Oklahoma State Destroys Kansas State in Second Half, Now Leads Nation in Sacks and TFLs

The strength of this 2015 football team has clearly emerged, as we saw in the second half on Saturday against Kansas State.

After allowing 28 points in the first half, the defense made major adjustments, and only allowed ONE yard in the third quarter. That’s not a typo. They allowed 121 yards total in the second half.

By my count, Kansas State ran 30 plays in the second half — 17 of them went for zero or negative yards and 13 gained positive yardage. And it started with the big fellas up front.

For as much praise as the defensive backfield has earned, with big league talent at cornerback and safety; the defensive line has been phenomenal.

Mote Maile has been an excellent run stuffer, and Vincent Taylor has emerged as a legitimate threat which has allowed Ogbah and Bean a chance to face more single teams.

Oklahoma State now leads the nation in not only tackles for loss (10.2 per game) but also sacks (4.4 per game). Read that again, Oklahoma State leads the nation in sacks per game and tackles for loss per game.

He’s a monster. A monster! pic.twitter.com/jtQZeVHlvm

— Pistols Firing (@pistolsguy) October 3, 2015

Emmanuel Ogbah is the ringleader of the group, and is currently tied for fourth nationally with 6.5 sacks as well as tied for fourth in TFLs with 9.5. He had six tackles, three TFLs and a sack on Saturday.

Ogbah was joined on Saturday by Chad Whitener (nine tackles, three TFLs and two sacks) and Devante Averette (three tackles, two TFLs and two sacks).

“I thought the most important thing about this game was the adjustments made by our defensive staff after halftime,” said head coach Mike Gundy. “We couldn’t slow them down in the first half, but we made some really good adjustments at halftime. That gave us a chance to win the football game.”