For the past 5 seasons, Oklahoma State has been known for one of the most potent offenses in college football.
This season so far, not so much.
Whether it be run plays that seem too simple and don't go anywhere or bubble screens that end up in negative yardage, Oklahoma State's play calling and offense seem to be very simple and at times, boring.
Now, that's not to say there is anything wrong with a boring offense.... if you can run it to perfection. For the first two games, the Cowboys' offense has been anything but perfect.
However, there is a method to the madness of showing almost nothing on offense for your first two games. The less opposing defenses, especially conference ones, know about your offense, the harder it is for them to game play against it.
So is this purposely done or signs of worse things to come?
Buy- OSU is running a vanilla version of their offense on purpose.
Central Michigan and Central Arkansas.
Neither really ever proved a threat in the games played against Oklahoma State, even though they were too close for comfort. The Cowboys were able to break through these opposing defenses without much of an offense and practically no momentum, and the score(outside of the few minutes that Central Michigan led in the third quarter) was never to the point where OSU was truly in danger.
When you have two sub-par defenses facing off against an offensive-talent powerhouse, it doesn't take too much of an offense to score. It is harder to score when running the same plays over and over, but easier when it is against much less talented opposition.
There is also the factor of not showing future defenses what this offense can truly do. With the amount of talent stacked in the receiving corps and at quarterback, there is no end to the offensive complexity and firepower that this offense has to unleash. But why show it just yet?
The Cowboys will eventually need to show what their offense can truly do, especially against conference opponents like Texas Tech, Kansas State and West Virginia, but the longer OSU can hold how its true potential, the less opponents will have to game plan against. Also, the longer you can wait before showing the highest nationally ranked teams in the conference - TCU, Baylor and OU - the better of the chances will be of springing the upset.
Sell- There are bigger problems with the OSU offense.
24 and 32.
Where these numbers are horrible of an NFL offense, it is quite concerning when facing a mid-level MAC team and sub-par FCS team.
Yes, you could consider the fact that Central Michigan has one of the best MAC defenses and Central Arkansas stacked up against the run, but these should be no excuse. The talent difference between these teams and Oklahoma State is too wide for these games to be as close as the ended up to be.
Many have argued fans should be patient because OC MIke Yurchich is keep the best plays under wraps for the Cowboys, waiting for conference play to unleash the offensive juggernaut. But one has to ask, why not be sure you can run a more complex offense in-game?
For those who won't subscribe to the excuse of keeping how potent this offense is under wraps, troubling signs are right in front of your eyes.
Oklahoma State's offensive line, at least the center and both guards, are struggling to run block. Rarely have Childs or Carson been able to run past the line of scrimmage on an inside run play. The O-line, although not as much, has also struggled to keep Rudolph from being hurried, causing some concern that this will effect the offense even more against more stout defenses.
OSU fans also might have to come to the realization that this is what OSU's offense looks like. Gone are the days of a quick, aired-out offense of Holgersen, Monken and the yesteryear, and now we are here with an offense that doesn't seem to function very efficiently. Yes the numbers might still be high so far, but that is more a product of talented receivers and running backs getting extra yardage and less how the offense helped create the play.
So, Buy or Sell?