'Tip of the spear': Oklahoma State defensive line has been stellar while others grow up

STILLWATER — Brock Martin caused a game-changing fumble. Tyler Lacy and Collin Oliver each had their second quarterback sacks of the season. Trace Ford broke up two passes in the pocket.

Oklahoma State’s quartet of standout defensive ends seemed to be taking turns making critical plays in the 11th-ranked Cowboys’ 34-17 win over Arizona State on Saturday night at Boone Pickens Stadium.

And while they continually set the bar high — in all, defensive linemen combined for 21 tackles, three sacks, 6.5 tackles for loss and five quarterback hurries — their dominance up front remains necessary for a defense that is breaking in several new starters in the back seven.

Before the season, the players making up the starting secondary and linebacker groups had combined for 16 total starts. And 14 of those belonged to safety Jason Taylor II.

So the hiccups that led to 44 points by Central Michigan on Sept. 1 and three explosive scoring drives by Arizona State on Saturday night are understandable.

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First-year defensive coordinator Derek Mason saw progress on Saturday. Communication issues that dominated the postgame talk after the Central Michigan game were minimized.

“I thought the communication was better,” Mason said. “You’ve got guys, chemistry-wise, seeing things for the first time, but we spent a lot more time just walking through the adjustments and making guys communicate.

“This is a group of guys, I think, that is more than capable of playing really good football, but the chemistry is still growing. It’s not where it needs to be. But it’s the beginning of the season.”

Arizona State seemed to catch the Cowboys off guard on its first possession of the game, going down the field quickly before OSU forced a field goal. The Sun Devils’ first possession of the third quarter was a touchdown drive sparked by a 73-yard pass from Emory Jones to Giovanni Sanders in which OSU’s defensive backs got crossed up.

Initially aligned with four receivers, Arizona State’s running back motioned out of the backfield, and OSU didn’t adjust.

“We had one guy that was halfway doing the right thing and one guy got lost,” OSU head coach Mike Gundy said. “That’s what happens.

“They’re young and they’ll get that. But other than that play, the defense was really good in the second half.”

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That started — and often ended — with the defensive line.

“It’s about playing to your strength,” Mason said. “For us, those young guys are growing up. We made less mistakes this week than we made last week. For us, the D-line is the tip of the spear. It starts with those guys. If you don’t play well up front, you don’t have a chance.

“We need to be better versus the run and we’ll get better versus the run. But when it came to the pass game, those guys did what they needed to do, and I thought they led the charge all night.”

Martin, a super-senior defensive end, swung momentum OSU’s way with a forced fumble, recovered by Lacy, midway through the second quarter. With the Cowboys trailing 3-0 and looking unsettled on offense, the defense made a play to change the game.

Martin charged into the backfield unblocked and laid a fierce hit on Arizona State running back Xazavian Valladay, popping the ball loose for Lacy to fall on.

The Cowboy offense responded with a five-play, 37-yard touchdown drive, and they never trailed again.

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The veteran on the back end, Taylor knows the value of the defensive line in front of him.

“We’re blessed with a D-line that can do the things that they do,” Taylor said. “We try to be perfect and not make mistakes, but we’re always happy when they can help us and we’ll work together.”

Through two games, OSU has 21 tackles for loss, and most of those have come from defensive linemen.

But Martin says the defensive linemen don’t feel any added pressure in needing to produce while the younger players behind them come into their own.

“No, we just gotta do our job,” Martin said. “Part of our job is to put pressure on the quarterback and make his life difficult. You don’t wanna give him easy passes or easy passing lanes. Try to get hands up and disrupt him as much as you can. It’s not always gonna be a sack.

“We just do our jobs and those guys will be alright.”

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State Cowboys football: Brock Martin, Collin Oliver lead way