How Oklahoma State football's widespread defensive faults cost Cowboys vs Iowa State

AMES, IA — Oklahoma State linebacker Ethan Wesloski’s answers were short.He didn't have much to say about his defense’s performance in a 51-49 loss at Iowa State.“I didn’t play good enough, didn’t play to the standard, simple,” Wesloski said.The 51 points OSU’s defense allowed Saturday are the most the Cowboys have allowed in a game this season. Those points sting worse because of the 49 points quarterback Drew Mestemaker and the offense scored.“It hurts, especially when you know Drew and them are rolling,” defensive end James Williams said. More: Oklahoma State football WR Wyatt Young apologizes for penalty vs Iowa StateSeven touchdowns, a seventh-consecutive 300-yard passing game from Mestemaker, 275 total yards from running back Caleb Hawkins and a go-ahead touchdown pitch to receiver Wyatt Young with 53 seconds remaining couldn’t overcome OSU’s defensive problems. Saturday’s scene in Ames isn’t new. Williams said it felt just like the Colorado game, where seemingly every Cowboy touchdown was answered by the defense giving up a score.For the fifth consecutive game, OSU trailed at halftime. Just like in a 35-32 loss to Houston, it felt like whichever defense was on the field last would be the loser and OSU's defense couldn’t get rid of the hot potato.With 53 seconds left, Iowa State quarterback Jaylen Raynor connected on a 33-yard pass down the sideline to freshman receiver Jamal Polite Jr. to get Cyclones into field goal territory. It was the seventh Iowa State play that went for 25 or more yards.Cyclone running back Aiden Flora ran for runs of 4, 3 and 7 yards on his way to a 221-yard day to set up kicker Kyle Konrardy’s walk-off 34-yard field goal.Failures on multiple levels led to OSU allowing 581 yards to Iowa State. That’s the most yardage Iowa State’s offense has tallied in a Big 12 game since 2016, when the Cyclones went for 608 against Texas.Just last week, the Cyclones scored three points against Arizona and finished with 221 total yards. That game, a tight end led Iowa State with 42 receiving yards and Raynor was benched at halftime. There were factors against OSU’s defense. The team’s leading tackler, linebacker Tate Romney, exited in the third quarter with a hamstring injury. Defensive end Jaleel Johnson appeared on the sideline in the second half with his arm in a sling. The slick grass in Jack Trice Stadium favored both offenses. because ballcarriers knew where they were going. Ask around the locker room, and those challenges aren’t the reason OSU’s defense struggled so much Saturday.Players believe the defensive shortcomings are because they aren’t executing.“(The Cyclones) did some good stuff, but there wasn’t nothing that blew our minds,” Wesloski said. “We simply just had to execute and it starts with me.”More: Oklahoma State football wastes big nights from Caleb Hawkins, Justin Bowick | Report cardCoach Eric Morris puts some blame on his staff. “The most disappointing thing is defensively what they were able to do at will against us,” Morris said. “Obviously, they were super balanced, we didn’t make them one dimensional at all, they had a ton of explosive runs, explosive passes … that falls on me as the head coach and I’ll get that fixed.” Saturday, defensive breakdowns happened because there was slow communication getting the defensive call in from the sideline making the corresponding adjustment on the field. On multiple third-and-1s, Raynor found a gaping hole in a three-man Cowboy defensive front with quarterback sneak plays. Raynor finished with 48 rushing yards, his most in a Big 12 game this year. In the third quarter, Cowboy cornerback Mo Horn looked to the sideline for a play call. As his attention remained on the sideline, Iowa State snapped the ball and Polite Jr. ran right by him for a 53-yard reception. “They ran a lot of 12, 13 personnel, sometimes 14, 21 two-back sets so (defensive coordinator Skyler Cassity) is trying to get us lined up … on that long pass that Mo (gave up) that’s exactly what happened,” Williams said. OSU has fallen to No. 14 in the Big 12 in total defense, allowing 391.1 yards per game.Morris said he’d have to evaluate the film and see how correctable the defensive shortcomings are. “I trust these guys, what we have,” Morris said. “I know our players. Our players are the same that we had all year…and we got to look at it. Are we putting them in the best position? We got to look at ourselves in the mirror as coaches and see if they can handle what we’re asking them to do, because this is the first game I felt like pretty much for the whole game we didn’t have many answers.”Ben Hutchens covers OSU athletics for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Ben? He can be reached at bhutchens@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at @ben_hutchens_. Sign up for OSU Sports Minute newsletter to access more coverage of the Cowboys and Cowgirls. Support Ben's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: How Oklahoma State football's widespread defensive faults cost Cowboys vs Iowa State