Published: September 10, 2007 06:45 am         

Cowboy defense living up to new motto

Sophomore strong safety Andre Sexton admits the Oklahoma State defense needs a new image.

Throughout last year and during the offseason, much of the talk around the Cowboys (1-1) was that their high-powered offense needed just an average defense paired with it to take OSU to the next level.

Sexton said O-State’s defense has adopted a new motto — E.A.T.T., which stands for Effort, Attitude, Tackling and Turnovers.

“We came out there with that mindset and followed it the whole way,” said Sexton following the Cowboys’ 42-6 whipping of Florida Atlantic (1-1) on Saturday. “We didn’t let up the whole game.”

Sexton exemplified the final focus of that motto 13 seconds into the game, when he picked off a Rusty Smith pass and returned it 14 yards for the touchdown.

New defensive coordinator Tim Beckman said several players deserved credit for that quick score.

“(Outside linebacker) Donovan Woods was one that really worked to his leverage to create that play,” Beckman said. “It was pressure off the edge by (defensive end) Marque (Fountain) that got the quarterback to throw it higher than normal. It was team effort and I’m proud of the way kids did it.”

Of course, Beckman was proud of the defense for more than just that one play.

They held the Owls to 203 yards of total offense. That included 28 yards on 34 rushes (0.8 yards per carry) and no touchdowns. FAU managed two field goals — which is also how many interceptions the Cowboys had, as Woods added a pick to Sexton’s.

Fountain, who almost gave the defense touchdowns on back-to-back plays from scrimmage when he momentarily recovered a fumble inside FAU’s 20 before dropping it, said the defense had a big improvement from the previous week. The Cowboys allowed at least one touchdown in each quarter of a 35-14 loss at Georgia on Sept. 1.

“We had to go out there and show everybody that we have a good defense,” Fountain said. “We wanted to pitch a shutout.”

OSU couldn’t pull that off, but they could argue they should only be blamed for three of the Owls’ points. The first field goal was a 45-yarder that came after FAU gained six yards on three plays following a fumble by Cowboy tailback Keith Toston at the OSU 34.

The other scoring kick for the Owls came in the second quarter. FAU put together a 15-play, 71-yard, 6:59-drive that ended with a 26-yard field goal that cut OSU’s lead to 14-6 with 8:16 remaining in the second quarter. The Cowboys did not allow a score in the game’s final 38:16.

“The whole week we worked on tackling,” Sexton said. “We were live because we had to get better. (Beckman) said he wanted enthusiasm. We had some motivation because some fans were upset, saying some things about us tackling.”

FAU surpassed 20 yards on a play once — a 21-yard pass that helped set up the team’s second field goal.

“No big plays (defensively),” said OSU head coach Mike Gundy. “You play defense and don't give up big plays, you’ve got a chance.”

The Cowboy defense will aim for another shutout on Friday when they visit Troy (0-2). The Trojans are averaging 28.5 points per game. They lost a 46-26 game at No. 21 Arkansas on Sept. 1 and a 59-31 contest at defending national champion and fourth-ranked Florida on Saturday.



This should be fun

Gundy successfully used a replay challenge to overturn a call late in the second quarter.

Receiver Adarius Bowman and FAU cornerback Corey Small both came down with the ball on the sideline in the end zone. Small came away with the ball and was originally awarded the interception, but the call was overturned, giving Bowman the touchdown. Gundy was asked when he decided to challenge.

“As soon as the replay came on the board,” he replied.

Then he was asked if the booing of the fans during the replay made him more sure it was worth challenging.

“I didn’t hear the fans boo,” he said. “I heard them boo after the second (offensive) series.”

Gundy said it was the first time he had ever challenged.

“I’ve been wanting to do that,” he added. “It looks like fun.”

     

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