Comments on: Magazine calls OSU’s special teams the nation’s best

By: osucowboys

osucowboys — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 19:51:59 +0000

Guys, I think everybody is partially right on this one.

OSU was 11th in the Big 12 in kickoff coverage (oddly, worse than OU but better than Colorado). The Pokes gave up more than 24 yards per return. However, they were third in the Big 12 and 32nd nationally in punt coverage, allowing less than seven yards per return.

A lot of things factor into kickoff coverage, but here are a few things I think played a factor in the big numbers OSU gave up.

For one, the team lacked a kicker with an ideal leg for kickoffs. Dan Bailey’s ball didn’t have the hang time to give the coverage unit any kind of advantage and he didn’t have the length to boot it out of the end zone (13 touchbacks in 95 kickoffs).

Secondly, the Cowboys kicked off more than about 115 teams in the country, which can open the door for more mistakes.

Also, the Cowboys spent a lot of time playing with big leads, which can produce uninspired effort from first-teamers and frequent use of backups on kickoff coverage.

For instance, in the game Barry mentions when Iowa State’s Leonard Johnson had nine kickoff returns for 319 yards, OSU won 59-17.

-Scott Wright

By: Matt

Matt — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 19:33:29 +0000

No John, OU was the worst return coverage team in the big 12 last year. I think their special teams coach sucks!

By: John Crook

John Crook — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 12:03:39 +0000

Not true Bob. Check your stats first bud! OSU was one of the worst return coverage teams in the Big 12.

By: Bob Schauer

Bob Schauer — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 20:32:28 +0000

Barry, that was only ONE game! OSU was solid most of the time on coverage, both punts and kickoffs, as the article pointed out. The game you mentioned stands out for its contrast with the coverage over the the rest of the year, not for its similarity.

By: barry

barry — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 20:18:49 +0000

While these rankings are just speculation at this point, I guess coverage is not considered in these rankings as part of “special teams”. Easily 1 out of 3 games last year was ridiculous with one game having a national record for return yardage set AGAINST us. Does no good to rack up 100 yards of returns when your opponent gets 300 yards. Hopefully that will change this year.