#4 Baylor vs. #10 Oklahoma State

The Big 12 in the National Spotlight: 

 

#4 Baylor vs. #10 Oklahoma State

Oklahoma State 49 – Baylor 17

Observation #1 Baylor:

The Bears opened up in their fast paced spread offense in 00-Personnel, 5 WR's spreading out the Oklahoma State defense 53 & 1/3 yards attempting to create favorable match-ups.  They wanted to create a rhythm and tempo by snapping the ball in under 15 seconds per play.  It was obvious that the Bears felt they could match up well with the Cowboys defensive perimeter personnel.  The majority of their personnel groups were 3, 4 & 5 WR sets.  Baylor decided to play a box of tackle to tackle and match up their OT’s vs. the DE’s of Oklahoma State in 1 on 1 matchup.  This would prove to be a mistake and an advantage for the Cowboys as their DE’s were able to beat the OT’s from a short edge most of the night keeping Petty in the pocket and on rhythm not extending the play.       

Observation #2 Baylor:

With Oklahoma State defending the seam to the field and playing aggressively to the boundary in man coverage, QB Bryce Petty was never able to establish a rhythm.  The fast pace tempo was disrupted and caused a hitch in his reads and delivery timing.  He was not able to throw open his WR’s as the seams appeared to be covered and were changing as the Cowboys defense did a great job of strategically mixing up some man coverage with pressure to add to his confusion.  The Cowboys also utilized coverage by dropping 8 in 3^rd and long situations as well as a “Zoo” (no hands in the grass) DL pressure causing confusion in protection for Baylor. 

Observation #3 Baylor:

Baylor’s previous success offensively was also based on a very strong running game.  It did not help having their #1 & #2 RB’s out.  But after their second series when Petty broke a long run on the zone read and stumbled at the 1 yard line, they did not attempt to force Oklahoma State to defend the QB in the running game.  A few weeks ago when Baylor dismantled Oklahoma, Petty had a huge impact in the running game.  They did not utilize Petty as a runner nearly enough which would have forced the alley defenders to tighten to the box and open the seams and alleys for the big plays in the passing game.             

Observation #1 Oklahoma State:

Defensive Coordinator Glenn Spencer had a fantastic game plan to defend the Baylor offense.    All DC’s understand that the stress point of any defense is the seam, halfway between the hash mark and the top of the #’s.  Baylor widens their #1 WR’s outside the bottom of the #’s which is 6 yards from the sidelines, usually 2-3 yards outside the bottom of the #’s.  Their #2 wide out will then either align or attack the seam on a variety of routes depending on D & D and field zone.  The distance from the top of the #’s to the hash mark is 11 yards.  The distance from the top of the #’s to the sidelines is 9 yards. All total 20 yards from the hash mark to the sidelines.  The seam / alley defender usually doubles with his responsibility as he is a D gap defender vs. the run and an alley or curl to flat defender vs. the pass depending on the zone coverage.  The Baylor offense creates a problem in that almost universal coverage area for a curl to flat defender is 13 yards, 6 ½ yards either side of his location on the field.  When the Baylor #1 WR aligns 2 yards outside the bottom of the #’s he stretches the seam or alley area for the curl to flat defender’s responsibility by those 2 yards.  Coach Spencer did a fantastic job of incorporating a matchup zone to the field and a man concept to the boundary.  This allowed the Cowboys defense the ability to play 3 over 2 to the field and match up the running back with a LB and a corner to the #1 WR to the boundary.  He showed great confidence and trust in his players.  He obviously felt he had the corners to match up with Baylor’s #1 WR’s & by playing the Safety over the alley player, the alley player was able to buzz and work inside out on #2 knowing he had help over the top. 

Observation #2 Oklahoma State:

The Cowboys had a plan of their own.  QB Clint Chelf was confident and poised as he organized his offense, adjusted them into the personnel groupings and formations he wanted and proceeded to run the play clock down below 15 seconds each play at times even under 10 seconds. The Cowboys wanted to control tempo and run the football between the tackles and incorporate a controlled passing attack.  Their 99 yard drive was a fantastic drive and I believe set up by a great call from Coach Gundy.  The Cowboys aligned in 30-PG (3 RB’s and 0 TE’s with 2 WR’s) they caught Baylor attempting to stop the run with a 9 man box thus leaving their corners 1 on 1 with their bigger WR’s.  This was a matchup that Oklahoma State won all night. 

Observation #3 Oklahoma State:

The entire Oklahoma State preparation offensively and defensively kept Baylor off balance all night.  The climax came with Baylor trailing 35-10 and marching for what could be another TD as they were inside the Oklahoma State 10 yard line.  A low and left snap that got away from QB Petty and ended up being a scoop and score for the Cowboys defense was a 14 point swing and the nail in the coffin.  Great preparation, great effort and 11 guys doing their job and trusting each other create opportunities like this.  Oklahoma State did a great job of knowing when to push the needle.  In the 3^rd quarter the double pass back to the QB was a great call and showed confidence in the players. 

Summary:

Oklahoma State earned a great win against a top 5 football team and should be proud of their effort Saturday night!