Tulsa World: OSU Notebook

TULSA WORLD HOMEPAGE | Wednesday, February 10, 2010 | WIRELESS

OU | OSU | TU | ORU | HIGH SCHOOLS | COLLEGE FOOTBALL | COLLEGE BASKETBALL | NFL | FANTASY | OUTDOORS | GOLF | PROS | ALL

HOMEPAGES

SPORTS EXTRA BLOGS

		Sports Editor Mike Strain
		Sports Columnist Dave Sittler
		The Picker Entertaining & Infuriating

LOCAL PROS

ALL SPORTS

PHOTOS & VIDEOS

OUTDOORS

FIND A STORY

Search the World's archives

EMAIL ALERTS

SOCIAL MEDIA

RSS FEEDS

CONTACT US

BUY PHOTOS & PAGES

Buy a published photo by clicking the "Order this Picture" link on the photo. For a full-color page reprint, call 732-8198 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday or order online.

TULSA WORLD

ADVERTISE ON SPORTS EXTRA

Learn more about the site.

Newspaper View Print this story

Bookmark

OSU Notebook

By BILL HAISTEN, World sports writer
Published: 10/30/2008 2:14 AM
Last Modified: 10/30/2008 3:26 AM

Improved pass defense: In pass defense last season, Oklahoma State allowed 287.2 yards per game. The Cowboys ranked last in the Big 12 and 112th nationally.

This season, OSU has improved by 46 yards per game. In advance of Saturday's 2:30 p.m., ABC-televised league game with Iowa State in Stillwater, the Cowboys are sixth in the Big 12 in pass defense.

OSU defensive coordinator Tim Beckman has generated more pressure on opposing quarterbacks by getting more speed on the field on passing downs. Beckman throws a variety of blitzes at opposing quarterbacks. Also, the downfield coverage of cornerbacks Jacob Lacey and Perrish Cox has improved significantly.

And with the ability of Lacey and Cox to cover receivers without the help of a safety, Beckman can more frequently use safeties and linebackers on blitzes.

"We leave (Lacey and Cox) on an island so (often)," Cowboy defensive tackle Jeray Chatham said. "That's the great chemistry that we have on defense we all know we can trust each other."

South dominant again: This season, Big 12 South teams are 10-2 against opponents from the North division. In 2007, the North was 10-8 against the South. But for five consecutive seasons before 2007, the South had the advantage.

The Mike Gundy-coached Cowboys were 0-3 against the North in 2005, but since have posted a record of 5-2. On Oct. 11, OSU won 28-23 at then-No. 3-ranked Missouri. The Cowboys face Iowa State on Saturday and play at Colorado on Nov. 15.

OSU's evolution: The Cowboys (7-1 overall, 3-1 Big 12) are ranked No. 9 in the Associated Press Top 25 and hold the No. 9 position also in the Bowl Championship Series standings. In the AP poll, the Cowboys have a Top 10 ranking for the third consecutive week.

"We're better now than we were a year ago, and we're much better than we were two years ago, and we don't even talk about '05 (when the Cowboys were 1-7 in the Big 12)," he said. "We've continued to keep consistency in our staff. If I was a parent, I would want to send my son to play football at Oklahoma State."

Looking back: Not since 1985 had the Cowboys been in the AP Top 10 for as many as three consecutive weeks.

That season, OSU had streaks of four consecutive weeks and three consecutive weeks. OSU was No. 8 when it beat North Texas, No. 7 when it beat Miami (Ohio), No. 6 when it beat Tulsa and No. 5 when it lost to ninth-ranked Nebraska.

Later that season, OSU was at No. 10 for victories over Kansas State and Missouri, and No. 7 for a 15-10 upset defeat at Iowa State.

O'Brien Award: Representatives of the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award, for which OSU's Zac Robinson is a semifinalist, will be at Boone Pickens Stadium on Saturday.

Fans can vote for Robinson or any of the semifinalists at the O'Brien display, which will be open during pregame festivities and through the first half of the Iowa State-OSU contest. Fans also may vote online at VoteOBrien.org. By BILL HAISTEN, World sports writer

Newspaper View Print this story

Bookmark

COMMENTS

Add your comment

Show: Most Recent Comment First

1 comments have been made for this team so far. Tell us what you think below!

Reporting Comments

If you see a comment that violates our terms and conditions, please help us by clicking the "Report this Comment" link next to a comment. That will alert the web staff to review the comment. Thank you. -- Web Editor Jason Collington

Report Comment

Rhymeister, Tulsa (10/30/2008 6:40:05 AM)

Great turnaround on the defense. Great job, Tim Beckman and to all the coaches and players.

Add Your Comment
In order to post a comment on this article, you must sign in to Tulsaworld.com. If you do not have a site account, you can create an account for free.