The Oklahoma State Cowboys rank 18th in the country in turnover margin, gaining roughly 1 more turnover than they give away per game, according to cfbstats.com.
What’s truly remarkable is that Pokes rank that highly despite having a total of 19 turnovers on the season, 58th in the country. A team can get away with that when it’s 7th in turnovers forced (27).
OSU’s defense may not shut opponents down. However, the Pokes excel at stripping the ball and gambling on routes to steal the ball away, quickly shifting momentum over to a high-powered O.
In the Cowboys’ biggest games this season, they’ve have lived and died with those turnovers. Texas A&M, for instance, gave the ball away five times. In a 3-point win against Troy, the Trojans had four turnovers. Kansas State and Baylor each turned it over three times.
The Nebraska Cornhuskers went to Stillwater and handed OSU its only loss this year by keeping their hands on the ball. NU fumbled once on the way to a 10-point victory.
The Oklahoma Sooners enter the Bedlam game with an even better turnover margin. The major difference between them and the Pokes: OU rarely turns it over, whereas the Pokes force turnovers.
OU ranks 6th in the country in turnovers lost, with a total of 12 for the year. Digging deeper, OU has lost just 5 fumbles all season. (Two of those fumbles belong to third-string running back Mossis Madu, who probably won’t see much action on Saturday.)
Sounds good for the Sooners. The only hang-up is that quarterback Landry Jones tends to get careless on the road. Of his 7 picks this season, 5 came in away games.
Still, if OU takes care of the ball, it will bode very well for Bedlam.