Stoops: Defensive Stats Don't Mean Much In Big 12

Big 12 defenses often have inflated statistics because they are on the field a lot more than other conferences.

Tuesday, November 1st 2011, 5:52 pm

By: News 9


News9.com

NORMAN, Oklahoma – The Big 12 is certainly known for its high-powered offenses, but sometimes those high powered offenses skew perceptions of the defenses.

OU coach Bob Stoops said when offenses started changing in the conference, he knew what the result would be.

"I knew immediately that if we go to this style of offense, the defensive numbers aren't going to be nearly as good," he said. "They're on the field more, there's more snaps."

Big 12 offenses come out of the gate fast and furious, with no-huddle, spread, quick-hitting passing attacks and big plays.

It's a far-fetched strategy compared to some conferences such as the Big 10, where Penn State won a 10-7 thriller against Illinois this past Saturday while OU and OSU were closing in on 60 apiece.

The situation creates a chicken-and-egg scenario. Are the Big 12 defenses really that much worse than other conferences? Or do the stats just appear that way because of the high-scoring offenses?

Stoops said the statistics don't really tell the whole story.

"Our points compared to their points is the one I really pay attention to," Stoops said.

But regardless of the statistics, it wasn't hard to see that OU's defense didn't perform well against Texas Tech, which turned into just the third home loss of the Stoops era.

Stoops and the Sooners used a convincing win against K-State to right the ship, but still face a stiff challenge in Texas A&M on Saturday.

News 9's Dean Blevins was in Norman with more information on the upcoming game.

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