OSU Cowboys know the drill in Saturday's Bedlam game
OSU defense Against Sooners, Pokes have to be prepared to stop the run
By Scott Wright
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Published: November 27, 2008
STILLWATER — Charting game tape, breaking down pass patterns and studying tendencies. None of that is necessary for Oklahoma State’s Jeray Chatham.
OSU’s Jeray Chatham, right, grabs Iowa State running back Alexander Robinson during the Cowboys’ victory over the Cyclones on Nov. 1. Chatham and the Cowboys face the tough task of stopping the Sooners’ rushing attack Saturday.PHOTO BY DOUG HOKE, THE OKLAHOMAN
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Bedlam is Here!
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The senior defensive tackle knows what the third-ranked Oklahoma offense is going to do Saturday.
Despite averaging nearly 35 pass attempts per game, the
Sooners are bringing the ground attack to
Boone Pickens Stadium. In Bedlam, they always do.
"They’re gonna pound it,” Chatham said. "We know they’re gonna pound it. That’s OU. We know what we’re in for.”
The Sooners were throwing at about the same pace last season, but had just 17 pass plays while rolling up 307 rushing yards against the Pokes.
OU has had a 200-yard rusher in three of the last four Bedlam games.
Allen Patrick went for 163 the other year.
"When a team gets going, it’s like a train,” Chatham said. "They just keep going and going and going. We’ve got to break that train track.”
So ignore the spread offense and
Sam Bradford’s Heisman hunt. OSU’s defense must stop the run to put the No. 11
Cowboys in position to win.
"It’s funny, because it seems like every year they have a spread offense, but when it comes to Bedlam, they throw all that out the window and say, ‘Hey, let’s just mash it down their throats and see how tough they are,’ ” OSU linebacker
Andre Sexton said. "That’s a personal challenge to us.
"We accept the challenge. We’re gonna meet them head-on out there and we’ll invite them to bring the run on.”
Chatham and fellow starting tackle
Tonga Tea are playing their best football of late, partially a product of OSU’s added depth on the defensive line.
However, it’s a tricky scenario for OSU defensive coordinator
Tim Beckman, who has utilized the "speed package,” a no-defensive tackle formation, to increase pass rushing ability. But the effectiveness of that package will be diminished because of the need to stop the run. Still, the need for a pass rush won’t be lost, either.
"We’ll do what we do,” Beckman said. "We’ve got to tackle well in space, get off blocks.
"It’s another challenge, of course, but in this conference, you seem to have a challenge every week with the offenses we face.”
The Cowboys rank third in the
Big 12 against the run, allowing 118.0 yards per game. But they have the second-fewest rushing attempts against them, too.
OU is the only team in the league besides the Cowboys currently averaging more than 200 yards per game on the ground.
"We’ve got to stop that run,” Chatham said. "We’ve got to make them one-dimensional. OU being so disciplined with a great offensive line, we’ve got to play physical and get to the ball.”
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By the way, DOES THE OU ENGLISH DEPARTMENT TEACH ALL THEIR STUDENTS TO TYPE IN ALL CAPS? Wait, you probably wouldn't know, because I'm willing to bet you've only seen the campus on Saturdays. What's more expensive, your season tickets or the monthly payment on your trailer?
I think the corners won't be the weakness on Saturday.