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Cowboy Offense is Ready for a Tough Baylor Defense

Oklahoma State might be favored to beat No. 18 Baylor, but the Bears are going to be bringing a stout defense to Stillwater this weekend

STILLWATER -- The talk over the past week has been about the Cowboys coming off their first off week of the season and how it couldn't have come at a more opportune moment. We got a chance to speak with the players for the first time since the loss to Texas Tech and they echoed how beneficial the time off has been.

"It's been real helpful," Wallace said of the extra week off. "Being able to get our feet back under us, being able to chill a little bit and guys that are injured, get them back healthy. So, it was really a big help for us."

Oklahoma State's depth chart for Homecoming against Baylor

Plus, the Pokes will be a facing a stout Baylor defense this weekend in the Homecoming matchup. The Bears enter this game with a top-40 defense allowing just 17.8 points per game and are ranked in the top-30 in rushing defense as they allow an average of just 113.5 yards per game.

"Watching [Baylor] on film, they're a pretty sound defense, they're pretty good," said Tylan Wallace. "We just have to make sure we go out there and play our football, especially on offense. We need to go out there and execute and make sure exactly what we're doing and limit the mistakes."

"They're a great defense; they're physical and play fast," said Chuba Hubbard. "They do everything right, so it'll definitely be a great challenge, but I always love a good opponent. If we come out and do what we do, I feel like we can come out with the win, but it's not going to be easy."

In an unfortunate turn for Baylor, Oklahoma State will be at an advantage those as Baylor has lost their leading tackler, linebacker Clay Johnston, for the season. Johnston went down with a knee injury in the fourth quarter against Texas Tech and was confirmed on Sunday that he's out for the remainder of the season.

Sophomore linebacker Terrel Bernard will be looking to try and cover some of the gap left by Johnston's injury. Through six games, Bernard has recorded 30 total tackles, 14 of which have been solo stops, with 0.5 tackles for loss.

Leading the way for the Bears in the turnover category is linebacker Jordan Williams and safety JT Woods. Williams has recorded two interceptions and one forced fumble on the year, while Woods has recovered two fumbles.

Quarterback Spencer Sanders is coming off a rough game against Texas Tech where he recorded five turnovers, three interceptions and two fumbles. Everything we've heard and learned about Sanders is that he's able to bounce back from adversity, and that's what we heard Tuesday evening as well from Tylan Wallace.

We've yet to see Sanders have two bad games in row and from everything we've heard, I think we'll see a different Spencer Sanders than the one we saw at Texas Tech.

If Oklahoma State is to get past No. 18 Baylor this weekend, they're going to need their offense clicking on all cylinders. There's a decent chance the offensive line will be back at full strength and the Cowboys have the nation's leading rusher in Chuba Hubbard.

This will be a test for the Pokes, but nothing that this team hasn't seen before.

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