Texas defense has tough test in Oklahoma States to

The Texas defense thought things were tough last week.The Longhorns went into the Red River Rivalry facing college footballs most prolific offense in Oklahoma. They do so again this week with Oklahoma State.MORE: Not very often you get to play the No. 1 offense in back-to-back weeks, Texas coach Tom Herman said.No. 10 Oklahoma State (5-1 overall, 2-1 Big 12) heads to Austin this week having beaten Texas (3- Rondale Moore T Shirts 3, 2-1) four consecutive times at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. More than that, the Cowboys bring the nations best offense deep into the heart of Texas.Quarterback Mason Rudolph leads the country in total offense (406.5) and pa sing yards (394.7) per game. Big-play wideout James Washington leads the country in receiving yards per game (147). Running back Justice Hill leads the Big 12 Conference in rushing yards per game (105.5).How is it that OSU is so goodat seemingly everything on offense?Uh, Herman began with a laugh, how much time you got?Last week against Baylor, the Cowboys put up 747 yards total offense: a school record at a place where eye-popping stats on offenseare part of the norm.For now, Herman wants the Longhorns Robert Alford Jersey to focus on themselves, particularly on defense. He said pa s coverage has been alarming thus far, and needs to improve. Texas' pa s defense(264.8 yards per game) ranks 109thnationally after Oklahoma'sBaker Mayfield hung 302 yards on just 17 completions. Mistakes in the secondary have been glaring. Simplifying the coverage schemes, Herman said, may help alleviate those mistakes.Lets go master something, he said, and lets be great at it.At the end of the day, if youre at the right place at the right time and youre where youre supposed to be and James Washington jumps over you and makes a hellacious catch or Mason Rudolph threads the needle in between three guys in zone coverage, thats gonna happen. They do that to a lot of people. But lets not beat ourselves.WEEK 8 PICKS: | So far, the only team to have even moderate succe s at slowing down the Cowboys was TCU, which left Stillwater with a 44-31 victory on Sept. 23.Horned Frogs coach Gary Patterson said establishing a rungame Demetrius Harris Jersey and being efficient with the pa s helped keep Rudolph and Co. on the sideline. It also helped, Patterson said, that TCUs standard setup features five defensive backs, whereas most teams have to adjust to the Cowboys' high-flying offenseBut against an offense this good, there is no magic fix.People struggle, Patterson said, because theyve got very good wide receivers. Theyve got a great skill set. Their running backs are good, theyve got a good running offense, theyve got a pro-style quarterback, and theyve got more than just Washington at wide receiver, theyve got guys that are really D.J. Humphries Jersey good players.Theyll be a team that will cause a lot of havoc when its all said and done because theyre a very good football team.Despite Oklahoma State's offensive acuity and Texas' struggles in pa s defense, Saturdaysgame is actually a compelling matchup of strength-on-strength. While the Longhorns havestruggled to run the ball and haveendured a quarterback shuffle on offense, their defense has been mostly good. Itranks 23rd nationally in stopping the run (116.7 yards per game allowed) and leads the Big 12 with nine interceptions.MORE: I just think the talent of their front seven is really impre sive,said Iowa State coach Matt Campbell, whose team scored just seven points in a lo s to Texas on Sept. 28. That was probably the biggest impre sion I got from playing those guys, the talent and the ability that that front seven (plays) with. That is a game-changer.Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said this Texas defense doesnt look much different than typical Texas defenses from the past. And that's a good thing for the Longhorns.I think year in and year out, top to bottom, theyre probably the most athletic team in this league, Gundy said. Its no secret, they finish in the top 10 or higher in the country in recruiting every year. Most of the guys on their team are four- or five-star players.Their athleticism and their ability to run to the football, and make plays on Aeneas Williams Jersey offense with skill players, is pretty much competitive with anybody in the country.Ultimately, Texas defenses recruiting stars and athletic ability might not matter against Oklahoma State. Just ask Baylor coach Matt Rhule, whose team took a 59-16 defeat at the hands of the prodigious Cowboys.Theyre all on the same page, they execute at a high level and they just play really, really fast, Rhule said. Theyre just really impre sive to watch in person.