Big 12 Defenses by the Numbers: Week 8
The beat goes on, and the defenses had a huge impact on Week 8 games in Ames, Fort Worth, and Lubbock. In Ames, Iowa State and Oklahoma State staged an elite defensive battle that included five sacks. In Fort Worth, West Virginia held TCU’s explosive offense to just 10 points. In Lubbock, a K-State safety sparked a second-half defensive shutout of Texas Tech.
Here are the defensive numbers after Week 8. As always, caveat lector: stats can be deceiving.
1, 2, 3, 4 . . .
1 Safety and 1 sack logged by Kansas State’s Felix Anudike-Uzomah
2 Third-down conversions allowed by Iowa State and Kansas State
3 Sacks each for Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State
4 Third-down conversions allowed by West Virginia
FEWEST MISSED TACKLES
1. West Virginia – 8.42 per game, 59 total
2. Iowa State – 9.28 per game, 65 total
3. Kansas – 10.85 per game, 76 total
4. Oklahoma – 11.12 per game, 89 total
5. Oklahoma State – 11.28 per game, 79 total
6. Baylor – 11.42 per game, 80 total
7. Kansas State – 11.71 per game, 82 total
8. Texas Tech – 95, 11.87 per game, 95 total
9. Texas – 12.28 per game, 86 total
10. TCU – 12.71 per game, 89 total
NOTE: West Virginia has led the league in fewest missed tackles for nearly the entire season.
TEAM SACKS
1. Oklahoma State – 3.0 per game, 21 total
T2. Kansas State – 2.57 per game, 18 total
T2. West Virginia – 2.57 per game, 18 total
4. Oklahoma –2.5 per game, 20 total
T5. Baylor – 2.43 per game, 17 total
T5. Iowa State – 2.43 per game, 17 total
7. Texas – 2.0 per game, 14 total
8. Texas Tech – 1.62 per game, 13 total
9. TCU – 1.29 per game, 9 total
10. Kansas – 1.0 per game, 7 total
NOTE: Iowa State and especially Baylor are steadily climbing this ranking after not getting many sacks early in the season.
SCORING DEFENSE
1. Iowa State – 17.0 points per game, 119 total
2. Baylor – 18.71 points per game, 131 total
3. Oklahoma State – 20.14 points per game, 141 total
4. West Virginia – 21.71 points per game, 152 total
5. Kansas State – 24.57 points per game, 172 total
6. Oklahoma – 24.62 points per game, 197 total
7. Texas – 29.57 points per game, 207 total
8. Texas Tech – 30.62 points per game, 245 total
9. TCU – 31.75 points per game, 221 total
10. Kansas – 42.14 points per game, 295 total
NOTE: Big 12 defense break down into five categories: Great (ISU, BU); good (OSU, WVU); average (KSU, OU); bad (UT, TTU, TCU); and horrendous (KU). Kansas ranks 127th out of 130 teams nationally.
TOTAL DEFENSE
1. Iowa State – 263.6 yards per game; 1,845 yards total
2. Oklahoma State – 316.7 yards per game; 2,217 yards total
3. Baylor – 333.6 yards per game; 2,335 yards total
4. Kansas State – 349.9 yards per game; 2,449 yards total
5. West Virginia – 356.3 yards per game; 2,494 yards total
6. Oklahoma – 382.1 yards per game; 3,057 yards total
7. Texas Tech – 385.2 yards per game; 3,082 yards total
8. Texas – 433.1 yards per game; 3,032 yards total
9. TCU – 451.1 yards per game; 3,158 yards total
10. Kansas – 471.7 yards per game; 3,302 total
Note: Iowa State is third in the nation in total defense. Only Georgia and Wisconsin are better. Astonishingly, TCU is 119th in the nation.
RUSHING DEFENSE
1. Oklahoma State – 94.3 yards per game; 2.86 yards per carry; 660 yards total
2. Iowa State – 99.0 yards per game; 2.91 yards per carry; 693 yards total
3. West Virginia – 108.4 yards per game; 3.16 yards per carry; 759 yards total
4. Oklahoma – 108.8 yards per game; 3.35 yards per carry; 870 yards total
5. Kansas State – 116.0 yards per game; 3.5 yards per carry; 812 yards total
6. Baylor – 134.7 yards per game; 3.61 yards per carry; 943 yards total
7. Texas Tech – 151.6 yards per game; 4.3 yards per carry; 1,213 yards total
8. Texas – 201.3 yards per game; 5.18 yards per carry; 1,409 yards total
9. TCU – 212.7 yards per game; 5.43 per carry; 1,489 yards total
10. Kansas – 245.1 yards per game; 5.96 per carry; 1,716 yards total
Note: The top 5 rushing defenses in the nation all rank within the top 23 nationally. Texas and TCU’s rushing defenses are bad, but Kansas’ is just abysmal at nearly six yards a carry.
PASSING EFFICIENCY DEFENSE
PER = Pass Efficiency Rating
The formula is for pass efficiency is: { (8.4 x yards) + (330 x TDs) – (200 x INTs) + (100 x completions) } / attempts
1. Baylor – 118.49 PER; 1,392 yards; 6 TDs; 8 INTs; 121 completions; 204 attempts
2. Oklahoma State – 122.38 PER; 1,557 yards; 6 TDs; 4 INTs; 134 completions; 226 attempts
3. Iowa State – 131.77 PER; 1,152 yards; 9 TDs; 5 INTs; 97 completions; 162 attempts
4. Texas – 138.69 PER; 1,623 yards; 8 TDs; 5 INTs; 151 completions; 219 attempts
5. Kansas State – 142.74 PER; 1,637 yards; 7 TDs; 6 INTs; 144 completions; 205 attempts
6. Texas Tech – 144.02 PER; 1,869 yards; 15 TDs; 7 INTs; 169 completions; 251 attempts
7. West Virginia – 145.85 PER; 1,735 yards; 11 TDs; 4 INTs; 141 completions; 216 attempts
8. TCU – 151.37 PER; 1,669 yards; 11 TDs; 6 INTs; 111 completions; 182 attempts
9. Oklahoma – 152.91 PER; 2,187 yards; 17 TDs; 3 INTs; 176 completions; 268 attempts
10. Kansas – 170.73 PER; 1,589 yards; 12 TDs; 3 INTs; 120 completions; 168 attempts
Note: Stunning numbers at the bottom of these rankings: Oklahoma has allowed 17 TDs and had 3 INTS; Kansas is allowing opponents to complete over 71% of passes. Only Baylor has more interceptions than passing touchdowns allowed, which is a big part of why the Bears lead these rankings.
INDIVIDUAL SACKS
1. Will McDonald IV (ISU) – 7.5 sacks, 1.07 per game
2. Felix Anudike-Uzomah (KSU) – 6 sacks, 0.86 per game
T3. Dante Stills (WVU) – 5 sacks, 0.71 per game
T3. Eyioma Uwazurike (ISU) – 5 sacks, 0.71 per game
5. Nik Bonito (OU) – 5 sacks, 0.62 per game
6. Collin Oliver (OSU) – 4.5 sacks, 0.64 per game
T7. Isaiah Thomas (OU) – 4.5 sacks, 0.56 per game
T7. Perrion Winfrey (OU) – 4.5 sacks, 0.56 per game
9. Taijh Alston (WVU) – 4 sacks, 0.57 per game
10. Tyree Wilson (TTU) – 4 sacks, 0.50 per game
11. Kyron Johnson (KU) – 3.5 sacks, 0.50 per game
12. Terrel Bernard (BU) – 3 sacks, 0.50 per game
Note: Bernard has only played in 6 of Baylor’s 7 games. McDonald is tied for 4th nationally; Anudike-Uzomah is tied for 11th nationally. McDonald and Anudike-Uzomah look like First Team All-Big-12 Defensive Ends to me.
INDIVIDUAL TACKLES PER GAME
1. Malcolm Rodriguez (OSU) – 10.4 per game, 73 total, 38 solo, 35 assists
2. Josh Chandler-Semedo (WVU) – 8.6 per game, 60 total, 36 solo, 24 assists
3. Kenny Logan, Jr. (KU) – 8.4 per game, 59 total, 40 solo, 19 assists
4. DeMarvion Overshown (UT) – 8.0 per game, 56 total, 28 solo, 28 assists
5. Luke Brockermeyer (UT) – 7.7 per game, 54 total, 24 solo, 30 assists
6. Colin Schooler (TTU) – 7.6 per game, 61 total, 42 solo, 19 assists
7. Mike Rose (ISU) – 7.3 per game, 51 total, 21 solo, 30 assists
8. Sean Mahone (WVU) – 7.0 per game, 49 total, 33 solo, 16 assists
T9. Dee Winters (TCU) – 6.7 per game, 47 total, 32 solo, 15 assists
T9. Gavin Potter (KU) – 6.7 per game, 47 total, 26 solo, 21 assists
Note: Rodriguez is 6th in the nation.
