Oklahoma State football: Defense not the only problem

Lost in all the much-deserved criticism of OSU’s defense was the real back-breaker for the Cowboys in their 41-36 loss to Texas. D.J. Monroe’s 100-yard kickoff return in the second quarter, after OSU had forged a 14-14 tie. In this wild and woolly Big 12, you can’t give up kickoff returns for touchdowns. Especially when you’ve got a kicker like Quinn Sharp, who otherwise booted the ball safely to a touchback Saturday night.

OSU’s defense was not good Saturday night. But it actually wasn’t horrible, unless you factor in the timing. OSU’s defense was not clutch. Texas scored touchdowns on its first two and last two possessions of the game. In the middle six possessions, the Cowboys allowed just one TD.

So out of 10 possessions, OSU gave up five touchdowns. That’s losing football, although the acceptable ratio is climbing higher and higher with each passing season of crazy offenses. That 50 percent efficiency is the exact same as Texas’ defense, which faced 11 possessions (not counting the final OSU drive, which was ended by the clock) and gave up four touchdowns and three field goals, the virtual equivalent of 51/2 touchdowns.

Considering OSU was playing with its second-team quarterback, you could make the case that OSU’s defense outperformed Texas’. And both outperformed the circus in Morgantown, where West Virginia beat Baylor 70-63.

Go back to 2008. OSU lost at Texas 28-24 to a great Longhorn team, the Colt McCoy-led ‘Horns who finished in a three-way tie with OU and Tech. A team that Mack Brown thought was the best in the nation. Fans and media came away from that 2008 OSU-Texas game regaling the Cowboys for their solid defense, allowing the Cowboys to stay in the game.