Defense at Oklahoma State is Stellar, but this is No Time to Read Press Clippings
STILLWATER -- I wrote it on Saturday night and I will repeat it on Sunday. The final score in Stillwater with No, 6 Oklahoma State beating then No. 17 Iowa State 24-21 was misleading. The Cowboys defense forced five three and outs by Iowa State and held the potent Cyclones offense 25-yards below their season average of 414-yards a game.
Oklahoma State allowed Brock Purdy, Breece Hall (who did run for 185-yards with 136 of it on two plays), and All-American Charlie Kolar just four explosive plays, the runs of 70-and-66-yards by Hall and a Purdy to Kolar reception of 25-yards and a Purdy to Xavier Hutchinson 20-yard touchdown pass.
"We hung in there against a great quarterback, a great receiver, and a great running back. Those are all NFL guys and I thought our defense responded well," Knowles said after the game.
Linebacker Devin Harper (16) and safety Tanner McCalister (2) team up to stop Breece Hall in the win over Iowa State.
Sarah Phipps-USA TODAY Sports
Head coach Mike Gundy was with his defense but understands the need for them to stay grounded, stay humble. The press like us at Pokes Report are bragging, complimenting, celebrating the way the Cowboys are playing defense. The outside noise or sources Gundy and players talk about even includes some inside noise.
"He high-pointed that one," Chuba Hubbard said wondering into the shot during Kolby Harvell-Peel's postgame Zoom conference. Chuba was talking about Harvell-Peel's interception where he went up and took the ball from the 6-6 Kolar. "They need to put that one on ESPN or we;re going to have some problems," Hubbard added.
"Our defense needs to stay humble. They keep practicing hard, and our whole team is practicing hard," Gundy said. "I'm trying to get them to ignore the outside sources that are telling them how good they are. We haven't made plays like the ones we made today. We haven't laid out like that and, at full extension, knocked a ball down on third-and-12. If we don't make that play, they're going to catch it and run up the field for another 20 yards. Then you've got Kolby Harvell-Peel going up and making a play and intercepting the ball, not just knocking it away. They're gaining some confidence. Confidence is a powerful thing in life, particularly in sports. Every day, they're getting a little more confident."
There is a fine line between confidence and overconfidence.
"I just think we keep our head in the same place it's been all year," Harvell-Peel said of the situation. "Not necessarily letting the outside noise dictate how we feel about our defense and instead just knowing that with the pieces we've got and all the starters that have come back, and the camaraderie this group has, and just understanding that we've got something special inside. (We stay who we are) regardless of what's being said outside the locker room, (we) just know who we really are."
Right now they are tops in the nation among teams that have played more than just one game in third down conversions on defense allowing teams to make just 11-of-57 third downs for a conversion rate of .193.
Oklahoma State is fifth in scoring defense among teams that have played more than one game as they are allowing just 12.0 points a game. They are 12th in total defense among all teams having played more than one game. OSU is allowing just 303.0-yards a contest.
