Oklahoma State Cowboys turned in a dominant performance in a 31-13 win over Kansas as the defense continued its surprising reign of terror. With plenty of options, let’s hand out our stars.
Three Stars — The Cowboy Defense
I was going to give this spot to a single Cowboy defender — Kolby Harvell-Peel — but after looking at some stats, it went to the entire defense. (More on Harvell-Peel later)
KU didn’t have a drive of more than 25 yards until a drive that started with 3:37 left in the third quarter. That drive gained 31 yards and OSU had already amassed a 31-0 lead. After that, the Jayhawks had drives of 80 and 78 yards; each resulting in a touchdown in garbage time with the backups in.
Jarrick Bernard finished with a team-high seven tackles and had one of the team’s two sacks. Amen Ogbongbemiga had six tackles and Trace Ford came up with an interception as he continued to impress.
The defense also held KU to only 39 rushing yards, with Pooka Williams Jr. accounting for 26 of them.
Two Stars — Spencer Sanders
The redshirt freshman continued his hot streak as well. He was 12-for-18 for 168 yards and had 37 rushing yards on 11 carries. He also had zero turnovers for the first time since Week 2 against McNeese State. His performance was highlighted by a beautiful touchdown pass to Dillon Stoner.
@dillon_stoner and @SpenceSanders connect for the loooong TD for @CowboyFB pic.twitter.com/zMlIqFFsXw
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 16, 2019
The biggest knock on Sanders is the amount of times he commits turnovers. He had multiple turnovers in each of the games in the middle of the season when the Cowboys lost three of four. Sanders is immensely talented and gives OSU a shot against most teams when he’s able to have one or less turnovers in a game. It helps when the defense is forcing turnovers at the rate they have the last three weeks!
One Star — Kolby Harvell-Peel
Harvell-Peel was named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week for the third time this season. He’s on an absolute tear, and is easily the most impactful player on defense. He let up the same amount of yards as number of interceptions he hauled in.
Kolby Harvell-Peel was an absolute stud for the Oklahoma State defense on Saturday! pic.twitter.com/Aw2dmduyPe
— PFF College (@PFF_College) November 19, 2019
These performances should be taken with a grain of salt because it is KU, but OSU has looked really good the last three weeks as they continue to roll toward Bedlam against Oklahoma.