How Oklahoma State Leads Country in Unexpected Defensive Category

Oklahoma State fans would rather not revisit the recent past, specifically last year's 1-11 team.

The Cowboys were bad across the board. Offense, defense and special teams. Look for a national ranking and the Cowboys were likely in the bottom quarter in the country, sometimes and the bottom 10% in the country.

When Eric Morris took over as head coach and brought most of his staff from North Texas, he knew he couldn't just turn around the offense and make things better. He and defensive coordinator Skyler Cassity had to turn the defense around too.

Through three games, Morris is happy with how his defense has progressed. But for those looking at the statistical comparison between OSU and its Week 4 opponent, West Virginia, there is one statistic the Cowboys lead the country in and it’s possibly the least likely category one could have expected.

Cowboys Leads Country in This Defensive Category

Oklahoma State 's Mo Horn celebrates his tackle on a player during a game. — Oklahoma State 's Mo Horn. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The Cowboys lead the country in third down conversion percentage defense. Tulsa, Oregon and Murray State combined to convert third downs 16.2% of the time. Murray State was unable to convert a third down at all last week. That’s a far cry from their No. 115 ranking in the category last year.

Morris called it out after the Murray State game. The Racers were 0-for-12. Murray State played a unique screen game that required great open field tackling by the Cowboys and they did that the entire contest, especially on downs that weren’t third down. That’s been a theme in all three games this season.

“I thought our guys did a good job on third down, but our efficiency on first and second down set up some of those third-and-mediums, third-and-longs and gave us a chance to pressure the quarterback,” Morris said. “So, the efficiency on those first two downs is what helped us so much on third down.”

Oregon was just 5-for-14 on third down in their Week 2 loss to the Cowboys. Tulsa beat Oklahoma State in Week 1, but the Golden Hurricane struggled to 1-for-11 on third down.

That makes the match up on third down one of the biggest in the contest. West Virginia enters the game No. 15 in the country in third down offense, having converted 53.3% of their third downs. Morris and Cassity are keenly focused on quarterback Michael Hawkins, running back Cam Cook. They’ve helped second year head coach Rich Rodriguez to lead them to a 3-0 start.

That stat, by game’s end, might be the reason Oklahoma State wins or loses.

“We’ve got to get them [Hawkins and Cook] on the ground and tackle them,” Morris said. “Easier said than done.

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