Oklahoma State football: Defense leads the way to victory vs. Baylor

The defense paved the way for Oklahoma State football all night, and head coach Mike Gundy trusted the unit when deciding to go for a pivotal fourth down conversion with two minutes remaining.

The Cowboys (5-0, 2-0) led 17-14 against Baylor (4-1, 1-1) and had just received a personal foul call against Baylor after quarterback Spencer Sanders scrambled out of bounds on the Bears’ sideline. With the game on the line, the teams exchanged timeouts before Sanders fittingly handed the ball to running back Jaylen Warren, who burst through a hole to score a touchdown — the final points of the game in a 24-14 OSU victory.

Gundy had confidence in his defense, knowing that Baylor would be hard-pressed to take the lead if it were to start a late-game possession inside its own 5-yard-line.

Just like it has all season, the defense helped Oklahoma State football remain undefeated against Baylor in Week 5 in a 24-14 Cowboys victory.

Sanders threw three interceptions, two of which gave the Bears possession in OSU territory. Each time inside their own 40, the Cowboys defense held, forcing Baylor to punts after moving them backwards.

Sporting a win over a ranked Iowa State team and an undefeated record, Baylor entered this Week 5 contest as the nation’s No. 6-ranked rushing offense, averaging 272 yards on the ground per game. They were held to 107 rushing yards on 29 attempts on Saturday, half of which came on a 55-yard Bears run on a fourth-down conversion.

Baylor running back Trestan Ebner entered the game averaging 166 all-purpose yards per game, but was held to eight carries for zero yards and no catches by the Cowboys. His only contribution came on four kickoff returns for 71 yards.

OSU entered the game as the No. 19 team in the nation, according to the AP pollsters, and figures to move up a few spots. The Cowboys also improved to 5-0 for the first time in six years.