Cowboys defense made crucial plays
ORLANDO — One glance through the final statistics and you could easily paint a picture of disappointment for the Oklahoma State defense.
Virginia Tech had more total yardage and more first downs than the vaunted Cowboy offense. The Hokies converted 10 of 18 third downs, often a sign of struggle for the Cowboys.
Adversity piled up as well. Both starting cornerbacks went out for the game because of injuries — on the same play.
Glenn Spencer’s OSU defense bent, but didn’t break.
The No. 19 Cowboys (10-3), as they’ve done in many situations this season, made the defensive plays they needed to make at critical moments to seal the 30-21 win over No. 22 Virginia Tech (9-4) Thursday night in the Camping World Bowl.
“I remember some games finishing with our (defense) on the field the last play of the game,” OSU defensive coordinator Glenn Spencer said. “Finding a way.”
The OSU defense earned its share of criticism this season, particularly in the team’s three losses. But through the adversity and the struggle, it still managed to be
effective enough to help the Cowboys finish off a 10-win season.
Early in the second quarter, with Virginia Tech leading 7-3, the Hokies were forcing their way down the field on an 18-play drive. But a bad handoff left the ball on the turf for OSU senior Ramon Richards to scoop up.
“That was the turning point in the game,” said senior safety Tre Flowers, who had a game-high 12 tackles. “Our mentality all year was, ‘bend, don’t break,’ and that’s what we did.
“They made a mistake and we capitalized on it.”
While Virginia Tech piled up 518 total yards and 33 first downs, the Cowboys made the plays that turned the game.
They came up with a sack after a fumbled snap on fourth down when Virginia Tech had reached the red zone. Darius Curry made an incredible one-handed interception off an errant pass that turned away another Hokie drive that had reached OSU territory.
Of course, Curry was only in the game because A.J. Green and Rodarius Williams had suffered injuries that sent them to the locker room on a play when they collided with each other in the second quarter.
At that point, Spencer moved Richards from safety to cornerback, and inserted Curry, who had been a safety most of the season, but moved to cornerback in November when the team’s depth had dwindled at the position.
The defense is a regular source of consternation for Cowboy fans, and it had some costly mistakes throughout a season that carried high expectations. But on Thursday night, the defense gave the offense a few opportunities to put the game away, which it finally did in the final minutes.
“We made a lot of key stops,” coach Mike Gundy said. “I’m sure if you talk to our defensive coaches, we would’ve liked to defend the run a little better in the meat part of the game. But we were able to force turnovers and make key stops. We made good adjustments at halftime and got stops early in the third quarter.
“We were able to make some stops and force some turnovers. For Oklahoma State, really, in the end, that’s what it comes down to. We’re explosive on offense and we need to force turnovers. It’s a great way to finish the season and a great way for these seniors to go out.”