yards on the ground while getting backups valuable experience after jumping out to a 38-0 halftime lead.

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OKLAHOMA STATE 24 WEST VIRGINIA 3 (8-1)

This is one of the more underrated victories of the season for Oklahoma State, as West Virginia is always a tough place to play, and the Mountaineers have a respectable defense. After West Virginia jumped out to an early 3-0 after a 64-yard opening drive, the Cowboy defense buckled down – West Virginia would only put up 69 yards the rest of the game.

Oklahoma State finished with eight sacks and twelve tackles for loss – a good thing because of how much the Cowboy offense struggled. West Virginia was able to limit OSU to just 103 yards rushing on 32 carries, but the defensive dominance gave Oklahoma State’s offense short fields to work with. The Cowboys scored touchdowns on drives of 53, 26, and 45 yards to get out of Morgantown with a hard-fought win.

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OKLAHOMA STATE 63 TCU 17 (9-1)

One week after TCU QB Chandler Morris threw for 461 yards in an upset of Baylor, Oklahoma State’s defense held him to just 103 yards through the air. Morris was sacked seven times and the Cowboys also piled up twelve tackles for loss.

However, the story of the game was the reemergence of the Oklahoma State offense. Helped by 447 yards rushing on 7.5 YPC, the Cowboys kept the foot on the gas. After leading 28-3 at the half, Oklahoma State scored another 35 points in the second half to turn in an impressive victory.

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OKLAHOMA STATE 23 TEXAS TECH 0 (10-1)

After two games in which they had held opponents to a field goal, Oklahoma State’s defense finally posted a shutout. Texas Tech was only able to muster 108 total yards, as QB Donovan Smith completed just 9-29 passes for 83 yards, a big reason the Red Raiders had only 23:02 of possession. It didn’t help that their 26 carries went for only 25 yards either. The swarming Cowboy defense racked up six more sacks and thirteen TFLs, again giving the offense plenty of time to overcome a slow start.

With Jaylen Warren limited by injuries to just twelve carries, OSU threw the ball 37 times. WR Tay Martin was the big beneficiary, as he continued his strong season with seven catches for 130 yards.

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OKLAHOMA STATE 37 OKLAHOMA 33 (11-1)

In one of the wildest games of the 2021 regular season, Oklahoma State earned one of the biggest wins in school history by knocking off archrival Oklahoma in the annual Bedlam game – perhaps the last in Stillwater with Oklahoma leaving for the greener pastures of the SEC in the near future. The Cowboys overcame a 33-24 second half deficit, three turnovers, and over ten minutes less time of possession on the strength of their defense. Oklahoma did not score an offensive point in the second half and went only 5-18 on third down. The Sooners were also penalized twelve times.

Though there were multiple close calls that went against the Sooners, including no-calls on a late hit and pass interference penalties on Oklahoma’s final drive, the difference in the game came down to Oklahoma State’s ferocious pass rush, which generated six sacks, nine TFLs, and six QB hurries. Oklahoma Caleb Williams showed off his talent – but also his inexperience – as the Sooners were could not get much going in the second half as Williams was unable to get comfortable in the pocket and was outplayed by Spencer Sanders, who put up 307 total yards and two TDs.

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BAYLOR 21 OKLAHOMA STATE 16 (11-2)

Oklahoma State fell inches short of a Big 12 championship when RB Dezmon Jackson was tackled just short of the end zone on 4th and goal with less than a minute remaining. The inability to run the ball – especially in the red zone – was a big reason the Cowboys lost. Oklahoma State had two possessions in the fourth quarter get to the one-yard line but came away with only three points. OSU really missed Jaylen Warren, who did not play due to injury, with his replacements running for only 70 yards on 40 carries.

The inability to run the ball put too much on the shoulders of Spencer Sanders, who played arguably his worst game of the season with four interceptions. The offense’s failure to execute wasted another fantastic defensive performance. For the second straight week, the Cowboy defense held an opponent scoreless in the second half, and Baylor was only able to muster 36 total yards in the last 30 minutes.

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