On the other side of the ball, there is much of the same story regarding line play, running game, ball security, and decision making by Mason Rudolph in the passing game. This time though, one thing that needs to happen is that OSU must win individual match-ups between receivers and defensive backs. With Carl Joseph on the back end, Tony Gibson had no issue with selling out to pressure and playing man/cover 1 on the back end. He has the athletes to play man to man coverage, and Joseph provided a smart ball hawking presence that could close on receivers with enough violence to break their willingness to go across the middle or extend for catches. Honestly, I believed heading into this season that his presence on the back end would keep the Cowboys from being able to consistently make plays down the field, thus compressing the field and taking the potency out of the offense. It may sound ridiculous to say one player could be that much of a difference maker, but in my opinion that may be true here. Will Tony Gibson feel as confident on the back end of his defense now to play as much man/free with 6 man pressure? That is a good question.
The 3-3-5 base that they play with is a very effective way to match-up with spread attacks due to the ability to quickly drop 8 into coverage against the short passing game while also providing the flexibility to give multiple front looks against the run game and a greater variety of pressure packages. Their defensive line is solid, but unspectacular, although Kyle Rose does a very good job being a 2-gap player in the A-gap. He is actually third on the team in tackles with 16. They do their jobs well by sitting in gaps and occupying blockers. The linebackers are then free to be the play-makers against the run and in rushing the passer. Nick Kwiatkowski is a great college linebacker who does a solid job in recognition and playing downhill in the run game. Shaq Petteway on the weak side and Jared Barber on the strong side come off the edge in a variety of ways to apply pressure and make plays in the backfield. These three guys are all experienced seniors that do a very good job of rallying to the football and being sure tacklers.
It is very important for the Oklahoma State offense this week to stay with the running game inside even if it is not as productive as the coaches would like as it will keep the linebackers from getting enough depth to take away the short, middle areas of the field in the passing game. This goes beyond play-action. When the Mountaineers don't bring pressure, the Cowboys will likely see a lot of quarters coverage, and routes that work from the outside-in, should be open. As the safeties move up to take those away, it leaves man coverage on the outside for deep post routes to develop over the top without deep safety help.
Chris Carson is not 100%, but both he and Rennie Childs should be back which will definitely help the run game. Film from last week reveals a lot of situations where the young freshman Jeff Carr was brought down by an arm tackle that either of the older backs would have broken through. A couple of those plays were blocked well enough for big yardage had Carr been able to run through those arm tackles or make the guy miss in space. As you watch the run game on film, it is apparent that the number of breakdowns have decreased. There still is not as much physical push as there needs to be, but if a crease develops and a back hits it on time with assertiveness, plays can be made. I think the run game will be improved this week, even though the defense is better than what was faced a week ago. Tony Gibson and Dana Holgorson will sell out to stop the run, trying to force OSU to play like it did against Kansas State. Their best play-makers are in the secondary, and they feel confident that they will win the balance of match-ups in the passing game.
Daryl Worley is a very big, physical corner that is going to be a difficult match-up for our guys when manned up, so look for the Pokes to take several shots on the other side against Terrell Chestnut as well as against the safeties and nickel backs. There is going to be some early game probing to see exactly how West Virginia wants to play without Joseph to enforce things. None of the safeties are going to be great match-ups on Glidden, and the Cowboy backs could be a bit more involved this week as well. Jarred Harper is the guy that may get picked on early to see how well he hits his assignments.
The reality though for OSU is it boils down to Mason Rudolph. As I have said all season, the ceiling for this team is really based on his play. He has shown flashes of greatness, but is still a young, maturing quarterback. As well as he has played, it must be stated that he basically gifted Texas 14 points and Kansas State 7 points the last two weeks. The good news is that the team overcame those mistakes and found ways to win. If he had not made those costly errors, the outcomes could have been significant margins of victory and everyone would feel differently about this team. Be patient, he is still growing.
The 3-3-5 base that they play with is a very effective way to match-up with spread attacks due to the ability to quickly drop 8 into coverage against the short passing game while also providing the flexibility to give multiple front looks against the run game and a greater variety of pressure packages. Their defensive line is solid, but unspectacular, although Kyle Rose does a very good job being a 2-gap player in the A-gap. He is actually third on the team in tackles with 16. They do their jobs well by sitting in gaps and occupying blockers. The linebackers are then free to be the play-makers against the run and in rushing the passer. Nick Kwiatkowski is a great college linebacker who does a solid job in recognition and playing downhill in the run game. Shaq Petteway on the weak side and Jared Barber on the strong side come off the edge in a variety of ways to apply pressure and make plays in the backfield. These three guys are all experienced seniors that do a very good job of rallying to the football and being sure tacklers.
It is very important for the Oklahoma State offense this week to stay with the running game inside even if it is not as productive as the coaches would like as it will keep the linebackers from getting enough depth to take away the short, middle areas of the field in the passing game. This goes beyond play-action. When the Mountaineers don't bring pressure, the Cowboys will likely see a lot of quarters coverage, and routes that work from the outside-in, should be open. As the safeties move up to take those away, it leaves man coverage on the outside for deep post routes to develop over the top without deep safety help.
Chris Carson is not 100%, but both he and Rennie Childs should be back which will definitely help the run game. Film from last week reveals a lot of situations where the young freshman Jeff Carr was brought down by an arm tackle that either of the older backs would have broken through. A couple of those plays were blocked well enough for big yardage had Carr been able to run through those arm tackles or make the guy miss in space. As you watch the run game on film, it is apparent that the number of breakdowns have decreased. There still is not as much physical push as there needs to be, but if a crease develops and a back hits it on time with assertiveness, plays can be made. I think the run game will be improved this week, even though the defense is better than what was faced a week ago. Tony Gibson and Dana Holgorson will sell out to stop the run, trying to force OSU to play like it did against Kansas State. Their best play-makers are in the secondary, and they feel confident that they will win the balance of match-ups in the passing game.
Daryl Worley is a very big, physical corner that is going to be a difficult match-up for our guys when manned up, so look for the Pokes to take several shots on the other side against Terrell Chestnut as well as against the safeties and nickel backs. There is going to be some early game probing to see exactly how West Virginia wants to play without Joseph to enforce things. None of the safeties are going to be great match-ups on Glidden, and the Cowboy backs could be a bit more involved this week as well. Jarred Harper is the guy that may get picked on early to see how well he hits his assignments.
The reality though for OSU is it boils down to Mason Rudolph. As I have said all season, the ceiling for this team is really based on his play. He has shown flashes of greatness, but is still a young, maturing quarterback. As well as he has played, it must be stated that he basically gifted Texas 14 points and Kansas State 7 points the last two weeks. The good news is that the team overcame those mistakes and found ways to win. If he had not made those costly errors, the outcomes could have been significant margins of victory and everyone would feel differently about this team. Be patient, he is still growing.
