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So far this season, the Cowboys’ rush offense has lacked explosion and the big plays that used to fuel their offense have fallen by the wayside.
Through the first three games of 2008, the Cowboys had racked up eight plays that went for 20 yards or more. This season, they have only managed two – a 37-yard touchdown run by Beau Johnson and a 28-yard rush by Keith Toston; both coming against Houston.
Last year against Houston, the Cowboys had five rushing plays of more than 20 yards.
The Cowboys returned most of the key players in the rushing attack from last season, but with the graduation of center David Washington and guard Steve Denning, the offensive line has lost continuity.
Although the line returns All-American left tackle Russell Okung, fourth-year starter Brady Bond at right tackle and third-year starter Andrew Lewis at center, the guard position has been the most inconsistent so far.
The Cowboys have had three different starters at right guard, senior Andrew Mitchell, junior Anthony Morgan and redshirt freshman Lane Taylor.
Co-offensive coordinator Gunter Brewer said the inexperience at the guard position is a factor in the lack of explosiveness from the running game.“I think it’s based on continuity (on the offensive line),” Brewer said. “Lane got his first start at right guard and you have two guards who haven’t had a lot of snaps here as starters before. It’s like a team of Clydesdales, they all have to be working together and pulling in the right direction at the same time.”
“With as many things as defenses are doing with stunts and blitzes, it’s just crazy up front now and it just takes a little while to build up that continuity in game shape, not just practice.”
The Cowboys also lost tight end Brandon Pettigrew, a key blocker in the running game, to the Detroit Lions in the first round of the NFL Draft.
Without Pettigrew blocking, Brewer said the Cowboys have not been able to break runs to the outside where they had success last year.
“We’ve got to get the ball on the perimeter a little more,” Brewer said. “We’ve been able to run the ball inside quite a bit. People, I think, are trying to take that away and trying to get the guys on the outside,” Brewer said. “Some of the option game and some of the big runs come from getting the ball outside the tackle box.”
The Cowboys are averaging 163.3 rush yards per game this season, which puts them at No. 49 in the country and tied with Kansas State for ninth in the Big 12. Through three games last year, the Cowboys were averaging 334.3 yards on the ground per game.
With the injury to All-American Kendall Hunter, Toston and Johnson have been left to pick up the slack. Toston is the leading rusher with 196 yards and a touchdown. His average five yards per carry is respectable, but it is good for only No. 11 in the Big 12.
Toston said are some elements the team needs to continue to practice but he said OSU is close to being the same prolific rush offense it was a year ago.
“We’re just missing (the big play), barely,” Toston said. “We break down the tape — there’s very little things, and it’s costing us our big play.
“Anytime in the season we can have a breakout game, and I think we’ll be OK.”
The Cowboys will have a promising opportunity to establish the big play running game again when they face off against Grambling State at 6 p.m. on Saturday in Boone Pickens Stadium.
Grambling State is the only Football Championship Series, or FCS (formerly I-AA), opponent the Cowboys will face this season.
FCS teams are traditionally considered weaker than Division-I teams, so Lewis said he is confident the offense can get rolling against Grambling’s rush defense, which ranks 43rd out of 125 FCS teams.
“I think if we can get this offense going on all cylinders, I really think it will give us a lot of confidence going into the bye week,” Lewis said. “And then coming into conference (play) knowing that, ‘Hey, we’ve done this before and let’s just keep on doing it and clicking this year.’”
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