College Football Playoff: 5 reasons Oklahoma State wins 2017 national championship
3. Offensive Line
The Oklahoma State offensive line isn’t widely considered one of the best in the nation, and the unit is largely average by Big 12 standards. The Cowboys allowed 32 sacks last season, which tied Texas and Iowa State for the most in the conference, and surrendered a 6.44 percent sack rate last year. Oklahoma State also ranked in the bottom half of the league in rushing yards per attempt (4.52) and rushing offense (170.85), which is another sign the O-Line was far from dominant.
Fortunately, Oklahoma State is so talented at the offensive skill positions and has one of the best quarterbacks in the country (more on those players later), the offensive line doesn’t need to be one of the league’s best for the Cowboys to excel. Above average O-Line play should be good enough to get Oklahoma State to the Big 12 Championship Game, and thanks to the unit’s experience and talent level, above average O-Line play is a very reasonable expectation.
First of all, the Cowboys return 95 career starts on the offensive line, which is the second most in the Big 12 and 11th most in FBS. Many of those are attributed to newcomer Aaron Cochran, a grad transfer from Cal, who should start at tackle this season. Cochran joins Second Team All-Big 12 lineman Zach Crabtree as a bookend, two of what should be four senior starters on the line, along with center Brad Lundblade and guard Larry Williams.
Sophomore Marcus Keyes, an Honorable Mention All-Big 12 guard last season, rounds out the group, which is capable of making strides by clearing more holes for running backs in 2017, and also giving quarterback Mason Rudolph enough time to distribute the football to his talented playmakers.